Brave New Mail
The voucher is another popular solution on the rise in direct mail since it’s inexpensive to produce, simple to design and has a high pay-out. “I think direct marketers are looking at [vouchers] because they are a more economical approach, but I also think they are working and proving themselves in the marketplace,” Harhut said. Vouchers are evolving into more full-blown packages, with tests run on additional bells and whistles. One example is Harhut’s recent test of a #10 voucher package updated with a Kraft-style envelope for a 20 percent increase in response, and retested with a Post-it note for a total 25 percent lift above the control. Josh Manheimer, copywriter and owner of Norwich, Vermont-based J.C. Manheimer & Co., encouraged marketers to push voucher creative even further. “If you put in a little buckslip and it works, why not test it with a two-page letter or a four-page letter? It seems like there’s a threshold that people don’t want to go beyond; they don’t want to increase costs, but they often don’t want to find out if a more expensive package will work,” he said.