TAX SHELTER + LOGOMANIA

WINDOW ON TAX SHELTERS
I received a 5.75 X 11.5 self-mailer last week, with a headline reading, "3 ways to improve your home with your tax dollars. TAX SHELTER."

Because of the dominating size of the last two words, I was certain that the piece was about some financial plan to reduce my taxes…and probably land me in hot water with the federal tax department.

But I was wrong. These guys are just selling windows…ones that qualify for a government credit.

So if they’re pushing windows, why in the world would they use the term ‘tax shelter’, which connotes all manner of nefarious financial dealings in people’s minds? I can’t imagine how many people threw the piece out without reading it, simply because they’re not into tax loophole schemes.

TIP: If you’re selling something basic like windows, let your readers know that. Don’t lead homeowners down the garden path with talk of a tax shelter that doesn’t exist.


LOGOMANIA
Nine times out of 10, I recommend not showing multiple logos in an ad or direct mail piece.

For one thing, they look junky. For another, headlines featuring logos get 22% less readership than heads with the company’s name set in regular type.

Help The Aged, however, knows when to break the rules.

In their most recent newsletter mailing, they plastered the back of their outer envelope with 11 logos. Why?

To immediately communicate that big companies and government departments are behind their cause…and to convince recipients that, if those smart operations support HTG, maybe you should too.

Plus, it addressed the question in some people’s minds: if you’re in such desperate need of money, why are you spending it on a newsletter? The answer: our corporate supporters are paying for it.

That’s the kind of messaging that generates donations from people like…

Dr. Bob

symbiomarketing@telus.net
http://www.symbiomarketing.com

IN A FLAP+COINCIDENCE+TOO LATE

IN A FLAP
I’ve probably opened 19 kazillion envelopes in my day (maybe 21 Kzn) and my fingers are programmed to behave in a way that’s pretty efficient. That’s why I was ticked at the package I received from the British Columbia elections people.

I read the teaser on the front of the OE, then turned the envelope over to open it. But there was no flap! At least not one that I could see. What kind of chicanery was Elections BC trying to pull on voters, I wanted to know. Then I spotted it. The flap, that is. At the bottom of the envelope!

Why, in the name of all that’s democratic, did they choose to do that? Whatever the reason, it’s the last technique that I’d recommend replicating...unless you want to frustrate your target audience before they even get to your message.

TIP: Sometimes it pays to zig when others are zagging. Sometimes you’re better to stick with tried and true.


COINCIDENCE? OR COPYCAT?
This year I didn’t open many of the fundraising solicitations I received in the late fall and winter. Instead, I saved dozens of them and only now, when I’m about to make some donations, have I started opening them.

It’s fascinating to be exposed to so many unopened packages at once. (It was also frustrating to discover that a number of them sent some pretty nice greeting cards, note pads and address labels for the holidays…and now they’ll have to sit unused for 9 or 10 months.)

I was struck at first by two identical envelopes from ALS. On the back they featured a close-up, black & white photo of two hands.

When I looked inside, I saw that one was dated November 7th and the other February 2nd. Everything else was the same. Now, it isn’t unheard-of for a mailer to send out the same package. So I wasn’t all that surprised.

But I was certainly surprised by another envelope in my stack.

It, too, had a black & white close-up of two hands, although they were in a different position. Another mailing from ALS, I wondered? Nope. It was from the Parkinson’s people, dated February 2nd.

Was it just a coincidence that visually-similar packages when out on the same day? Or is there a copycat designer in the house? Don’t know.


SO IT’S TOO LATE TO DONATE?
One non-profit sent me a big, beautiful package of materials. But I can’t send them a donation. The problem is, the teaser on the OE read, “2008 Year End Campaign. Last Chance to give.”

It’s now 2009 so I missed my “last chance”. Too bad. I guess they won’t be able to receive any more donations from…

Dr. Bob

Want to receive my last newsletter? Email me at:
symbiomarketing@telus.net

http://www.symbiomarketing.com

IT'S BAAACK + DONOR ABUSE

IT’S BAAAACK
Yes, Direct Marketing Weekly is back. And, except for times when I’m on vacation or out of town on business, there will be a new post every Monday.

My thanks to all of you who wrote and said they missed this blog. Obviously your flattery and pressure worked…plus the fact that my internal rant-o-meter is almost ready to burst and I just have to find some release. So let me vent to you about…


DONOR ABUSE
Last week I received an envelope that totally intrigued me. Not because it was flashier than any other package in that day’s mail, but because it was so non-descript. It looked like it had been made out of a brown paper bag. Naturally, I was curious about it and what its contents might be.

I was a little suspicious about the mailing being from a legitimate source, though, because (a) there was no logo or return address and (b) there was a red teaser reading, “URGENT AND TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL ENCLOSED.”

Such envelopes are usually a dead giveaway that a snake oil sales pitch is about to follow. So I half-expected to learn that my name had been specially pre-selected to possibly be a winner in the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, providing my lucky number is drawn.

I even started imagining Ed McMahon having personally created the envelope from his very own grocery bag.

Still curious and thinking of how much trouble Ed had likely gone to, I proceeded to open the envelope…and was shocked. The mailing wasn’t from Ed. Or even a PCH competitor.

It was from a charity! A well-known one!! One that I support!!!

So what were they doing sending me a stealth envelope? Were they afraid or ashamed to show their logo to this loyal supporter? And what was with that bogus, hyperbolic teaser?

I would have dwelled on those questions but new ones filled my mind as I tried to read the contents: Why was the 6-1/2 X 3-1/2” letter set with eye-straining 9 pt type?

Why was the postscript a repeat of a weak statement featured earlier in the letter: “Again, if this reminder and your recent gift have crossed in the mail, we apologize and thank you for your continued support.”

Why did they even use a PS? (You rarely need them on a 1-page letter, especially if it’s only 3-1/2” long.)

And why did they bold the sentence, “Our February 27th deadline is almost upon us and we must raise $489,500 by this date.” Donors don’t care about an organization’s deadline.

Plus, who’s going to think they can make a difference with a $50 donation when the organization tells you it needs to raise almost half a mil before it will be satisfied?

TIP OF THE WEEK: It’s simple – don’t do what these folks did. Unless, of course, you want to hear an earful from…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net