Rockport shoes recently introduced a far-reaching multichannel marketing campaign that includes a tie-in with the TV show “The  Apprentice”as well as mobile marketing elements. Direct mail also plays a key role in the campaign, with Rockport teaming up with Zappos.com to send out over 100,000 direct mail pieces starting this week. The “Hot Commute” campaign – which represents Rockport’s largest marketing investment in years – focuses on the active day-to-day life of modern professionals. The direct mail portion of the effort will be used to reach Rockport’s target audience with a deeper message than some of the other elements of the campaign with the goal of forging a relationship. “Direct mail combined with e-mail is a great way to target our demographic of metropolitan professionals while also reaching new consumers who might not be aware of Rockport and the range of styles offered for men and women,” said Kate Pope Smith, director, global trade & retail marketing at The Rockport Company, via e-mail. “While some e-mail in-boxes are filled these days, direct mail is a great revelation in today’s media. It is something that doesn’t take time to download, end up in spam, and is beautifully designed to really help consumers see and understand the details of a product.” The direct mailer from Rockport highlights many styles from the new collection, giving recipients the chance to consider these items at their leisure and then go online at Zappos.com, when they are ready to make a purchase, Pope Smith continues. Zappos.com will send the direct mail piece, which was designed by Rockport, to over 100,000 metropolitan professionals, both men and women. Other elements of the new campaign include print ads in fall issues of Vogue and Lucky magazines, banner ads on Web sites for The New York Times, Linkedin, People.com, Washington Post and others; advertising in key mobile applications as well as the introduction of a Hot Commute application showcasing the “Hottest Commuters,” and  in-store events. The tie-in with “The Apprentice” consists of product integration in an upcoming episode; a micro site; an in-store and online consumer sweepstakes and an event hosted by Don Trump Jr.