Strategic Direct Mail

When it comes to putting an end to hunger, there’s no time to waste. Here’s another example of a food bank that puts its purpose and need on the outer envelope in the hopes that recipients will pick up on this urgency and go inside.

It’s a Thanksgiving voucher mailing from the San Diego Food Bank printed on cheap paper, with minimal colors, zero gloss and sparse elements. It screams budget, and it works. Why? Because its budget appearance validates the need it shouts on the 4.75-inch-by-6.5-inch outer, “3 Thanksgiving Meals—Just $1. Help Provide Food For Hungry Kids and Families. Immediate Reply Requested.”

The mailing is thin, containing only a small, 5-inch-by-8.75-inch double-sided letter, a 3.5-inch-by-5-inch reply device and a folded BRE. It’s a low-budget mailing, but strategically so. Rather than invest money in glitzy graphics and elements that might appear to be inconsistent with its messaging, SDFB instead invests in personalizing the salutation of the letter, which serves to add a high-touch feel. Additionally, the affirmative ask on the reply device — “Yes, Gary, I want to provide food for hungry people. Here’s my gift of:” — refers to the organization’s president by name, as does the address line on the BRE. These slight elements bring the “in your own back yard” feel that organizations like SDFB rely on to stay top of mind to donors besieged my direct-mail appeals.

Using this strategy, San Diego Food Bank has found a way to take a simple, small mailing and give it incredible potency.

THIS MAILING is available in digital form at the special price of $24.95. To order it, click on the package to be directed to our order form that contains other special offers on Archive mailings.