Direct Mail Strategy: What’s in Your Wallet?
How to maximize the incentive of discount devices
March 2007 By Pat Friesen
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Bassett’s front panel teaser announces, “Special Savings with Enclosed $500 Gift Card” on the non-addressing outside panel. This is a strong benefit statement. However, the gift card isn’t mentioned on the other outside panel. Oops! Also keep in mind that if your mailing has multiple components or pages, you need to promote your gift card throughout. You never know which piece or page will be seen first.
The design of your mail piece provides yet another promotinal opportunity. Instead of merely surrounding a rectangular coupon with a dotted line, Gap’s Holiday Gift Guide includes a detachable 15 percent gift tag, and uses the same design elements and colors featured throughout the 24-page guide. Bassett’s $500 gift card features the same four-color sofa image you see under the card after detaching it from the mailer. By layering the image, you create a pop-out effect.
Takeaway Tip: Make your discount device the visual hero of your mailing, instead of a utilitarian afterthought.
Make it Memorable
What’s your ultimate sales objective? Do you want to generate an in-store, phone or Web site purchase? While the samples I reviewed for this column were all delivered by mail, none of them were redeemable by mail. They either were redeemable in-store only or in some combination of in-store, by phone and/or online.
Why is this important?
It means your discount device has to be both memorable and durable since it’s not going to be used immediately. That doesn’t mean it has be expensive four-color printing on plastic, like the Bassett gift card, or die-cut cardstock, like the piece from Gap. But it does need to stand up to some wear-and-tear, and stand out in the stash that’s in your customer’s wallet.
Chico’s $10 savings certificate is a budget-conscious alternative. Measuring 2˝ x 5½˝, it was designed to be printed then trimmed as part of the birthday card into which it’s inserted. The unique size, color and heavy paper stock make it memorable, durable and easy to tuck inside a wallet without adding additional costs to the mail piece.
Takeaway Tip: Don’t confuse expensive with effective creative.
Think it Through
Strategically speaking, one of the most perplexing samples I came across is from Eastbay catalog, “The Athletic SportSource.” It’s been more than six years since I ordered from Eastbay, and then it was always by mail or phone. So, it intrigues me that as an inactive “Preferred Customer,” I received an unimportant-looking trifold mailer offering me a choice of the following if I ordered online: (1) free shipping with a $75 order, (2) $15 off a $99 order (3) $50 off a $200 order, or (4) 20 percent-off gift card with a $50-plus order.
I wonder why Eastbay believes it can reactivate me to order online by giving me four offers that apply to fairly hefty-size orders. Not only have I never made an online purchase from this catalog, but four offers are too many choices. Strategically, this one doesn’t make sense to me, but I’m open to an explanation.
Takeaway Tip: Start by defining your objectives. Then make sure your offers/discount devices are a realistic fit for reaching those objectives.
Pat Friesen is president of Pat Friesen & Co. She can be reached at (913) 341-1211 or friesen_pat@hotmail.com.
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