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Cape Cod Co-op Mailing Helps Small Businesses Connect

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throughs – visitor clicked a link to view an individual company’s offer

yed receiving the mailer and the offers. Among the iling an 8 or above, on a

r types of companies they would like ure co-op mailings

eks or months a year in their Cape home, it is a challenge market to them.

Project:

_{Cape Cod Co-op Mailing Helps Small Businesses Connect}

Vertical Market: Retail

Business Application: Direct Marketing/Lead Generation

Business Objectives

Many of the companies that serve the Cape Cod, Massachusetts area are small businesses that do not have large marketing budgets. Curley Direct, a marketing and print service provider, developed a co-op mailing that enabled businesses to cost-effectively reach a highly targeted audience.

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Generate leads and new business for Cape Cod companies

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Develop a relationship between second-home owners and local Cape Cod businesses

Results

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Over 2,200 people went to their personalized URL (PURL) and clicked on an advertiser’s link. This was an 8% response rate

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Over 66,000

click-•

Captured just under 1,000 email addresses for future marketing

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A survey sent to the recipients following the completion of this campaign showed that they enjo

survey respondents:

• 46% ranked their satisfaction with the ma scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest • 76% said they enjoyed the offers

• 51% said they used the coupons • Responders also suggested othe

to see in fut

Campaign Architecture

According to the Cape Cod Commission, 32% percent of the Cape’s housing stock is owned by second-home owners. Since many of these homeowners only spend a few we

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Since these homeowners are only on the Cape for a limited period of time it is important to reach them at their primary residence. This is another challenge for small businesses because the primary residences are spread across the entire United States.

To address these issues a co-op mailer was designed that each company could participate in at an affordable price. The piece was an oversized, tri-fold self- mailer (16.5” x 11.5”) that was printed on Platinum 80# gloss cover with a bleed on both sides. The mailer was personalized on both sides with the recipient’s name and PURL.

A total of 33 companies participated in the first co-op mailing. The inside of the mailer featured the logos of the companies and a simple bright stripe in the middle with the recipient’s PURL. The mailer was sent in May to reach

homeowners at their primary residences before the summer months when most people travel to the Cape.

Individuals visiting their personalized landing page were welcomed by name and introduced to the program. Visitors were also given the option to enter their email address so they could receive additional offers in the future. On the second page of the personalized site visitors were given instructions on viewing offers from each of the participating

companies. When they selected a company, another page was displayed which included the company’s logo, their offer, and a description of their business.

At the end of the campaign each company received a report with the names, mailing addresses, and emails (when given) of the people who viewed their offer.

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Unfortunately the participating companies did not always track whether offers were redeemed, but some did report getting new business from this campaign.

Target Audience

This mailer was sent to owners of the highest valued vacation homes ($300,000+) in affluent neighborhoods of Cape Cod. The companies featured in the co-op mailer, such as lawn care and landscaping firms, security businesses, furniture stores, and restaurants, offered services and products that would appeal to this audience.

Personalized landing pages

List

The mailing list was compiled from a local list broker and the service provider’s own lists. The mailer was sent to the owners’ primary

residences off Cape and included addresses in every U.S. state.

Offer

Each participating vendor had their own offer.

Creative and Outbound Piece

The creative for the tri-fold co-op mailer was done entirely by the service provider. On the first side, each panel featured a notable photo of Cape Cod. The first panel was a sunset over a Cape Cod beach and read: “{First Name}, Cape Living has its Privileges...” The second panel was a boat scene where “USS {First Name}" was printed on one of the boats. The third panel featured a popular bridge and read: “{First Name}, Visit

http://{FirstName}.PremierCape.com to receive exclusive offers” It was thought that by not including details recipients would be intrigued and wonder “what exclusive offers?” This would then drive them to the PURL for more information.

Reasons for Success

This co-op mailing was received so well by both the Cape Cod businesses and the homeowners that Curley Direct sent a similar mailing in fall 2009. This mailer focused on services that homeowners might need when they are winterizing their house and/or closing the house for the season. Featured

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ths or the late fall/winter months when many houses are closed up.

e ment of team members was critical to the mailing going out on time.

To improve the tracking of offer redemptions, homeowners who view offers online will now receive a follow-up mailing with printed copies of the offers. The printed versions will also include a barcode. This change was made in response to feedback from the recipient survey where it was learned that 20% of the respondents did not print the coupons after viewing them. Best practices learned from this campaign are:

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Create a vehicle for continued customer communication. Developing a communication piece that the customer appreciates and looks forward to will support business growth. In the case of the Cape Cod mailer, sending targeted offers to homeowners at key points in the vacation home season helps to build relationships with Cape Cod businesses. The continuation of the co-op mailer also enables the service provider to leverage their initial investment in building the solution. The first time this co-op mailer was created it took time to figure out the logistics of producing it. Subsequent co-op mailings will be easier to produce.

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Send relevant offers to a highly targeted audience. One of the key factors that made this program a success was the fact that the audience was carefully chosen (affluent vacation homeowners in selected zip codes) and they were presented with offers that addressed their needs.

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Timing is important. Both the spring and the fall mailers reached homeowners prior to their transition into a different vacation home season – either the high use summer vacationing mon

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Organization is critical. Strong project management skills were

essential to the timely production of the co-op mailing. Logos and offers had to be collected from 30+ participating businesses. PURLs had to b created for each recipient and individual offer pages were needed for each business. The commit

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Clients Various Cape Cod businesses Service Provider Curley Direct

www.curleydirect.com

Curley Direct has been in business for 19 years and started as a direct mail company. Over the years they transformed into a direct marketing firm and about four years ago added two small digital printers/copiers to start educating our clients about the power of on-demand printing and variable data. In September of 2008 they made the move from Curley Direct Mail to Curley Direct and added an HP Indigo 5500. Curley Direct is now a full-service direct marketing firm offering business development, graphic design, digital print and direct mail services.

Hardware HP Indigo 5500, HP Production Manager RIP

Software Business Logic and Composition Engine: HP Smart Stream Designer Data Processing: Satori Bulk Mailer Professional

Finishing HP Production Manager, Baum Folder, Challenger Cutter, Secap Tabber Target Audience People who own vacation homes in Cape Cod, MA in selected affluent towns Distribution 27,700