Sending Feathers, Making Friends

Designed to look like a sheet of notebook paper, the child art from the carrier appears here again along with a tipped-on snapshot of darling 6-year-old Helen. Her note tells me about her and how friends at Native American Rights Fund help her and her family. It is signed (misspelling and all) “Your freind, [heart] Helen [heart].”

Was this additional, personalized component necessary? It’s a very testable proposition, to be sure. With the significant cost of an up-front lapel-pin package alone, the added cost of Helen’s snapshot and note inside the personalized magenta envelope might not be covered by an increase in response.

But this is an example of where I advocate reading test results over a longer period of time, rather than determining the impact of the added cost solely by this one campaign. Meaning — do donors who receive this level of additional cultivation give more over the ensuing six months to a year? Are they more likely to upgrade? Do they become more responsive to an invitation to become a monthly donor? And measured over many years, are they more likely to make bequests? All good things to know before a short-term view might lead you to believe you can’t afford it.

Feathers from another friend
In contrast to the much more expensive feather lapel-pin package, an effort from Sesame Workshop is a simple No. 10 window outer containing a nonpersonalized, one-sheet, one-sided letter; a three-panel reply device; and a No. 9 courtesy reply envelope.

But for all the production simplicity, the offer is a stunner. As the Johnson box above the salutation explains:

“Everyday on Sesame Street, as Big Bird learns, grows, and discovers new things with his friends, he leaves a little trail of feathers here and there. We’ve been collecting those fallen feathers, and now offer them to you as a unique way to honor others.”