STROKES + GLUE

STROKES AND MORE
The Heart & Stroke Foundation for my region sent me a #10 mailing that stood out from the rest of my day's mail, for two reasons:

1) The front of the envelope was solid red, contrasting with the majority of OEs that are white
2) On the front and back they told me that, inside, was a Personal Medical Emergency Card. For good measure, on the reverse, they displayed one.

Between the arresting colour and the promise of something that could benefit me, I had to open up the package. And I wasn't disappointed.

The card detailed the warning signs of stroke and contained blanks for me to fill in my medical and contact info. Making it even more appealing, the four-panel folder was housed in a clear plastic sleeve.

TIP: A package doesn't have to be wildly creative to be impactful. It just has to stand out from the crowd either visually or verbally. Something as simple as envelope colour and size can make a real difference, without costing the farm to produce.


STUCK ON GLUE
Uniglobe Advance Travel sent me what appeared to be a fair-sized post card. The addressing side mentioned river cruises to Europe, China and Russia. The back had a glory shot of a river and centuries-old building, along with a little more bumph about cruising.

But where was the call to action? Where was the urgency? They had a little bit of 'tell' but virtually no 'sell'.

I'd bet ruples to perogies that the vast majority of recipients would glance at the front and back, then chuck the piece into the recycle bin. Few people would, like me, start wondering why the paper stock was so thick and, by doing so, discover that the post card was actually a sealed folder.

TIP: Involvement devices like sealing on folders can work well. But it has to be obvious to recipients that there is some action required on their part (e.g. lift a tab) or you have to tell people, "Look inside."

Not everybody examines their direct mail the way a DM professional does, especially one named...


Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

NEWSLETTERS + TOP RATE

WHEN IS A NEWSLETTER BAD NEWS?
Answer: When you count on it to fill your fundraising coffers. I'll explain...

I donated to a certain charity about a year ago. Not knowing much about them, I didn't know what to expect. But over time I've become increasingly surprised.

Every couple of months I receive another newsletter from them...but no DM package asking for another donation. The closest thing to an ask comes in the form of an envelope teaser on the OE holding the newsletter, and a donation form built into the publication. As a result, I haven't sent a second donation.

TIP: When surveyed about why people give to particular charities, the #1 reason given is: "I was asked." So if you want more donations, ask for them.

TOP RATE/BOTTOM RATE
On the same day last week, I received two #10 packages, neither of which featured a teaser. The OE from citibank was white; the one from Royal Bank was kraft.

The first thing I saw when I looked at citi's letter was, "0.9% on balance transfers until January 2009". The first thing I saw with Royal's was, "Low 1.9% Introductory Rate. Now for 9 months."

The next thing I noticed was that citi featured a comparison chart showing how much I could save with them vs carrying a balance with other typical credit cards. Royal didn't have such a benefits chart; instead, they had a list of features.

I'm not in the market for another credit card but if I were, I'm sure I'd leap at citi's just because, at a glance, 0.9% looks smaller than 1.9%. And I'll bet my strategic stethoscope that most people will do the same...even though, when you read the fine print, citi's monthly interest charge on purchases is a whopping 19.9%.

TIP #1: If you're going to scream a number, make sure it sounds better than the competitor's. Most people don't bother to examine the details.

TIP #2: A list of benefits outsells a list of features every time.

TIP #3: If you're in the credit card business and are trying to do a little smoke-and-mirrors routine, don't darken the mailbox of someone who reads the fine print. I'm talking about someone like...

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

NO 'THANKS' + WHO ARE YOU?

NO ‘THANKS’
If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll know that I ran a Receipt Race with nonprofit organizations in November.

On the 12th of that month I made donations to 12 organizations, then waited to see which ones were quickest at getting back to me with a receipt and thank-you note.

The hands-down winner was the Canadian Cancer Society, which gave me my receipt within 8 days. UNHCR, which I mentioned in last week’s blog, took 56 days to respond. But bad as that sounds – there’s one charity that I STILL haven’t heard from…more than 2 months later!

And, if you're interested, there was as big a gap in the quality of thank-you packages as there was between the time frames.

Tip – if you’re a nonprofit organization, get your receipts out ASAP. Forget about holding onto them until you can send them out en masse to qualify for a postage discount. You’ll end up saving pennies and costing yourself dollars.


WHO ARE YOU?
Last week I got an email from an organization called The Canada 20/20 Panel.

Who are they, you ask? I don’t know!

They say that I agreed to join their panel and share my opinions on various and sundry topics. But if I ever did agree, it was so long ago that I’ve forgotten. Maybe they did once have me in the palm of their survey hands, but not now.

Tip – when you sign someone up for something, whether it’s to subscribe to your newsletter or to receive promotional news, get back to respondents FAST. Wait months or even weeks and people forget what they’ve agreed to. They even forget who you are. Like…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

BACK AGAIN+2 TALES+UN

BACK AT IT
Yes, the holidays are over and the new year is in full swing. So it’s back to my regular Monday blog. Thanks for returning for my first posting of ’08.

A TALE OF 2 GREETINGS
Before Christmas, I received standout holiday greetings from two companies I’m familiar with.

The first was from Billy Sharma of Designers Inc. Inside his 5-3/4 X 4-1/2 outer envelope was a letter and a 2-1/2 X 4-1/4 envelope. Inside it, was a magnifying glass with a message about it being compliments of Billy. His letter extended holiday greetings and explained how the magnifier was a symbol of the past, present and future.

My reaction? I thought it was thoughtful and innovative.

The other mailing, similarly sized, was from a printing company – a greeting card with my name featured on the front and inside. I was quite pleased to receive it…until I saw the back of the card.

It bragged about how the card had been personalized using their new high speed colour laser printer. That left me with two questions.

First, what were they doing including a sales message with their supposedly nice Christmas greeting? Second, and even more puzzling, why were they telling me that the card really wasn’t personalized…that it was produced by some cold machine?

Judgment: While Billy’s mailing was symbiotic, the printing company’s was parasitic. Yea to the former, boo to the latter.


UN IN BED WITH AMAZON
A reader recently sent me a self-mailer from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). I was particularly interested for two reasons:

1) I wrote a number of fundraising packages for them when they were a client of an agency I’ve freelanced for
2) The mailer didn’t arrive via the mail – it was enclosed with a shipment of books from Amazon.com

I’ve ordered books from Amazon but have never received any promotional materials from either a commercial or non-profit organization. So maybe it’s something new. In any event, it’s quite an intriguing concept.

I just wonder how much UNHCR had to pay and, also, whether Amazon customers will be ticked off because they were sent the appeal, with the customer paying the freight.

If you know anything about it and whether it’s working, someone would love to hear from you. His name is…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net