Get Schooled
Many of us have been there. We put in our four years (or five, for those on the extended plan) of studying and soul-searching only to end up with an entry-level job that barely covers the interest of a minimum monthly student loan payment. But, it gets better. Just as we’re about to relax after spending 10 hours at said job, the phone rings and it’s a member of our alma mater’s alumni foundation. No, this person doesn’t want to thank us for attending XYZ university. This person wants more money ... a gift, even.
Obviously, the above scenario has been exaggerated. In fact, a lot of people continue to give back for getting so much from a solid education. According to the results of the annual Voluntary Support of Education survey, released by the Council for Aid to Education, charitable contributions made to U.S. colleges and universities reached $29.75 billion last year. Lesson of the day: when there’s money to be had, opportunities abound.
However, it might not be as obvious that print distributors can benefit from this cash cow. After all, the majority of educational institutions have their own in-house printing press or in-plant. Despite this, outside help often is required—particularly with driving direct mail efforts, a primary tactic for fundraising campaigns. Furthermore, in a down-and-out economy where money can’t be wasted (on either end), it is even more important to evoke charitable spirits on the first attempt.
Headquartered in Ontario, Canada, Blue North Strategies is a consulting and marketing communications firm specializing in targeted, personalized communications. To help distributors get schooled in the various challenges and rewards of fundraising mailers for this market sector, Print Professional spoke with Brent Klassen, partner.
PP: What types of mailer services and products do you provide for the education market?
Klassen: We work with colleges and universities to maximize their fundraising potential from alumni, donors, patrons and other supporters. Maximizing potential requires fundraising strategies that reach the audience many different ways, including print. Mailstream tactics include not only direct appeal letters, but also providing print tools that are intended to help fundraising advisors cultivate large gifts.
Blue North is a pioneer in the field of highly personalized marketing. The reason fundraisers would use our services is because they believe that their donors will be more motivated to give if “the ask” is relevant to the interests of each individual. White Page Marketing is the process we use to ensure that each donor’s piece is highly focused on their needs and interests.
PP: When is the demand for printing and mailing at its peak?
Klassen: Fundraising needs vary throughout the year, and are often based on specific events, as is the case for capital campaigns. Obviously, the holiday season is significant, as this is when donors tend to be feeling generous, and thinking about maximizing their charitable tax benefits before year-end.
PP: Do you find most institutions/universities generally have in-house design and production staff? If so, how difficult is it to find opportunities in this market? Do many still exist?
Klassen: For the most part, our clients rely on our creative service to effect designs that work in a highly variable print environment. However, the institutions will often provide copy and/or imagery that we use in our pieces. Even though the variable print environment is highly fluid, over the years we’ve learned how to integrate source material from the client into the environment effectively.
PP: Lack of funding and budget cuts are ongoing concerns for educational institutions. How can such institutions minimize costs and maximize their ROI in a mailing campaign?
Klassen: It’s important to have effective treatment strategies for all key segments in the mail file. The actual treatment for any segment needs to be driven by the contribution potential of that segment. Our clients tend to use income to cost ratios to determine how much they’re willing to spend. We, in turn, use the spend to drive a treatment approach that is as targeted and personalized as possible within the budgetary constraint.
PP: What are some of the hot trends in mailers for this market?
Klassen: Personalization is key. Technology enables us to deliver a message that’s relevant to the reader, potentially down to an audience of one. For example, our fundraising appeals to alumni look at: when and what they studied, who were the influential (read: recognizable) faculty at the time, where have their careers taken them since graduation, what is their likely contribution potential, etc. Because alumni officers are generally good at gathering rich profile data, we use this data as much as possible to anticipate the interests of the alumni. The appeal then, is positioned toward those interests, and will look different for each alum that receives it.
PP: What are some common mistakes customers make when initiating a direct marketing campaign?
Klassen: It is generally acknowledged that direct mail response is growing more difficult over time as people have a decreasing tolerance for “spam,” and an increasing influx of marketing mail. Some direct marketers respond to this decline in response by simply mailing to larger and larger files. This is not the answer. The answer is in speaking to recipients in a personalized way that is much more relevant to them. In this way, organizations build relationships that pull their communications above the clutter and noise.
PP: Is there less “creative” room for a mailer design as a result of shape-based pricing?
Klassen: Again, the cost of the mailer program should be driven by the potential of the file. We work hard to convince our customers to stop thinking in terms of cost-per-piece, and start thinking about return on investment. ROI will be defined in different ways for different kinds of campaigns, and that’s why it’s important, before any creative is done or print formats are discussed, to establish the core business metrics for the campaign. What do we want to achieve? What are our goals? What can we afford to spend to achieve those goals? Then, it’s up to us, as an agency, to spend that money to achieve, and hopefully exceed the goals that are set out. If the campaign costs twice as much, but brings in three times the income, everyone’s happy.
PP: How effective is the integration of online and offline marketing tactics? Please explain some pros and cons of this strategy.
Klassen: While direct print campaigns generally enjoy higher lift than pure e-mail campaigns, many alumni prefer to actually donate online, so it’s important that the printed piece they receive points them to the place online where they can learn more about the appeal, and follow through with an online donation. It’s also important that the online experience reflect the printed materials in look, feel and tone. Both media need to portray consistency if they’re to work effectively together.
PP: Do you have any advice for direct mail novices looking to launch a campaign? What are some important factors to consider to motivate end-users to take action?
Klassen: Make it relevant. Don’t just ask people to donate the annual operating fund—remind them of the time they were students. Remind them of their experiences. Remind them of the influential people they met, and how those have shaped their careers. Alumni have a desire to give—connect that desire to the things that really matter to them as individuals.
Doing this effectively requires data, and the ability to let the data tell a story about each individual. Once you know the individuals in your audience, you can begin to converse with them in a one-to-one way.
[For example,] a Canadian university initiated a capital campaign to build a new athletic facility. We asked for a data pull that included for each alum, their grad year, whether they played on any sports team, and if so, which one(s). Each alum in our mail file received a personalized mail piece that had a timeline stretching back to the university’s inception. The alum’s grad year was marked along that timeline, along with a reference to a significant sporting event that the alum would recall from that time period. In addition, if the alum played on a sports team, the copy within the appeal made specific reference to that team.
PP: Based on recent industry trends, what are your predictions for direct mail’s place in the education market? Is Internet marketing the wave of the future?
Klassen: College- and university-educated alumni are certainly high Internet adopters, and generally facile with the technology. Most institutions have electronic newsletters that they distribute to their alumni, in addition to print. However, our experience is that while many alumni donate online, it is usually in response to a printed piece, or a deliberate cultivation effort on the institution’s part. We certainly see print playing a strong role in integrated marketing for a long time to come.
For more information, visit www.bluenorth.ca.