When a Marketer Breaks All the Rules
June 2006 By Denny Hatch
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Where, oh where, is the USP?
June 1, 2006: Vol. 2, Issue No. 43
Thirty years ago I attended a luncheon of the Direct Mail Writers Guild in New York. The speaker was Dorothy Kerr, circulation direct of U.S. News & World Report. Her talk changed our lives, Peggy's and mine.
Kerr said:
"To make mailings without studying other people's mail," said the great direct marketing guru, Axel Andersson, "is like expecting a brain surgeon to operate without ever having studied brains."
On Monday I received a self-mailer from Vermillion, a firm I had never heard of.
In 40 years of studying direct mail—literally tens of thousands of envelope efforts, postcards, catalogs and self-mailers—I have never seen a piece that breaks so many rules.
Whoever created it is not a student of direct mail or marketing psychology.
After reading this, you may want to take a look at what your organization is sending out.
The Vermillion Self-mailer
The 6˝ x 9˝ piece arrived in my post office box in glorious full color.
The front of the piece is an automobile dashboard with the headline:
Ah ha! A car, I thought.
The back of the piece contains the copy you see in the "IN THE MAIL" section that begins this edition of Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense, illustrated with a car key and a Sirius satellite radio logo.
Ah ha! A car with a free Satellite Radio, I thought as I scanned the headline.
The inside spread shows a nifty, bright red sports car with "Denny" printed on the front license plate and a huge headline telling me to "Take the Vermillion Digital Test Drive."
June 1, 2006: Vol. 2, Issue No. 43
IN THE MAIL
Denny, we invite you to take the
Vermillion Digital Test Drive
Seeing is believing. Simply upload any file you've always printed
Offset and we'll deliver a digital version for you to compare. FREE.
Plus … enter to win a FREE Sirius Satellite Radio and one year subscription.
—Vermillion Self-mailer, May 30, 2006
Thirty years ago I attended a luncheon of the Direct Mail Writers Guild in New York. The speaker was Dorothy Kerr, circulation direct of U.S. News & World Report. Her talk changed our lives, Peggy's and mine.
Kerr said:
The way to be successful in direct mail is to look at watch your mail and see who's mailing what. Look for those pieces that keep coming in over and over. These are the controls—the mailings that are working and making big profits for the mailer. Then steal smart.
"To make mailings without studying other people's mail," said the great direct marketing guru, Axel Andersson, "is like expecting a brain surgeon to operate without ever having studied brains."
On Monday I received a self-mailer from Vermillion, a firm I had never heard of.
In 40 years of studying direct mail—literally tens of thousands of envelope efforts, postcards, catalogs and self-mailers—I have never seen a piece that breaks so many rules.
Whoever created it is not a student of direct mail or marketing psychology.
After reading this, you may want to take a look at what your organization is sending out.
The Vermillion Self-mailer
The 6˝ x 9˝ piece arrived in my post office box in glorious full color.
The front of the piece is an automobile dashboard with the headline:
Fast. Affordable. And High Performance?
Ah ha! A car, I thought.
The back of the piece contains the copy you see in the "IN THE MAIL" section that begins this edition of Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense, illustrated with a car key and a Sirius satellite radio logo.
Ah ha! A car with a free Satellite Radio, I thought as I scanned the headline.
The inside spread shows a nifty, bright red sports car with "Denny" printed on the front license plate and a huge headline telling me to "Take the Vermillion Digital Test Drive."
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