The December 2008 issue of our ‘Sample of the Month’ case study features our client New Jersey Monthly.
The story centers around a #10 outer envelope test they mailed out last year.
They tested 2 different #10 OEs against their control in a December 2007 mailing with a quantity of 25,000 each. The guts and offer of both test packages were exactly the same…the only difference was the outer envelope.
Neither test package beat the control, but when comparing the two OE tests, one performed about 18% better than the other.
Click here to view pictures before reading on.
Can you guess which one it was?
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The winner was the OE with the picture of NJ on it.
Next, I asked the Circulation Manager the following two questions…
What was the creative strategy behind both OEs?
Sage Communications created both OEs and the creative strategy behind them was to develop a design that was more official and business-looking, but built around the word “Free” pertaining to our premium.
The wow factor of the bold and clean design drives home the main editorial focus of the OE with the picture of NJ on it (which is the free gift of things to do in NJ).
The addition of what looks like handwriting on the red bar OE adds a sense of urgency to the value the potential subscriber will receive if they act right away.
On both OEs it presents a clear offer of a free gift upfront and makes the reader want to open the envelope to see what it’s all about. Also, both had metered postage which added to the authenticity of the packages and increased the chances of the recipients opening them up.
What lessons did you learn?
What we learned from the test is that a clean professional look with a bold color design can make direct mail stand out a little more and increase response. The addition of the bold orange state of NJ outline on the one OE showed a sense of familiarity to a potential subscriber. Since an OE is the first representation of our offer, it made the recipient want to open it to see what the free gift was about.
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Popularity: 8% [?]
1 comment so far ↓
Great post! Thanks for sharing. I felt the first envelope (the one with the better response) was in fact more upbeat. Cheerful. And it quickly communicated NEW JERSEY with the state graphic, creating an instant affinity with the target audience. No wonder it was more successful in the mail. They say 50% of a package’s success relies on it’s outer envelope – after all, you have to first get the prospect INSIDE the package. If the OE fails to do that, forgetaboutit.
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