Promo - February 2008 - (Page 30)

Continued from page 28 The mailings, which included a coupon, went to women who opted in to receive a sample at Schick’s Web site. Another company, KimberlyClark, re-engineered its direct mail program last year to talk up the Huggies brand’s benefits. Instead of sending a mass message to all moms as in the past, KimberlyClark now groups women from the prenatal stage through their child’s first 30 months. Messages are sent to sage promotes “valuable” coupons. One mailing to moms with 1month-olds included photos of babies with their mothers and product shots. Three coupons offered discounts on diapers and bath and body products. The copy explained the items’ benefits, described activities for moms and babies and encouraged readers to go to HuggiesBabyNetwork.com. There they can enter a contest to win a year’s supply of Huggies products, sign up to receive coupons and promotions or go to the Activity Playhouse. Last month Valpak debuted its new look , a less busy design on a more vibrant blue background. A sweeps promoted on the envelope offered a $100,000 tax-day giveaway from Liberty Tax Service. The company will mail some 21 billion coupons to 45 million households this year. the women every three months based on their experiences at the moment. “This generation is expecting us to speak to them directly and have something that’s customized to their needs,” says Irma Tavlian, KimberlyClark’s baby and child-care consumerpromotion team leader. The envelopes for the 12-page mailings are designed to capture attention: They show colorful, happy images of moms and babies beneath the Huggies banner. Three callouts talk about what’s inside and a highlighted mes- “It’s about having a powerful headline, talking to the readers and not to yourself and being relevant,” Tavlian says. “We know that promotions still work, that coupons still work, but relevancy is critical. The change has given us great results.” font and point sizes and a clean, fresh look. If it’s a tough concept, the design should make it easy to understand. “Good design just makes good words better,” says Rob Del Genio, director of marketing at ShipShapes, a printer of dimensional custom-shaped mail. “Image can be a very powerful force, but it has to support the message.” The company develops some wacky mailings intended to catch the eye during the one to two seconds people typically give to each piece. One memorable mailing was a perforated action shot of Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady that begged the 50,000 basketball fans who received it to tear out the image and display it. The back of the card, which carried an offer for various ticket packages, pulled a 49% response last season. The Rockets used the same piece for the current season, featuring center Yao Ming. Another piece, for Propel Fitness Water, resembles the shape and size of an actual bottle and includes a snapoff coupon for a free sample. Propel mails about 100,000 to 200,000 at a time and pulls a steady redemption rate of about 14%. The last thing Del Genio does before approving a piece is to give it a quick scan. Why? To ensure that the fleeting look recipients often give to mailings will be enough to spark their interest. “If I just look at the highlights and don’t read things in detail, I want to make sure those points tell a story that would influence a buyer’s decision,” he says. “If there’s a part of the story not being told by glancing through the piece, I have to change that.” THE DRAWING BOARD An art director’s job is to get people to read copy. Creative should support the message and direct the reader’s eye to what’s important. The package should be as simple as possible, with readable READY FOR CHANGE Valpak is celebrating its 40th birthday this year. It’s well-known blue envelope is filled with discount coupons from local merchants. For the first time in five years, the company decided to update the 30 february 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://HuggiesBabyNetwork.com http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - February 2008

Promo - February 2008 Contents Editor's Note Reality TV Products Rebound - Soon? The Real World Young But Not Stupid Social Tease Health Quencher How Effective? Big Game in Big Easy Commentary Mailbox Marketing Q&A: Coke's Kruse Control Gift-Card Monte Room Service The Agency Center Resource Center Can't Beat Loyalty Index of Advertisers

Promo - February 2008

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