Boost your Direct Mail response rates and ROI by basing your creative on meaningful insights, powerfully connecting your audience with your story.

1. Hi!

7. 1993

8. MC Direct
Vickers & Benson

11. Creative Direct Mail
that works

12. Ide as
Creative Direct Mail
that works
sells
SE LL! help your
anizati on meet
org ement
your advanc
g oals...

13. Agenda
1. 40 / 40 / 20
2. Attention deficit world-order
3. Choose one dragon
4. Don’t just decorate
5. Be Pope Julius II
6. Anger a grammarian
7. Decommodify!

14. 40 / 40 / 20 success rule
how
CREATIVE
• The Idea
• Writing + design LIST
• Accuracy
• Timing
who
• Relationship
OFFER
• The Story
• The Ask
what

15. Words are not enough.
Design is not enough.
(these days)

16. A meaningful insight

17. The 3 second idea that links
your story to your target.

18. IDEA
LIST
OFFER

19. 19

20. 20

23. The 3 second idea that links
your story to your target.

24. Why now?
attention deficit
world-order

25. 11.8
billion

26. Annual mail volumes
1990 1998 2007
Average response rates %
1990 1998 2007

27. 94.2%

28. Interruptions
every 7
minutes.

29. GLOBAL WARMING. POVERTY. AFRICAN STARVATION. ENDANGERED SPECIES.
AIDS. HEART AND STROKE. CANCER. CHILD SPONSORSHIP. LOCAL HOSPITALS.
SCHOOL LIBRARY. GIRL GUIDES. POLITICAL PARTIES. FLOOD RELIEF. CHURCH.
ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY. ART GALLERIES. WOMEN’S SHELTERS. BLOOD SERVICES.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY. YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES. MISSIONS TRIPS.
ENDANGERED SPECIES. YOUTH VIOLENCE. SEND A KID TO CAMP. SKIP-A-THON.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION. PEACE. BATTLE DISEASE AND HUNGER. WAR VICTIMS.
SOCCER CLUBS. MUSEUMS. NATURAL DISASTER SURVIVORS. PLANT A TREE.
YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES. ARTISTIC AWARENESS. EDUCATION. DISABLED PEOPLE.
NON-PROFIT. RACISM. YOUR ORGANIZATION. UNITED NATIONS. RED CROSS.
You’re being out-shouted by 82,000 SCHOOL PROGRAMS.
AFRICAN HEALTH. WORLD PEACE. STREET KIDS. AFTER
charities.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. DAY-CARE. NATIVE COMMUNITY. ECOSYSTEM.
HELP THE HOMELESS. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY.
FOOD DRIVE. GREENPEACE. ENVIRONMENT. FOSTER CARE. TOY DONATIONS.
BIG BROTHERS AND BIG SISTERS FOUNDATION. BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION.
LUNG ASSOCIATION. MADD. CHILDREN’S AID. CHRISTMAS HAMPERS. RECYCLE.
RESOURCE DEPLETION. COMMUNITY OUTREACH. ALZHEIMER’S SOCIETY. PEACE.
MS FOUNDATION. ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH. RESOURCE DEPLETION.
LITERACY DEVELOPMENT. DAIRY FARMERS. SCHOLARSHIPS. CRIME LINE TIPS.
STOP SMOKING. PRENATAL RESEARCH. FOREST MANAGEMENT. VOLUNTEER.
GAMBLING ADDICTION. SEXUAL ABUSE. LUNG ASSOCIATION. ORGAN DONOR.
STEM-CELL RESEARCH. GOODWILL. ORPHANS. WALKATHON. ANIMAL ABUSE.
MALARIA BED-NETS. FOREST FIRES. TSUNAMI RELIEF. NATIONAL SERVICE DOGS.

30. NIKE. APPLE. STARBUCKS. COCA-COLA. IBM. FEDEX. CANON. UPS. TIM HORTONS.
SPRINT. ROGERS. CNN. PONTIAC. MCDONALD’S. BELL. DASANI. BECEL. ITUNES.
ADIDAS. KRAFT. BAUER. STAPLES. DURACELL. THE KEG. FUTURE SHOP. HERTZ.
SAMSUNG. NISSAN. COORS. BLACK & DECKER. MMMUFFINS. RBC ROYAL BANK.
XBOX. YAHOO! MASTERCARD. 3M. SPRITE. BAND-AID. VIRGIN. COLGATE. LCBO.
GOODYEAR. MR. SUB. NHL. BREYERS. SECOND CUP. EMI. LACOSTE. AIR CANADA.
TOSHIBA. CASTROL. CHATELAINE. MOLSON EX. 102.1 THE EDGE . LONDON LIFE.
ESSO. KODAK. SUNSILK. TOYS R US. HYUNDAI. GLOBAL WARMING. MINI COOPER.
ETR 407. CIBC. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS. WESTIN. BOSE. QUIZNOS. DOMINION.
CHAPTERS. JIFFY LUBE. DORITOS. YOUR PRODUCT. L’OREAL. WAL-MART. TELUS.
You’re being out-advertised by countless marketers.
PRESIDENTS CHOICE. DISNEY. CUBA. CINEPLEX. MARS. MICROSOFT. NINTENDO.
MASTERCRAFT. TACO BELL. THE BAY. ROYAL & SUN ALLIANCE. SAAB. LEGO. EBAY.
GIRL GUIDES. JOHNSON & JOHNSON. DKNY. AMERICAN EAGLE. SCOTIABANK.
HEART & STROKE. 1800GOTJUNK. GODADDY. WESTJET. FORD. TARGET. PFIZER.
HOME DEPOT. HP. VOLKSWAGEN. MOTOROLA. INTEL. GILLETTE. PEPSI. BEST BUY.
DEWALT. AMERICAN EXPRESS. SEARS. SUNQUEST. FOX. PLAYTEX. AVIS. LEVIS.
SARA LEE. BURGER KING. XEROX. CITY TV. LISTERINE. THE BRICK. AMAZON.COM.
KELLOGGS. GOODWILL. KLEENEX. HBO. GOOGLE. MACLEANS. AVON. SPORTSNET.
PIZZA PIZZA. BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO. TD WATERHOUSE. FOOT LOCKER. MATTEL.
SUNOCO. CRISPY CRUNCH. ROOTS. SWISS CHALET. BLUE JAYS. GLOBE & MAIL.
HUSH PUPPIES. YOGENFRÜZ. GMAIL. BELAIR DIRECT. SONY. QUICKEN. WIKIPEDIA.
CADILLAC. YOUTUBE. REUTERS. JIMMY THE GREEK. CROCS. MTV. EB GAMES.
BUDWEISER. GRAND & TOY. TERRY FOX RUN. BRIDGESTONE. PINESOL. WESTERN

31. You’re being outspent at every turn.

32. 32

33. Developing meaningful ideas #1
choose one dragon

34. “Richer curriculum”
“Structure and discipline”
“Higher education standards”
“Future preparedness”
“Public school inadequacies”

35. fundraisingbrandaw
arenessnewsupdate
alumnicontactevent
notificationrelations
hipmanagementalli
nonedirectmail.

36. 1962
36

37. 37

38. credit card marketing program
1 million direct mail packages every month
Tested everything: concept, format, offer, timing, font size….

39. What boosts Response Rate?
No letter Short letter Long letter
Plain brown
Self-mailer Plain white envelope
envelope
Low interest rate
No interest rate offer Higher rate offer
offer
2 products Range of products
No product choice
to choose from to choose from

40. RECAP
• Focus
• One insight
• One goal per tactic

41. Developing meaningful ideas #2
Don’t just decorate.

42. meaningful
writing + design + insight = impact

43. Canadian Council for
Advancement of Education
conference

44. +580
%

48. +35%

51. +76%
51

52. 52

53. 53

55. 55

56. 56

58. 58

59. RECAP
• Don’t just decorate.
• Words are not enough.
• Design is not enough.
• Meaningful insights into your
target audience will spark
recognition and acceptance

60. Developing meaningful ideas #3
Be Pope Julius II
(inspire greatness!)

61. Know your audience
• What’s their current awareness / understanding?
• Be brutally honest - why wouldn’t they be interested?
• How’s their eyesight?
• What day will they receive your package on?
• Consider Canadian literacy levels
“22% of adults have serious problems dealing with
any printed materials. 24% can only deal with
simple reading tasks” Statistics Canada, 2000

62. Build an inspiring
creative brief
• Define the end result you are trying to create,
not the process

64. Build an inspiring
creative brief
• Define the end result you are trying to create,
not the process
• Define your tone and manner using as many
adjectives as necessary
• Be tough! Don’t let your creative partners be lazy.
• Create touchstones

65. Fun
Legacy (racing)
Individuality
Performance
65

66. 66

68. 68

69. Developing meaningful ideas #4
Anger a grammarian

70. Breaking the rules of
formal communication

71. You vs. The Skimmer

73. The first 3 seconds...
• Name
• First line of text
• Johnson box (letter headline)
• Subheadlines (if any)
• Sidebar or offer panel
• Postscript
• Rest of text (if interested)

74. 74

75. Don’t be design polite.
• Indent the first line of every paragraph
• Vary sentence and paragraph length
• Use underlines, boldface and italics for emphasis
• Interrupt skimmers with a headline (‘Johnson box’)
and sub-headlines
• Make notes in the margins
• Always write a postscript that recaps the story
and call to action

76. Don’t be design polite.
• Use a serif typeface, no smaller than 11pt
• Sign the letter with blue ink
• Avoid stock photography if you can
• Invest in good paper
• Long copy is only long if it’s bad
• Close the sale - ask for the donation

77. decommodify.

78. 30 second scan of school
promotional literature

79. 79

80. 80

82. Commodity review
• Old brick buildings
• Lots of ivy!
• Students in uniforms & blackboards
• Oak trees & acres of green grass
• “The Future” “Generations” “Vision” “holistic”
• “Lifechanging” “Values” “Character” “skills”
82

83. IDEA
LIST
OFFER

84. mean more • make more
PAUL JOYCE
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
PAUL@POLARUNLIMITED.COM
WWW.POLARUNLIMITED.COM