Los Angeles, California - Winners' Envelopes Get a New Look
If you watched the Oscars last Sunday night, you may have noticed that the winners' envelopes were different.
For 70 years, the Oscars used nothing more than a plain white paper envelope, available everywhere. This time, they used a new design (by Marc Friedland) made of iridescent gold paper, watermarked with little images of the Oscar trophy. The inside was lined with shiny red paper, embossed with the same images.
Friedland called it "the most important envelope in the world", and said he hopes they will become "a keepsake to accompany Oscars wherever they go."
I just want my envelopes to be opened!
So if the Academy of Motion Pictures can upgrade their envelopes - so can you. And there's probably no more effective way to upgrade response.
Here are five ideas you may want to test:
1. A larger envelope. Without exception, a 9" X 12" envelope will outpull a smaller regular one. The reason is - it stands out from other direct mail, and it looks important.
The only question is - will the added response pay for the extra cost and extra postage? It almost always does. That's why using a larger envelope is recommended for Business-to-Business, where one or two additional sales can pay for it many times over.
2. An "official" looking envelope. The way to make it look official is to add little black blocks, fake bar codes, and other "do-dads" to it. Just don't put too many, or it starts looking like junk mail. You can also use a textured background (almost like a check) to give it a little extra kick.
3. An unusual-size window. You can make it bigger, or even add a second window. You can reveal some of the message in the window - but the person has to open it to read the rest. Note: It's better if they can't quite see the payoff unless they look inside. You can even use a window of a different color - a light yellow or even red.
All of these make your envelope more visually interesting, and much more likely to be noticed and opened.
4. A manila envelope. This has long been associated with government forms, and will almost always be opened.
5. A "blind" envelope. This works best with existing customers. If I am an AT&T customer, I have to open an envelope with just their logo. It could be billing information. It could be about my existing service.
On the other hand, if they put "Now Get Great Deals on Your New 4G Network" on the outer envelope - I know it's just advertising, and I can throw it out without a thought.
Will these ideas work for you? Not sure, but they sure are worth testing.
