You never know what trends will pop up unexpectedly in acquisition programs. Recently, we noticed that multi-buyer list performance has been waning in one client’s direct mail prospecting program. A quick check revealed that this depression coincided with when we’d started using commercially compiled lists. So we did some analysis to see if, in fact, compiled list multi-buyers were pulling down overall multi-buyer performance. For this client, that turned out to be the case.

The American Film Institute (AFI) made its historic return to the White House in April, where President Obama hosted a 50^th anniversary screening of the classic film To Kill a Mockingbird. AFI was actually founded in the White House Rose Garden in 1965, and what better way to honor AFI than with To Kill a Mockingbird, which AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale called “…An American treasure – a film of family and fatherhood, justice and equality – all so richly embodied in the character of Atticus Finch." See more on this special anniversary here.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts just announced its new season – and as always, there’s something for everyone: a thrilling mix of opera, dance, classical music, contemporary performances, and Broadway shows, including the Tony® Award-winning musical The Book of Mormon and the blockbuster play War Horse. For more details about the upcoming season, and a brief video featuring one of the incredibly lifelike seven-foot-tall horse puppets from War Horse, click here.

We’re always excited to hear that Avalon clients are making news. Some recent press items:

 

• To lighten up this election year a bit, Senator Frank Lautenberg’s campaign recently held a photo caption contest spoofing GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. More than 800 people submitted captions, and the emails about the photo caption contest have some of the highest open rates ever, making it a terrific engagement piece for the Senator's campaign. Check out some of the hilarious captions at www.mittromneyphoto.com and some of the media coverage of the contest here.

There’s a lot of talk online this month about many reasons to get on the multi-channel marketing bandwagon.

If someone told you there was a proven way to increase your direct mail’s income per piece by 20% – without having to alter your concept, copy, or artwork – would you try it? Well, you’d at least test it, right? We did…

Test, test, test – and tested we have. Each of our clients has had some interesting results this summer that have strengthened their programs.  There is one, though, that really stands out for me.

It’s a critical part of any DM 101 session: don’t forget to welcome your donors as soon as possible after the first contact.  But what about new subscribers to your email list – wouldn’t it be more efficient to create an automated welcome series that not only solidified initial contact but also secured a gift?

When we learned about Silverdocs – the AFI-Discovery Channel Documentary Festival – Avalon made a point to check out a screening at the AFI’s Silver Theater in Silver Spring, MD.

A friend of mine (not associated with the world of direct marketing) recently asked me whether we still use the mail to raise money for our clients.  An interesting conversation ensued – with the customary disbelief that in an age of all encompassing electronic media and social networking direct mail is not dead.  Really … it isn’t! In fact, as Convio reported last year, direct mail remains the most acceptable solicitation channel for older Americans, “but also scores surprisingly well with younger generations” … with 49% of all donors sending a check through the mail.

So if the troubling trend of shrinking mail volumes we witnessed over the past few years seems to have subsided (see this month’s FYI) – are we out of the woods in terms of regaining strength in our acquisition programs?  No – because we’re now seeing another disturbing trend in the list world.