Does your old mailer have to look old?

Fail: Creative  

This self-mailer arrived in the mailbox of a 69 year old man in Nevada. We’ll call him Bob. Bob and his wife enjoy bowling, traveling, and hiking in the mountains. He works out at the gym every day. But he does not go ballroom dancing – no, dancing is for old people.  It was something Bob’s father did at Century Village in Florida. In fact, he doesn’t know of a place to go ballroom dancing anywhere in his city, nor does he have any friends who dress up to go dancing. (However, he does know of a few people his age that like to hit the disco or go to a Rolling Stones concert.)

So when the self-mailer arrived in his mailbox, Bob didn’t bother opening it. The picture on the outside did not resemble his lifestyle, so why bother reading the words? Had Bob opened the mailer, he would have seen a picture of someone old enough to be his mother.
The mailer appears to be directed at anyone in the Medicare age group, e.g. 65 or older. From a mailer’s point of view, it is easier to have one creative than several. But why use a visual that would deter a sizeable portion of the target market? Instead, the Health Plan of Nevada should have used a better picture, no picture at all, or consider segmenting the list by age.

Learning: Define and understand your target market when choosing pictures and visuals. Choose a visual that relates to the customer, or avoid one altogether.