Vol. 6 No. 2

Simple selfmailer beats 5-piece package

Direct mail packages almost always outperform other types of mailers. When BlueCross & BlueShield United of Wisconsin, teamed up with Johnson Direct to produce a direct response program, the first solution took that traditional form.

Grant Johnson, President of Johnson Direct, has a favorite three-word saying. “Test,Test,Test!”

The goal was to increase sales leads for one of the products marketed by the health insurer. The Milwaukee area agency created a glossy five-piece package with a two-color 6x9 envelope. The inserts included a glossy brochure, two-color lift note, business reply envelope and two-page letter with attached reply.

Before unleashing the new, eye catching mailer, Johnson Direct also created a less expensive selfmailer. Going for a dramatically different option, they designed a three-panel, four-color selfmailer. The design included straight-forward copy, appealing photography and a simple call-to-action in the form of a pre-addressed, business reply card.

Compared to the 6x9 package, the selfmailer’s copy was condensed and more to the point. Images, headlines subheads and bullet points helped lead the readers eyes to where the offer was featured. Yet, it conveyed the same "comfort" concept and offer as the 6x9 package.

Johnson Direct recommended testing the selfmailer. It was decided to send both mailers to test groups. The 6x9 package was sent to 75,000 recipients. The result was 858 leads and a 1.14% response. The selfmailer was sent to 50,000 recipients. It resulted in 1,091 leads and 2.18% response.

Not only did the selfmailer produce more leads, but its’ cost per lead was more than four times less ($75 to $17 per lead). The selfmailer was fine tuned and Johnson Direct implemented it as the new campaign control. It was mailed to 275,000 uninsured individuals and produced a 1.7% response rate. That was a dramatic increase over previous efforts.

The program was a textbook study on why testing is so important and how to test effectively.

Johnson Direct is a direct marketing agency located in Brookfield, Wisconsin. They can be reached at 800-710-2750.