It sounds like something out of a movie. Hot on the trail of pirate fishermen illegally casting nets off the coast of West Africa in April, activists aboard Greenpeace vessel The Esperanza overtook the ship and occupied its mast and cranes for six days before Spanish officials intervened and declared its cargo illegal.
Direct mail is the only advertising medium that enables the sender to create a personal message. I did not say “personalized” — as in having the recipient’s name plastered all over the place, such as with return address labels or on a sweepstakes entry form. In this instance, “personal” means that the letter writer can make an intimate and emotional connection with the reader. As freelance copywriter Bill Jayme said, “In direct mail — as in theater — there is indeed a factor at work called the willing suspension of disbelief.”
In the search for a happy medium between esoteric jargon and more elementary copy, narrative could be the golden mean.
The National Audubon Society arrived at this crossroads in fall 2003. Faced with the challenge of mailing a letter that talked about the connection between members’ interests in conservation and science in an engaging way, Audubon turned to storyteller Carolyn Rapp.
