The NonProfit Times - July 1, 2008 - (Page 8)

HOLIDAY JEER Continued from page 1 revenue and net revenue before teaming up with Lexington, Mass.-based direct response agency Thompson Habib Denison (THD) in 2004. “We had a lot of winning tests that kept us at a pretty good level, where if we hadn’t implemented half a dozen new things we would have dropped by probably a couple of million dollars,” said Finstad.“We are always making adjustments and testing new things.” One element that hasn’t changed is the decision to stick with the Standard Mail Flats, which Finstad called “tried and true” for the ALA. The flats performed better than other forms tested, even with the substantial increases in postal rates. Flats have at least one dimension that is larger than standard letter-sized mail, but cannot exceed 15-inch length, 12-inch height or 3/4-inch thickness. The flats are still outperforming smallersized mailings in most testing, according to Diana Estremera, senior vice president of Greenwich,Conn.-based May Development Services, a division of Direct Media, Inc. “Even though the expense is there with the flat, you just have to look at the results of that mailing with a different metric than you did before the postal hike,” said Estremera, who for some clients is trying to use gift bag packages that mail as flats. Large envelopes and bold colors are working in most test groups, according to Alan Hall, vice president of client services at Pasadena, Calif.-based Russ Reid. Estremera said that relevant, eye-catching designs depend on the organization and constituency (bright colors for the Christian market, muted tones for health charities and animal organizations), and urged experimenting in test mailings with colors and embellishments, such as embossing and foil. Estremera also said premiums might help snag Boomer donors. longer lead times, some taking three months. But the more time an organization dedicates to developing the idea and tweaking prototypes, the better the quality of the final product. “You need to be careful of what you produce,” she said, explaining that premiums can range from notepads to blankets to trivets – which are hotplate holders. “You don’t want to just throw something in the mail because Premiums, like these ChemArt ornaments, can push some donors to make a gift. “What motivates them is not just the act of doing something good, but also the act of getting something for themselves,” said Estremera. Premiums didn’t reflect poorly on the Boomers, she said, but are motivating factors that direct mailers should keep in mind.“When we do our premiums, we use as nice and high a quality as we can get within the confines of a reasonable budget to make the back-end net work.” Estremera said that premiums require these are the nonprofit’s dollars you are dealing with and the quality has to be there.You certainly wouldn’t want to sacrifice the result in any way.” And premiums might be the way to reach donors who are feeling the economic pinch this holiday. ChemArt, a Lincoln, Rhode Island-based manufacturing company, designs photo-chemically etched decorative ornaments and collectible premiums for nonprofits ranging from the White House Historical Association to a guide dog organization, according to Lee Rush at ChemArt. “Any successful campaign needs a visionary when you are dealing long term with passion about their organization,” said Rush, who said donors are enticed to keep collecting the pieces, building lifetime donors and brands. Brand recognition is what helps keep the ALA’s Christmas Seals program strong after more than 100 years.“Their brand is well known by everybody. But just as importantly, their brand for their Christmas campaign is just as well known,” said Jeffrey Habib, senior vice president and partner for THD.“A lot of people give to their organization because of their Christmas Seals and their collectors.” Brand recognition has branched out to include multi-channel solicitations that make it easier for the donor to give the way in which they are comfortable. “Clients are looking at that as a more important element in integration,” said Hall at Russ Reid. He added that some clients are trying cross-market tactics that can include media and mail inserts, and that agencies should look at ideas they scrapped in the past. “What we’re really challenged with is to go back, review that changing audience or change in target audience and look with a different lens,” said Hall.“Fall is the Holiday Jeer, page 10 8 JULY 1, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com http://www.fundraisinginfo.com http://www.specializedfundraising.net http://www.specializedfundraising.net http://www.fundraisinginfo.com http://www.nptimes.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The NonProfit Times - July 1, 2008

The NonProfit Times - July 1, 2008 Time to Let GO Sparks Flying From Blackbaud's Bid For Kintera Holiday Jeer Contents Who...When...Where...How...What? The Wrong Arguments Calendar Measure the Unmeasureable Getting Good Advice We Barely Got to Know You Special Report: Giving USA Shows Bequests, Foundations Boosted Otherwise Flat Giving to 306 Billion Dollars National Benchmarking Nothing Is Forever Diversified Planet Business Briefs NPT Jobs Resource Directory Bridge Map Insert

The NonProfit Times - July 1, 2008

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