January 2005

A beary special package

Designing for success by Susie Fought

AT A TIME when it seems to be getting tougher and tougher to generate a respectable response rate — and overall return — in acquisition mail, here are some numbers sure to wow you:

A response rate of 8.51% with an average gift of $14.77. A net of $283.64 per thousand mailed with a cost per thousand of $973.88. And a cost to raise a dollar of 77 cents.

No wonder this mailing, created for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Irving TX) by its full-service agency Creative Direct Response (Crofton MD), was awarded the 2004 Acquisition Package of the Year by the Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association.

According to CDR Account Executive Norita Parker, "We were looking for something no one else had ever done." So Parker and her team developed a unique 3-D package, a concept that had already proved successful for MADD. The focal point? An adorable, six-inch stuffed teddy bear with red ribbon — and of impressive quality, to boot.

"Children often have a security blanket," explains Parker. "For parents, as protectors of their children, they don't have a security blanket, so we mailed the teddy bear to give parents a feeling of security and a way to do that is giving to MADD. The bear symbolizes the protector of your loved ones." The 3-D package mailed in a brightly colored orange rectangular box with child-like pastel shapes. The box — measuring 6-3/4" long, 2-9/16" wide, and 2-1/2" inches deep — includes teaser copy on every side but the front (where a label is placed). Both ends read "OPEN HERE!" One panel announces that "Inside: A Beary Special Gift." Another, "A special gift enclosed just for you. . ." And the final panel: "What could be inside? It's a special gift for you!"

As Parker says, "The package really stands out and invites you in. And it makes it look like a real gift."

The 6 x 12" two-sided letter, folded into fourths, is personalized and localized on page one, asking the reader to support MADD's "2004 [name of prospect's city] Area Annual Fund Campaign." Copy also contains a personalized state reference, as in: "In your own state of Texas, 1,745 were killed . . ."

In general, the letter focuses on the issue of how repeat offenders continue to drink and drive, "risking the lives of everyone in [name of city] and across America, including those close to you."

A two-panel, 6 x 9" reply form — folded in half — features a short petition addressed to the governor of the prospect's state. This involvement device, in fact, is quite similar to the one used in MADD's acquisition Control package, since Parker notes that "we've always found a petition lifts response."

A 6-1/2 x 4-5/8" Courtesy Reply Envelope completes the package.

And did we mention the cutest, plushest little six-inch bear you can imagine?

What's next

The initial 10M-piece test, which mailed in March 2004, was modest in comparison to MADD's typical test size of 25-50M. After all, admits Parker, "We'd never done a package like this before. And we weren't sure how it was going to perform."

So in September, another 50M were rolled out, with (at press time) comparable results. Though it should be noted that costs ran about $100 more per thousand since the original drop benefited from a vendor discount.

The current plan is to increase the size to 100-200M pieces in the February/March acquisition drop. Future plans include testing both the art and the actual stuffed animal being used.

Parker has also just tested the teddy bear package with MADD's housefile, dropping 50M pieces out of a total of one million. The package went out to more High-Dollar donors — with different content in the letter and no petition. If successful, Parker will roll it out to a wider audience, though sticking to higher dollar donors.

Designing for success
By Susie Fought

TODD SIMPSON, with the Omaha Home for Boys (Omaha NE), asks if we have a checklist for direct mail package design.

Good question, Todd! In response, I've put together the following checklist for the four essential components of a successful direct mail fundraising package:

The outer envelope

1. Logo, name, and address of organization

2. Tagline (if your organization's name doesn't make it clear who you are)

3. Name of the person who signs the letter (optional)

4. Postage complies with USPS regulations

Outer envelopes come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. In addition, many fundraisers like to print a catchy phrase called a "teaser" to capture attention. Research has shown us that what really matters to people is (a) who is sending them a letter and (b) if their name and address are correct. Still, it's definitely worth testing different envelope formats.

Finally, check whether you're complying with postal regulations. Does the size and shape of your envelope avoid surcharges? And, if mailing first class, weigh your package to ensure it's under one ounce.

The letter

1. 2-4 pages in length

2. Readable format

3. Black ink for the text

4. One signature — ideally in dark blue

Studies show that many donors actually do read four-page fundraising letters. And, in test after test conducted here at Mal Warwick & Associates, we've found longer letters usually generate more donations than shorter ones. The important thing is to take as much space as you need to tell your story.

Make sure the paragraphs are seven lines or fewer, your sentences are short, the margins are wide (1-1/2"), and your typeface is easy to read (12 pt. Courier or 13 pt. Times Roman). Printing the text in black will increase readability. And using only one signature (dark blue, whenever possible) will make the letter more personal, friendly, and persuasive.

The reply device

1. Fits into the reply envelope

2. Organization logo, name, address, and phone number

3. Donor or prospect name and address (shows through window outer envelope)

4. ID number, source, and package code (for data entry)

5. Gift options

Many nonprofits mail a generic wallet reply envelope in place of a detached, stand-alone reply device. I believe this is a huge mistake. For one thing, the personalized reply device is the most efficient way to capture the donor's name and address.

In the acquisition package, the reply device also contains a direct imprint of the source code (identifying which list the prospect came from) and package code (to measure test results).

In house appeals, the personalized reply allows you to target gift Asks to reflect each donor's past giving (for example, to ask the donor to match or double her most recent or highest-ever gift).

The reply envelope

You can mail a business reply envelope (BRE) that donors return postage-free, or you can ask donors to affix their own stamps. When mailing to your more generous donors and members, you can affix real first-class stamps on the reply envelope to increase response. As always, it's important to test these and other approaches to determine what works best for each mailing.

What's up online
By Dan Weeks

The world's latest disaster, and one of its worst yet, is the magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Asia on the day after Christmas. The death toll is well over 200,000 people and is still rising.

Millions of people have felt compelled to help, many for the first time. I myself gave to a charity I'd never heard of before, largely based on Mal Warwick's recommendation. But if you don't work with an expert, where do you turn for advice?

Many charities responding to this tragedy are wisely anticipating the concerns of first-time donors by displaying the ratings they've been given by such watchdog organizations as the American Institute of Philanthropy, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Consumers Digest Magazine, and Forbes magazine.

Donors often have concerns about what exactly their money will be used for. After looking over the Web sites of 35 charities, I found some very effective responses to this question. One of the best was Children, Incorporated (www.children-inc.org), whose interactive map shows projects they're affiliated withright down to the street address. Mercy Corps (www.mercycorps.org) lists the obvious critical aid needs as well as an innovative "cash-for-work" program.

Mercy Corps also advises donors to be cautious of suspicious emails claiming to be from them that solicit donations through sites such as PayPal. "These emails do not come from Mercy Corps, and donations made through PayPal do not reach us."

The Web has proven itself to be a very effective means of raising money during times like these. Red Cross states that as of January 19, they've raised nearly $213 million — presumably much of that online. It often takes a disaster or tragedy to convince people to give for the first time, but it's apparent that more and more people are comfortable not only giving but giving online.

Want more? Sign up to receive Successful Fundraising Online every month via e-mail.

January 2005

E-mail Newsletter