Direct Mail

On Day 60 I started to wonder if thank-you note etiquette had gone the way of eight-track cartridges, Astro Pops and leg warmers.

But the Emily Post Institute assures that, to the contrary, thank-you notes still are de rigueur. The only exception is when the gift is opened in the presence of the gift giver — otherwise, it is incumbent upon the recipient to send a thank-you note. And for the older generation in particular, a thank-you note not only is expected but also received as a gesture of respect and consideration.

Last week I focused on a powerful six-panel glossy pamphlet in a mailing from Planned Parenthood Federation of America. This week, it’s all about a six-page 8.25-inch-by-10.75-inch brochure in a Doctors Without Borders mailing. The brochure, like the PPFA pamphlet, is compelling in its combination of arresting design elements and text. In this case, the design elements are the colors used in the brochure — deep black and red — and black-and-white photographs. Headlines like “Saving Lives” and “Commitment: Answering the Call” in reverse type (white) literally jump off the page. Like the PPFA pamphlet, this brochure does a great job of putting the organization’s

Monday, March 19, 2007 — The Governors of the US Postal Service (USPS) this afternoon approved most of the Postal Regulatory Commission’s (PRC) postal rate recommendations, which were announced on February 26.  Most of the new rates will take effect on May 14, 2007.   The Governors listened to DMA’s members and requested reconsideration of the PRC’s rate recommendations for Standard Mail flats (catalogs).  The Governors also ask the PRC to reconsider recommended rates for the Non-Machinable Surcharge for First-Class Mail letters, and the Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box. On Tuesday, March 20 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (EDT), DMA will host a virtual seminar on

The key strategy to turning direct-mail constituents into major-gift donors is stewardship, says Karen Osborne, president of full-service consulting firm The Osborne Group. Stewardship is “more than sending out a thank-you note,” Osborne says. It is an addition to the suite of things an organization does through direct mail -- such as adding impact statements in a post-thank-you touch that communicate the difference a donor’s gift made. “The thank-you is just, ‘this is what we promise to do with your money.’ Stewardship is, ‘this is in fact what we did with your money.’ It’s the delivery on the promise,” Osborne says. For

Sometimes all it takes is one element with one strong image that intertwines with and communicates a singular, strong message to give a direct-mail package response-driving impact. This mailing from Planned Parenthood Federation of America trying to rally support against pharmacists’ refusal to fill birth-control prescriptions achieves this with a six-panel, 4-inch-by-7-inch glossy pamphlet. The package is mailed in a white No. 10 envelope with faux red-stamp copy reading “Petition Enclosed” and includes an 8.5-inch-by-14-inch form with the reply device and three petitions, a four-page, 8.5-inch-by-11-inch letter and a BRE, in addition to the pamphlet. The letter does a good job of laying PPFA’s case, but

March 9, 2007 11:30 a.m. (EST) Dear DMA Member: What a week this has been for the mailing community! As you are probably aware, we have been working aggressively to let the US Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors know that some of the specific rate increase recommendations issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on February 26 would be devastating to many of our commercial and nonprofit members. I would like to take a moment to bring you up to speed on what has happened so far, and what we must prepare for in the weeks and months ahead. But first, I want

There are two aspects of this membership mailing from the Foundation for the National Archives worth noting. First, it is a very well branded piece that uses a red, white and blue color scheme to accentuate copy throughout the mailing, but most effectively on the outer envelope and reply device. This repeated, bold color scheme pulls all of the mailing’s elements together in a very strong way. This branding also comes through powerfully on the 3.5-inch-by-8.5-inch double-sided glossy insert. It features background colors of red and blue, images of the National Archives building, the Declaration of Independence and a colonial American soldier playing a whistle,

One of the goals of a direct-mail appeal should be a personal connection, says Dick Goldsmith, chairman of The Horah Group, a full-service direct-marketing agency. Appeals that refer to previous donations and unique ask strings based on previous donations can help add that personal connection. Using variable data is another way to connect with recipients, Goldsmith says. It can give a national organization the ability to, for example, overlay recipients’ geographic information into a direct-mail campaign to talk about how it’s helping people in the recipient’s local community. “If they can tell me that they help people who were hit by floods

For a mailing that comes through the mail looking rather small in its 4.5-inch-by-8-inch outer envelope, this campaign from the Servants of Mary has a slew of elements. Different ones, at that. First is the outer envelope, different enough in size from the usual No. 10s to get noticed. Stretched from end to end of the envelope’s face is a four-color photograph showing the silhouette of a person standing on top of a mountain, arms reaching up toward the sun as it breaks through the clouds. Above the address box is copy reading, “Celebrate Life.” Though small, the outer envelope shows some girth, packed as it

Lift notes and multiple poly windows are two direct-mail elements that, when done right, can boost response to a mailing. A lift note is “designed to be a more personal, intimate piece of communication,” says Steve Penn, chief executive officer and executive creative director at Penn Garritano Direct Response Marketing. Penn says most lift notes are “executive” sized (7-inch-by-10-inch) with “from the desk of,” giving it a more personal, one-on-one feel. Usually just a few paragraphs in length, lift notes should be signed by someone of high stature in the organization, and this person should be different than the letter signer. While