1. Vol. 28 • No. 2 • february 2015 The Authority on Data-Driven Engagement & Operations
PM40050803
❱ 4
Special
Report:
Creating the
perfect DM
package
❱ 11
Dimensional Mail
Supplement
❱ 19
Contact
Management
Ready…Fire!
Oh Canada, did we forget to Aim?
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Jennifero’Neill
eTail Canada 2015 Media Partner
Show Issue MAY 2015
To advertise in this issue contact
Mark Henry, mark@dmn.ca

2. ❱ DMN.ca February 2015
//6SPECIAL REPORT CREATING THE PERFECT DM PACKAGE
By Nick So and Mike Cowan
T
oday more than ever, your
customers are constantly
bombarded with marketing
messages. In the constant battle for
attention, you can no longer simply
rely on good creative to stand out
from your competitors. When your
piece finally does get your customer’s
attention, it better be relevant and
engaging on all levels in order to get
them to respond.
A recent direct mail campaign
we at Kirk Marketing did with the
University of British Columbia
Development and Alumni Engagement
department, themed around
CHANGE, exemplifies successful
execution in best-response direct mail.
Using this campaign as an example
lets look at what they did to achieve
successful response.
1. The objective
Keep your objective simple and
limit it to just a single one, so the
entire campaign development team
is dedicated to one goal. Better yet,
quantify the objectives so there is
something tangible for you all to
strive for: e.g. ‘Achieve a 15% response
rate for the CHANGE annual alumni
appeal by communicating a clear
message of need by X date.’
While other objectives such as
“build brand image”, “showcase our
latest products/services” may come
up while developing the brief, it’s
important to recognize that these
should be supporting objectives that
aid the single primary objective. If it
does not directly support the primary
objective, it should not be included in
the brief because you’ll add confusion,
which will reduce response.
2. The list
As much as cleaning your database
may seem an unnecessary cost,
approximately 15 to 20 percent
of Canadian households change
addresses each year. If you don’t
clean your database, you could be
wasting one-fifth of your potential
responses even before you get started.
Alternatively, if you do clean your
database before you mail, it just might
be the easiest lift in ROI you might
ever achieve.
3. The recipients
If you profile and segment your
prospects, you give your campaign
development team insight and
direction to decide the most relevant
and engaging messages to increase
response. Even just basic demographics
like gender and age can guide the
messaging to get a better response. And,
if you know more about your customers
like their interests or purchasing
history, then you’ll be able to write even
more personalized messages that will
get you even greater response.
With the UBC alumni appeal,
the Development and Alumni
Engagement department decided to
segment their list based on the faculty
the recipient graduated from – such as
arts, or sciences, or business – so that
they could write messages that spoke
to each graduate. Doing this, they were
able to create copy and creative that
made the package truly memorable
and relevant to the recipients.
4. The copy
Copy in poor performing direct
mail campaigns usually talk about
a brand’s features or organization’s
benefits which, to be honest, most
people aren’t interested in hearing
about. What they really want is the
classic WIIFM: “What’s in it for me?”
Also, poor performing direct mail
campaign usually have too much copy,
which usually occurs when the brief
has more than one primary objective.
This will dilute the message, reduce
the readability, and lessen response.
With effective segmentation as in
step 3, you will be able to develop your
message with copy that speaks more
personally to the recipient, and answer
their question: “What’s in it for me?”
The UBC alumni appeal featured
variable copy that was highly
personalized and targeted, by
having the heads of each faculty and
department contribute their own
‘CHANGE’ story. This allowed the
copywriter to communicate the broad
theme of ‘CHANGE,’ while leaving
opportunity to showcase the many
to best response
direct mail
7 steps

3. //7
DMN.ca ❰February 2015
SPECIAL REPORT CREATING THE PERFECT DM PACKAGE
different personal stories from across
faculties, resulting in a total of over
thirty copy variations of the letter.
5. The design and imagery
When Canadians get their mail and
sort it, they glance at each piece
an average of 7 seconds. In these
7 seconds, they are looking to find
something that has meaning to them
personally. Poor performing direct
mail packages often include design
and visual imagery that is relevant
to the brand and not the customer or
recipient.
The UBC alumni appeal not only
featured variable copy, but also ‘old’
and ‘new’ photographs of specific
faculty buildings, classes, professors,
and students, that varied from
segment to segment and further
supported the CHANGE message. By
doing this, they increase relevance and
also response.
6. The physical
The physicality of direct mail makes
it more engaging than any other
channel. However, this can only
benefit you if you give it the same
thought and attention as the rest of
the piece you are developing.
Everything from the paper stock,
ink, coverage, dimensions, and
weight should be given some level
of consideration. The reason for this
is because not only do each of these
elements reflect the quality of your
brand, but also the credibility of your
message.
The creative team at UBC certainly
gave the physical elements of the
package a lot of thought. The letter
featured a complex die-cut ‘CHANGE’
text that allowed the variable imagery
to show through when folded. This was
presented through a unique envelope
featuring a large showcase window
that allowed the entire creative to be
seen within the sealed envelope.
This means that if you too, like
UBC, want to create a campaign that
generates response, you will have to
think about your envelope. Do you
want an envelope with a window or
without a window? If you do want a
window, how much do you want to
show? Will there be a message printed
on the front? Will you use custom
postage indicia?
The physical design should also be
considered on a mail induction level
as well. A fraction of a centimeter in
size or thickness can make a large
difference in your postage costs if it
gets bumped up to the ‘oversize’ tier.
However, would the extra postage cost
be worth it to you if the piece stands
out more to your customer by being
larger than the rest of the mail?
With all these questions that you
need to answer to create a campaign
that gets response, it’s ironic that this
is the step that often marketers pay
the least attention to.
7. Testing and repeat
What worked today might not work
tomorrow. Continually testing
different, but still relevant campaigns,
against campaigns you found to
work in the past will ensure you are
continually improving your responses.
You test what you are mailing
and you mail prospects more than
once. For example, if you went with a
non-windowed envelope on the first
mailing, perhaps try a windowed
envelope on the next mailing. Or
perhaps do an A/B test and send
both versions to see the results. The
variations and testing possibilities
are endless, and each test will provide
you with great insight to further
strengthen the effectiveness of your
direct mail program. What worked
yesterday, with a few tweaks today,
will be more successful for you
tomorrow.
As an added bonus, you will capture
responses from customers who may
not have been ready to take action on
the first mailing. If you only sent it
to them once, they may forget about
you or forget to take action at all when
they are ready to do so. That’s why it’s
important to mail more than once.
In conclusion, although logistically
complex, the UBC alumni appeal
campaign successfully achieved its
key objective. It got great response
because they followed steps above to
get the direct mail response they were
looking for. The campaign managed
to solicit over 15,000 alumni over 32
departments and they achieved a 19%
response rate, 4% above their initial
target.
Vancouver-based Kirk Marketing provides
expert direct mail strategy, data management,
database marketing, digital variable and
offset printing, letter shop and fulfillment
services. As Western Canada’s most
respected direct marketing services provider
for over 60 years, Kirk Marketing helps clients
reach prospects, grow customers, and deliver
measurable results.
Check us out
online dmn.ca
For online editorial opportunities contact
Amy Bostock, amy@dmn.ca
For online advertising opportunities contact
Mark Henry, mark@dmn.ca