Response Boosters Give Mailing Impact

This mailing from the World Wildlife Fund caught my eye because it’s simple, and efficient in its use of some key direct-mail response boosters.

The face of the 4-inch-by-9.5-inch outer envelope shows a four-color photograph of a tiger with the teaser, “Who’s Watching Her Back?,” and on the back is response-booster No. 1: a time-sensitive premium offer that reads, “Respond within 10 days to get your choice of three WWF Gund plush animals! See inside for details …”

Inside the carrier is an 8.5-inch-by-14-inch, double-sided letter with a detachable reply device at the bottom. The letter is printed on yellow paper in typewriter font and is response booster No. 2: an urgent appeal. At the top of the letter, just below the WWF logo, is the header “Tiger Emergency Update” and the words “Urgent Dispatch.” The letter’s salutation includes a TO, FROM and RE; the RE reads, “Tigers Under Siege.”

The letter ends with response booster No. 3: a faux-handwritten P.S. Both the reply device and the 3.5-inch-by-8.5-inch, four-color buck slip pitch the premium offer and employ another, lesser seen response booster: choice. Donors who respond to the mailing within 10 days not only receive a premium, they can choose from among three Gund plush animals.

The mailing’s simplicity and use of response boosting strategies give its message impact.

THIS MAILING is available in digital form at the special price of $24.95. To order it, click on the package to be directed to our order form that contains other special offers on Archive mailings.