Delivering a direct mail care package to the USO
For more than 83 years, the United Service Organization has kept our soldiers around the world connected to the ones they love. And direct mail keeps the USO connected to their donors. Even in this digital age, direct mail is the non-profit’s #1 fundraising tactic. So it was concerning to see a dramatic drop-off in direct mail effectiveness in recent years. The USO decided to test a new direct mail piece against their established control. I was brought in to develop the new package.
Step one: Determine why the control wasn’t working.
I began by conducting a creative audit using heat mapping and gaze sequencing to determine what readers see in the critical first 3-5 seconds. The audit revealed the following:
Reader is not engaging with the message. Reasons-to-believe are overlooked.
Eye flow follows the visuals, but the visuals are not telling the USO story
Layout is not designed for scanners as well as readers, significantly reducing engagement opportunities.
Story fails to engage reader on an emotional level.
Call-to-actions are misplaced, buried, and lack a digital response component.
As a result of the audit, I determined that the entire control package needed to be revamped.
Employing direct mail best practice principles
I began by incorporating a number of best practices into the direct mail layout and design. Better utilization of four-color printing on the envelope, and a cleaner, easier-to-read letter facilitated by a significant reduction in copy length. I expanded the use of personalization throughout the piece and introduced a QR code to drive donors to an online donation site.
The mailing list was an issue as well. It had changed little over the years, and a refresh was long overdue. The majority of their audience had been receiving the same control piece 4-6 times a year. Audience and cadence testing was urgently needed.
The client, however, was not prepared to rethink their targeting strategy until the creative had been revamped. Thus, I turned my attention to the biggest obstacle to improving ROI: the message itself.
Developing a new messaging strategy
The USO had been targeting 55+ consumers nationally, most of whom had direct ties to the military. Our core audience was made up of individuals who had served in the military, or had family and friends who served.
These Baby Boomers had come of age during the Vietnam War, and had witnessed firsthand the lack of respect given to American soldiers during that volatile time. This generation had made it trendy to honor military personnel by thanking strangers in uniform for their service. I sought to turn that phrase on its ear: communicating that it’s simply not enough to say thanks. It’s time to back those words with action.
My messaging strategy was to shift the emotional appeal from sympathy to guilt, and at the same time incorporate rational appeals designed to overcome donor objections.
Reaching a younger demographic
The client also asked me to explore messaging to target Gen Xers - the generation that is least likely to give to military-related causes. Gen Xers tend to favor causes related to health and social services. My approach was to characterize the USO as an organization that works to maintain the health and wellness of troops around the world. “Hugs from home” became the theme of our Gen X campaign. Direct mail was supported by digital tactics catering to the Gen Xers’ preference for online giving,
Achieving a 27.5% lift in average gift size
The direct mail care package developed for the USO delivered outstanding results. While the control edged the test in terms of simple response rate, the new package outperformed the control in terms of ROI, delivering an extraordinary 27.5% lift in average gift size among an audience that had been receiving USO solicitations for years. That translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars in incremental giving for the USO.
