Ballantine's Newsletter featuring The Sun Magazine

	Hello, The Ballantine Corporation would like to welcome you to the February issue of our Sample of the Month Newsletter. This issue features a case study from our client The Sun Magazine and their test of a 6x9 package against their accordion self-mailer control.
	*The Sun Magazine* Self-Mailer Control This is The Sun's control piece. It's an accordion self-mailer measuring 4.5" (w) by 6"(h) closed. It opens up to 7 panels measuring 31" (w) by 4.5" (h), with the last perforated panel acting as a reply card. The offer is for one free trial issue and then 11 more monthly issues for only $29.			Front of Self-Mailer Back of Self-Mailer
	*The Sun Magazine* 6x9 Test Package This is The Sun's 6x9 test package that was mailed against the self-mailer control above. Inside the package are 5 components: a 4-page letter, a reply card, a lift note, a brochure and a BRE. The offer in this test package is a hard offer, not a free trial.			Front of 6x9 Package Inside of 6x9 Package
	Test Summary and Results The Sun recently tested a robust 6x9 package with 5 components against their 7-panel accordion self-mailer control. The Strategy According to The Sun's Circulation Director, they mailed a similar 6x9 package back in 1998 with a different vendor - the mailing resulted in a good pay up and net, but the package was just too expensive. Since we were able to offer The Sun better pricing, they decided to test it again. The Results The pay up for the 6x9 package was 40% higher than the self-mailer control. Furthermore, the net response of the 6x9 package was only 3.4% less than the control. In the end, however, the 6x9 is still too expensive to make the numbers work. The Biggest Surprise The biggest surprise for The Sun was the comparable net response of the 6x9 package versus that of the control. They expected the pay up to be higher because of the included return envelope, but the net exceeded their expectations. What's next? Encouraged by the high pay up and net of the 6x9 package, The Sun is currently mixing and matching features of both the self-mailer and the 6x9 into a more affordable package. Something to think about... Do you have two direct mail pieces that both perform well? If so, a good test to consider would be to repackage several features of each mailer into a less expensive direct mail piece. This could result in a mailer that still works well, but costs you less. What Can Ballantine Do For You? Thank you for taking the time to read the February issue of our Sample of the Month Newsletter. If you have any feedback, please email us.