Gundir (formerly Gunderson Direct) was built on the belief that creativity becomes more powerful when connected to measurable results. The agency’s journey began during Mike Gunderson’s early career in design and financial services marketing, where he discovered the unique potential of direct mail as a performance-driven channel.

After studying art direction in San Francisco and working in corporate design roles, Mike transitioned into financial services marketing, where he was introduced to direct mail. Unlike traditional creative projects that were often judged subjectively, direct mail offered something different: clear measurement and accountability. Every element, from headlines and package formats to offers and design choices, could be tested, analyzed, and optimized based on real customer responses.

That connection between creative thinking and business outcomes became the foundation of Mike’s vision. After leaving a corporate marketing role, former colleagues from financial institutions began reaching out for direct mail support, turning early freelance projects into the launch of a new agency.

Initially, the company provided a broad range of creative services, including branding, website developments, and direct mail. However, as the agency evolved, Mike recognized hat direct mail represented its greatest area of expertise and greatest opportunity. The company shifted its focus toward performance-driven direct mail, combining creative strategy, data, testing, and analytics to help brands acquire customers more effectively.

Today, Gundir continues to redefine direct mail as a modern, measurable marketing channel built on innovation, precision, and results.

Business Fortune spoke exclusively with Mike Gunderson, founder and president of Gundir, who shared how the agency is transforming direct mail into a measurable, data-driven customer acquisition channel. From advanced targeting and analytics to creative innovation and digital integration, Gundir helps brands achieve stronger marketing performance, sustainable growth, and improved customer engagement.

Interview Highlights

Direct mail is often viewed as a traditional channel, but Gundir positions it as a modern, data-driven acquisition tool. How does your agency use data, targeting, and analytics to challenge misconceptions about direct mail and improve campaign performance?

One of the biggest misconceptions about direct mail is that it is outdated simply because it is a physical medium. In reality, today’s most effective direct mail programs are highly data-driven, using audience modeling, segmentation, offer testing, creative versioning, and match-back analysis to deliver measurable results.

Another misconception is that direct mail is difficult to measure. When structured correctly from the beginning, it can provide clear performance insights through KPIs, tracking plans, QR codes, dedicated URLs, phone numbers, promo codes, CRM data, and match-back reporting. These tools allow marketers to evaluate performance across audiences, offers, creative formats, and campaign timing, enabling continuous improvement.

At Gundir, the process begins with understanding the client’s objectives, target customer profile, geographic focus, and key success metrics. The team analyzes first-party customer data, market priorities, and external audience sources to identify high-value prospects. The goal is not simply to reach more people but to reach the right audience with the right message.

Once campaigns launch, Gundir uses response data, website activity, CRM insights, and client sales and lead information to measure impact and optimize future efforts. Direct mail also integrates with digital channels, allowing brands to extend campaigns through display advertising, email, retargeting, and other address-based strategies. By combining data, analytics, and digital connectivity, Gundir helps transform direct mail into a measurable, scalable component of modern customer acquisition.

Customer acquisition costs are rising across digital channels. How is your agency helping brands rebalance their marketing mix and leverage direct mail to achieve more sustainable customer acquisition economics?

Many brands have become heavily dependent on digital channels that are now more crowded, more expensive, and harder to control than they were just a few years ago. Gundir helps brands rebalance their acquisition strategy by incorporating direct mail as a measurable, address-based channel that reaches high-value prospects beyond increasingly saturated digital environments.

Direct mail can be particularly effective when a brand has a clearly defined customer profile, a compelling offer, and sufficient customer lifetime value to justify a physical touchpoint. Gundir works with clients to determine whether the channel is a good fit, design a test program, define target audiences, develop a creative strategy, and measure performance against specific acquisition objectives.

The goal is not to replace digital marketing but to strengthen the overall acquisition ecosystem. Direct mail can introduce a brand to new prospects, reinforce digital campaigns, re-engage dormant audiences, and reach consumers who are not responding efficiently to paid search, paid social, or display advertising. When executed strategically, direct mail provides brands with an additional scalable acquisition channel and helps create a more diversified, resilient marketing mix.

As direct mail evolves through creative innovation, automation, AI, and advanced data modeling, how is Gundir combining technology and creative strategy to improve campaign performance and drive stronger customer engagement?

Creative strategy and technology play equally important roles in driving successful direct mail campaigns. At Gundir, creative is approached through a direct-response lens, where the focus is not only on visual appeal but also on capturing attention, communicating value clearly, building trust, and driving measurable action.

The agency evaluates factors such as audience insights, category trends, customer motivations, offer structure, and desired outcomes to determine the right format, messaging approach, visual direction, and response mechanisms. Rather than relying on assumptions, Gundir emphasizes continuous testing of creative concepts, offers, formats, and calls to action to identify what delivers the strongest results.

At the same time, advances in automation, AI, and data modeling are making direct mail faster, smarter, and more connected. Automation helps streamline campaign setup, production workflows, and reporting, while AI supports analysis, research, pattern recognition, and operational efficiency. Gundir focuses on applying these technologies in practical ways that improve planning, reduce friction, and support better decision-making.

The future of direct mail lies in combining the power of physical engagement with smarter data, digital integration, and stronger measurement capabilities. By connecting creative strategy with technology, Gundir helps brands create more personalized, efficient, and performance-driven acquisition campaigns.

Many agencies struggle to connect offline campaigns with digital attribution. How does your agency measure success and demonstrate ROI across multichannel customer acquisition programs?

Successful measurement begins with establishing a clear attribution and tracking plan before a campaign launches. Gundir first defines campaign goals and key performance indicators, such as leads, sales, website visits, calls, conversions, cost per acquisition, and return on ad spend.

The team then uses multiple tracking methods, including QR codes, campaign-specific URLs, phone tracking, promo codes, landing pages, UTM parameters, CRM reporting, and match-back analysis. Since customers often respond through channels other than the original mail piece, match-back analysis helps connect mailed audiences with resulting actions and provides a more accurate view of campaign impact.

For multichannel programs, Gundir integrates direct mail with digital channels such as display advertising, email, and retargeting. This approach allows clients to measure the overall contribution of direct mail within their broader customer acquisition strategy.

Looking ahead, what do you believe will define the next generation of high-performing customer acquisition agencies, and how is Gundir positioning itself to remain ahead of that curve?

The next generation of high-performing acquisition agencies will be defined by accountability, channel fluency, data discipline, and operational speed. Brands no longer need vendors that simply execute tactics; they need partners that can help them determine where to invest, how to test, what to measure, and how to improve performance over time.

For Gundir, staying ahead means continuing to focus on what the agency does best: performance-driven, address-based marketing. The agency brings together strategy, data, creative, production, digital integration, and analytics within a single, coordinated workflow. This structure provides clients with a clear path from test planning and execution to measurement and ongoing optimization.

The agencies that succeed in 2026 and beyond will be those that connect strategy with execution while bridging offline activity and digital measurement. Gundir is well positioned for this shift because its model has always been built around measurable response, disciplined testing, and continuous program optimization.

Under The Leadership of Mike Gunderson

Mike Gunderson is the founder and president of Gundir, an award-winning direct marketing agency. Since 2003, Gundir has helped businesses generate new leads and close more sales through its expertise in direct mail and address-based targeting. Its clients have included AAA, Adobe, PayPal, Square, and ZipRecruiter, and the agency consistently ranks among the nation’s top five direct mail agencies. In 2026, Clutch named Gundir one of the top direct mail agencies in the United States.

Mike is also the founder and CEO of Respond Now LLC, a direct-response product incubator that helps small, medium-sized, and enterprise businesses bring their ideas to market through direct marketing. Its products include PostReminder, VoteReminder, and Respond Fast.

In addition to leading his companies, Mike has served as president of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Silicon Valley and has been a member of the EO board for more than eight years. He also serves on the board of Inclusive Sports Foundation, which provides physical and social activities for children with special needs.

“We are not replacing digital marketing. We are helping brands build a stronger acquisition ecosystem by adding a measurable, scalable channel beyond crowded digital environments.”