An auto repair and collision service center was opening a new location and wanted to generate positive brand awareness in the community. They created a direct mail marketing campaign. The team engaged the experts at Plum Grove to perform an A/B test to understand the campaign’s overall impact. The A/B test revealed surprising results!
Problem
To create brand awareness, the business mailed a 4-fold brochure to the surrounding community. The design was provided by the brand’s corporate headquarters.
The campaign kicked off with Plum Grove printing 100,000 brochures on 10-point postcard stock with a matte coating. Next, 20,000 brochures were mailed to the local area for the direct mail A/B test. Unfortunately, the response to the brochure mailer was underwhelming and needed to increase to ensure the remaining 80,000 brochures made an impact!
Tactic
The team at Plum Grove reviewed the brand’s marketing. Without scrapping the remaining 80,000 brochures, the team identified opportunities for the campaign to drive a stronger response rate.
The brochure’s Call-To-Action was a coupon positioned inside the mailer. To improve the visibility of the promotion, Plum Grove variable-data printed a silver-foil starburst sticker telling recipients to “Look Inside For $15 OFF”.
Next, Plum Grove helped identify 12 high-value car models the client frequently serviced. A mailing list was generated for people in the area who owned those car models. A personalized message was generated on the mailer tailored to the recipient’s own car make and model.
Results
The A/B test revealed that raising visibility of the promotion with the foil starbust sticker increased the response rate of the mailer. Through personalization and using data modeling for the list, the client also noted a measurable improvement in response rate.
All 100,000 brochures were mailed to the local community and the client continued to grow their business through direct mail marketing.