Words to Live By

The Carrier Envelope: A Case Study

By John Genette and Renée Simi

When we started working with the Center for Biological Diversity, its acquisition control carrier was four-color, with a picture of an endangered species and heavy text. We felt we might be able to cut costs by simplifying the outer envelope (among other package revisions). The winner? A one-color carrier with nothing but CBD’s logo on the outer in black. Our sense is that this look was consistent with the group’s grassroots character. But the plot thickens.

Once we had established the control, the next step, of course, was to try to beat it. So we developed a new package on the threat of global warming to polar bears. The background materials included a photo of a polar bear up to its neck in water, surrounded by floating patches of glacier ice. Gut instinct and decades of combined experience told us that this photo belonged on the outer envelope . (Imagine having to explain our recommendation to the client, after proving scientifically that teasers and photos aren’t necessary!) It turned out to be the right decision, as the polar-bear package is in a photo finish with the control.

This case study confirms the axiom that direct-mail fundraising is both an art and a science. Our decisions are informed not only by results, but also by judgment. Every package has a life of its own.

John Genette is president of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based full-service direct-mail fundraising agency Black Mountain Communications, and Renée Simi is a Bay Area, Calif.-based independent fundraising consultant.

In today’s high-tech fundraising world, why wade into an old-fashioned topic like carrier-envelope design?

The reasons actually are quite simple. First, direct mail is still the medium of choice for most large and small direct-response fundraisers. These days it’s fashionable to discuss the Internet and other alternative media, but the fact is that direct mail generates vastly more gifts than any of them. So improving direct-mail performance can have a huge effect on a whole donations program. And, experts I polled agree that the design of the simple outside carrier envelope can dramatically affect response rates.

So for the moment, I’ll leave new, cutting-edge media for others to ponder. Let’s look at what could be the most important component of a direct-mail package — the lowly carrier envelope.

I asked a number of top direct-mail fundraisers for their insights on design techniques that result in the greatest response. Not the prettiest, not the one to win a design award. Rather the ones that make the package perform the best.

To dress for success, keep it simple
Harry Lynch, CEO of New York City-based nonprofit marketing services provider Sanky Perlowin Associates, agreed with most of his peers: “In modern direct mail, the outside envelope now represents the very best opportunity to blow a campaign — and in a very big way. While DM specialists understandably want to show off their creativity with graphics, photos and clever teasers, these have consistently and sharply suppressed results in a high majority of our tests.”

Veteran creative guru Jerry Huntsinger is more blunt: “The purpose of the carrier envelope is to get opened. Nothing more. Clients who don’t test put too much pressure on the carrier. The only reason I ever use a teaser is because clients who don’t test think it’s necessary.”

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