A Fundraising Tour de Force

You don’t have to be a cyclist to know who Lance Armstrong is and what he’s accomplished. The seven-time Tour de France winner and survivor of testicular cancer is a mainstay in the media — whether he’ll compete for his eighth Tour de France win next year; his recent engagement to singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow; or his organization, the Austin, Texas-based Lance Armstrong Foundation, which raises funds to fight cancer through education, advocacy, and public health and research programs.

And you don’t have to own a bicycle or even know how to ride one to recognize the ubiquitous, yellow, rubber LIVESTRONG wristbands donned — at one point or another — by more than 50 million people worldwide. Sold at $1 each by the LAF, the bracelets are part of a program started in May 2004 that sparked a rubber-bracelet fundraising craze.

Prior to the LAF’s launch of the LIVESTRONG bracelet program, it was mailing what it refers to as its “friends control.” It mailed in a standard, yellow, No. 10 outer envelope featuring a black-and-white action photograph of Armstrong racing alongside copy that reads, “Join Lance! RSVP.”

The mailing included a two-page letter with a yellow strip across the top, and a six-panel brochure with black-and-white photos of Armstrong in action and a description of the foundation’s work. Also included, along with a white BRE and a small LAF window decal, was a reply device with a headshot of Armstrong and a tiered ask string with named levels ($25 is a teammate; $50, partner; $100, leader, etc.). Donors who gave $25 or more became an active “Friend of Lance Armstrong” and got a newsletter and other benefits, including a signable “Friend of Lance Armstrong Foundation” perf-off card. Gifts over $100 got a Lance Armstrong lapel pin.

Tiffani Hunt, the LAF’s development services coordinator, says the control package was successful, and the decision to test against it was made alongside a post-LIVESTRONG rubber-wristband revamp in the LAF’s direct-response program that included e- and direct-mail appeals.

A creative revamp
For its test campaign, the LAF enlisted Seattle-based, full-service direct-response firm The Domain Group’s Creative Director Mark Oehlschlaeger, Senior Creative Director Bob Ball and designer Joel Markquart. The objective of the package, Hunt says, “was to boost the percent response and lower the cost of acquisition. We wanted to develop a package that would make a strong impact in the prospective donor’s mailbox.”

The LAF back-tested a modification of the original control package with a similar fundraising offer to see if enhancements would boost response. While the modified version performed better than the original control, this entirely new LIVESTRONG package won the test.

First tested in May 2005, the mailing is graphically strong, with a focus on Armstrong. Sent in an oversized, 5-inch-by-111⁄2-inch outer envelope with a yellow stripe and “LIVESTRONG” copy that call to mind the familiar wristbands stretching from end to end of the outer’s face, the outer’s backdrop is a black-and-white photo of Armstrong racing. Also displayed is the 2005 LAF annual campaign logo and copy that drives potential donors inside with the offer of a free Lance Armstrong poster.

The 8-inch-by-103⁄4-inch reply has a more standard, dollar-amount-only ask string and a check box option to receive a free LIVESTRONG wristband with a gift of any amount. Below the perforated reply is a personalized, advance thank-you message from Armstrong.

Hunt says this package was able to beat the control with its “mailbox punch,” along with its clarity of mission and enticing premiums. “The fundraising ask is very simple and clear — help people living with cancer live strong,” she says. “The package also offered the much-coveted LIVESTRONG wristband.

“It forces you to interact with it,” she adds. “It features Lance. It has an overall look and feel of being official, something that requires immediate attention.”

The revamp left no element unchanged and draws the familiar yellow of the LIVESTRONG bracelets across all pieces. Even the BRE stands out and is consistent with the LAF’s color palette and branding. On all-yellow stock, the BRE is graphically strong — a characteristic most uncommon for this run-of-the-mill element — with “LIVESTRONG” copy along the mail flap, a headshot of Armstrong and the LAF’s motto.

The 11-inch-by-17-inch poster displays a head-on black-and-white action shot of Armstrong bordered on the top and bottom by yellow LIVESTRONG bars, the 2005 LAF annual campaign logo in the upper right-hand corner and motivational copy. The 81⁄2-inch-by-11-inch, double-sided letter signed by Armstrong outlines the goals of the annual campaign and defines a very clear use of the donor’s gift.

Overall response to the new LIVESTRONG mailing averages 1.99 percent, Hunt says, with internal, pre-qualified audience response at 3 percent and response from outside rented lists averaging 1.9 percent.

Package costs range between $360 and $469 per thousand, including postage, depending on whether the LAF is mailing to rented lists or internal, pre-qualified lists. “Average gift is the single most important factor in determining long-term donor value,” she says, “and across all audiences the size of first gifts from this package are averaging in the low 40s (dollars) range.”