As I retrieved my mail today to find 8 separate premium mailings – all lovely collections of personalized labels and note cards, I asked myself, “how many pretty flower labels do I really need?” Then I remembered the key findings of a recent paper on this topic presented at the last Non-Profit Direct Marketing meeting in Washington DC.
The findings were that mailings with labels and cards are on the increase and so is the response to them. Judging from the contents of my mailbox, my colleagues have seen and/or experienced similar findings and are responding accordingly.
But have we prepared ourselves if the market shifts? What happens if the day arrives when their effectiveness (labels/cards,etc) begins to wane?
In the event that day is on the horizon, I thought I would share some recent successful alternatives to this popular creative approach. At the same conference mentioned earlier, many different charities from across different sectors presented countless examples of test against premium packages. In most cases, the label and card return on investment won hands down. But there have been a few notable exceptions.
One such example was an acquisition package sent on behalf of an international development agency in the US. They created a MAP package in 2006 (a WALL map insert illustrated descriptions of their work around the world) that beat an existing labels package (that had been the organization’s control prospect package for more than a decade). The MAP package has become the new control in 2007.
In Canada, a national health charity has managed to introduce a compelling envelope with ‘message based’ contents and no premium that has outperformed a label test package across all metrics including: gross revenue, average gift, return on investment and net revenue. To date, this control has managed to remain in place for 4 years.
Both of these examples represent an organization’s ability to create a mission-based appeal – one that introduces a donor to their specific cause and need. This is much different from the labels and cards which are for the most part, generic and not dissimilar between different groups. I was reminded of this recently during a visit with a major supporter (and frequent label responder) of many Canadian charities. I asked her how she decided which to respond to amongst all the packages she received each week. She told me her decision was simple – “whoever has the prettiest labels”. I couldn’t help but think relationship opportunities were being missed with this individual.
With the two non-premium test examples, the organization’s have not only been able to “sell their cause”. In addition, in both cases, packages were produced at a much lower package cost. The organization’s were able to both reduce cost per package and increase return on investment.
While it is clear, premiums are an essential mix of nonprofit marketing programs, hopefully these examples will encourage more charities to “think outside of the label and card box” and keep trying something new.
