Direct Marketing Customer Stories Case Studies Direct Marketing Customer Stories

Case Studies in Direct Marketing Not-for-Profit Case Studies in Direct Marketing

Not-for-Profit Slower to adoption of targeted marketing techniques due to Cost-per-piece ROI is not a measure for evaluating spend in non-profits One-to-one marketing campaigns build loyalty – and increase the lifetime value of a donor - by making messages more relevant to recipients The lifetime value of a donor is the greatest growth driver for non-profits: ongoing gifts of long-term members deliver consistent support while event-driven aid is more transitory. Multiple-channels are key Online fundraising is important, since giving online is growing fast, brings in younger, wealthier and higher-dollar givers, and is a top source of new donors. Online donors are more loyal when they are cultivated through many channels - online and off

Animal Rescue League (ARL) Personalized Correspondence Program objectives Understand how customers were finding out the shelter Received feedback regarding the animal adoption experience Get opinions about the value of ARL services Build an email list Target audience Visitors to the animal shelter People who adopted animals in the last two years Pet owners Key messages Key message: “Thank you for adopting” We want your feedback about our organization

Animal Rescue League (ARL) Personalized Correspondence Implementation The campaign included both online and print elements Variable cat and dog imagery Personalized web site Posting of adoption success stories Chance to win a $100 gift certificate Personalization Advertisements included variable data Images personalized by animal type Adoption cards personalized with name of owners Personalized URL for each owner

Animal Rescue League (ARL) Personalized Correspondence Results The ARL post adoption follow-up correspondence was a success 11.4% of recipients completed the survey. TV/Radio advertising budget cut due to lack of ROI Mailing list was bolstered with over 300 new addresses

National WW II Museum Personalized Donor Campaign Program objectives Boost lagging direct-mail response rates for members and prospects, Engage with new prospects and convert to members Convert existing donors into monthly contributors Raise capital to expand the museum campus Target audience Mailing list consisting of 130,000 donors and prospects Key messages You can help keep memories of WW II alive Our members help expand our activities

National WW II Museum Personalized Donor Campaign Implementation The campaign included both online and print elements Use personalized high-quality direct-mail pieces Include pre-paid solicitation postcards Conduct 15,000 unit test to measure effectiveness of personalization Additional test of 5,000 personalized and 5,000 static newsletters Personalization Advertisements included variable data Headline Offer Brick purchase

National WW II Museum Personalized Donor Campaign Results The personalized donor campaign was a success 30% increase in response rate for active members 25% increase in response rate for sustaining membership prospects Increased average donation per person Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Arizona’s Children Association Arizona’s Children Organization (AzCA) is a non-profit agency offering foster care, adoption, and other child welfare services. Situation and program objectives AzCA wanted to increase its revenue from private donors, for their annual winter campaign Increase total value of donations over the previous winter campaign Increase the average donation over the previous winter campaign Reactivate dormant donors Target audience and list AzCA used their database of 14,000 active and former donors Key Messages and Segmentation To solicit an emotional response, AzCA built the campaign around the theme “Time Flies”, and included assurance that donations would be kept in the donor’s local community Recipients were segmented by donor status (dormant or active), donation history and location of residence Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Arizona’s Children Association PURL Personalized The fundraising approach included: Versioned and personalized direct mail pieces Emails Personalized URLs Multiple response mechanisms (telephone, mail, web) All printed pieces included a pre-populated donation form and a personalized message about the donor’s last contribution. (E.g., “Your gift of $50 in April personally impacted a family in a difficult situation.”) Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Arizona’s Children Association Donor status (active or dormant) Former donors received a simple postcard and pURL Active donors received an elaborate die-cut kit, with a personalized wallet calendar gift, a response mailer, and a pURL The logic was that active donors were more likely to yield higher ROI Donation history All donors were categorized base on previous gift amounts: <$75, $76–$249, $250–$499, and $500+ Each category of donor received a different version of the mailer, encouraging them to “step up” one level of donation amount Location of residence Donors in the “southern” segment had a passion for specific type of community programs, and had local return address/phone number Other segments were more generally focused Pre-populated data Personalized message Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Arizona’s Children Association Results Largest revenue campaign in the history of the winter appeal. Total value of donations was 270% of the previous year’s total Number of individual donations increased to 160% of the previous total Average donation grew to 168% of the previous year’s average donation The campaign succeeded in reactivating numerous former donors Consequently, AzCA plans on using personalized direct mail in their future marketing communications efforts. Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

VMI Foundation Situation and program objectives The VMI Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation that annually raises millions of dollars in gifts and commitments from the Virginia Military Institute’s (VMI) alumni, parents, and friends. Situation and program objectives The objective was to gather information, update/expand the database, engage alumni in a new and relevant manner Target audience and list Approximately 9,400 VMI alumni, parents and friends - from the VMI database Segmentation and key messages “VMI Alumni. Don’t Do Ordinary.” The messaging was meant to establish a connection with VMI alumni. Future campaigns will develop this relationship to encourage donations Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

VMI Foundation Offer of sticker Personalized PURL Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

VMI Foundation An Email directed recipients to a pURL pURL contained a short video, after which the recipient was asked to complete an online survey Direct mail was sent to Alumni who did not have an email address/did not respond to their email PURL Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

VMI Foundation Results 23.2% response rate (unique pURL visitors); 44.4% of visitors completed the survey Email Results 34.3% of recipients visited their pURL 43.3% click through (% of pURL visitors who completed the survey) Direct Mail Results* (timing was after the email) 13.1% of recipients visited their PURL 47.6% click through ((% of pURL visitors who completed the survey) Upon completion of the survey visitors were directed to a secondary website where they could view the video again, refer a friend, and donate to the VMI Foundation. This secondary site received over 1,200 visitors, from 19 different countries! Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Girl Scouts of the USA Situation and Program Objectives Girl Scouts of the USA was seeing a decline in donations Key objective was to develop/broaden their network of donors Target Audience and List Target audience was Girl Scout Alunmna; a list of 3100 women was selected out of the Girl Scout database Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Girl Scouts of the USA Key Messages and Segmentation Target audience was segmented into four age groups, with a different message tailored for each age group: The imagery has women with their everyday work with a sash on their clothes, to show how girl scouts have helped them get where they are today Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Girl Scouts of the USA Campaign architecture Personalized direct mail leveraging variable data Email (initial and followup) pURL sites - versioned by age group Social media (Facebook cause page, Youtube) Phone call follow-up for Donors Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

Girl Scouts of the USA Results 8.2% pURL visits; unique individual responses of 4.9% (some visited the pURL more than once) 31% of respondents made a donation Increased average donation from $50 to $250 Source: PODi. For more info visit www.podi.org. Not all PODi case studies were printed using HP Indigo technology

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