Tommy Can You See Me?

I love Tommy Bahama attire. I’ve bought their pants and belts. I have their polo shirts, t-shirts, and sweatshirts. I have work shirts, bathing suits, and Hawaiian shirts. What I don’t have is any of their women’s attire. So why did I receive this mailer with some very… well, er, proportioned women begging me with their eyes to go swimming with them?

A colleague of mine who is also a Tommy Bahama enthusiast – and has also purchased only men’s clothes from them – received the same mailer. As customers, we have not purchased anything from Tommy Bahama other than for ourselves.  Yet we received this self-mailer. It is printed on heavy white paper with some well-designed and superbly printed photographs. It cries to the aspiring summer bather, “Join me” or “Be me.” All the same, it gets a Fail for List. Mailing this piece to us is a waste of time and money.

Some direct marketing professionals might suggest that, perhaps, Tommy Bahama used a Big Data method as part of a growth strategy to try to bring in new purchasing behavior. Maybe we have credit card purchase data suggesting we buy things for our female significant others. I would be able to accept such a hypothesis if we were new customers. However, we both have years of purchasing behavior and we were identified by our customer number on the self-mailer. My hypothesis is that the merchant sent the same self-mailer to most or all of its customer base.

Lesson: Use your customers’ purchase history to your advantage. Target offers to customers that demonstrate a likeliness to make an incremental purchase. 

P.S. As I write this, I am wearing a Tommy Bahama men’s shirt.

AARP and the Mini Day Bag!

My girlfriend recently celebrated her birthday. While she is not exactly in the demographic sought by MTV, she isn’t that old, either. Which is why we were surprised when she received an offer to join the AARP. 

My understanding is that the minimum age to join the American Association of Retired Persons is 50, and she is several years away from that threshold. Besides, I doubt that either of us will retire at 50, much less 60.

Creatively, the package is interesting. 

Externally, the AARP leverages a self-mailer approach with a nearly blind outer envelope; that is, the typical consumer would not note that it is from the AARP, although the typical direct mail marketer would notice the mention of ‘AARP’ in the universal postage indicia. Internally, the first things an old person potential member sees are the card and the image of the Free mini day bag. This suggests that the incentive is as much the Hero as is the value of membership.

 When the full letter is opened, a reader learns of all the benefits. The copy on the left side is assumptive, opening with, “Please keep this card until you receive your Membership Kit.” The copy on the right side calls out the various benefits of membership.

The return envelope reiterates the benefits -- not of membership, but of the mini day bag. For so much emphasis to be placed on this, it must be quite a great bag. If the bag and membership are enough reason for the reader to join the AARP, that person has to provide a stamp for the return envelope. This is likely also an indication of the target audience, because younger people such as my girlfriend are less likely to have a stamp -- they would have preferred to respond online.

 

I presume that a large organization such as the AARP has put in the time and effort to optimize their Control solicitation package. Perhaps this is the first in a series of solicitations. However compelling the visuals, messaging, and incentive, a Fail for List is appropriate. Maybe after mailing to my girlfriend, they will target recent college graduates?

Response form tear-off

Lesson: Target your mailings to the appropriate audience. Otherwise, you waste production money and postage while potentially damaging your reputation.

Response envelope flap

Outside of response envelope

Hilton HHonors: The Hidden Bonus

Subject line: "Earn HHonors Bonus Points when you sign-up for the HHonors Shop-to-Earn Mall"

The email subject line read, “Earn HHonors Bonus Points when you sign-up for the HHonors Shop-to-Earn Mall.” The proposition of getting more points just for signing up for a “mall” was tempting. I was not sure what it means to sign up for a mall, but if it gets me closer to nights in Maui, I would be interested. I read on for details.

The subhead states, “GEAR UP FOR FALL WITH THE HILTON HHONORSTM SHIP-TO-EARN MALL.” The call to action is to click “Shop now.” The body copy describes opportunities to earn bonus points by shopping at merchants and reiterates the call to action to visit the mall.

There are several Fails for Creative in this email. The most significant Fail is that the body of the email does not explain the offer presented in the Subject Line. How do I sign up for the mall? What bonus points are available for me to do so? Even when I visit the landing page (shown here), there is no mention of the offer to earn HHonors points for signing up.

Other Fails for Creative include:

• Including a “TM” using the same font and weight as the main word in the subhead. If your HTML capabilities are so lacking that you can’t place your “TM” in a superscript on a subhead, do it in the first mention in the body copy. Your lawyer would understand.
• Using the term “merchant” interchangeably with “retailer”. Be consistent about it, and consider sticking with “retailer”. After all, the primary definition of “merchant” is “a person who buys and sells commodities for profit.” Items such as Tumi handbags are not commodities; therefore, “merchant” is not a consumer-facing term.

Lessons: 

1. If you mention an offer in your Subject Line or headline, explain it in the body of your communication.
2. Do not use the same font and weight for a “™” or “®” as the word it references.
3. Ensure that your language is appropriate for the audience and is consistent.

Don't oversell & scare your customers

Although this post in Consumerist is about debt collectors, there is a lesson for direct mail marketers.  You can go overboard.  

Lesson: Don’t oversell your product or service.

LivingSocial All Wet

If you schedule your customer emails ahead of time, here is a reminder to stop and verify that you are selling the right thing at the right time: According to Valleywag, LivingSocial is selling trips to a disaster zone in Colorado.  Fail for really bad Timing.

Lesson: Do a final check before every direct marketing effort to ensure that your product and offer are appropriate. Do not send a marketing offer for something you can't sell or for travel to a flooded area.

Citi aspires to list fail

I received this email from Citi today, reminding me that I still have the opportunity to spend enough on my Hilton HHonors Reserve Visa Signature Card to achieve Diamond status in the Hilton HHonors program.  However I met the spend level. 

This Fail for List might be forgivable if I recently met the threshold.  After all, there is a lag time between when an action takes place and customer's information is updated as there is between when a list is pulled and used for direct correspondence.  However I met the spend requirement in March -- a full 5 months ago.

Lesson: Be sure your contact list is based on accurate information.






Disclosure: I used to work in Citi's Bankcard group, although I was not involved with the HHonors credit card portfolio.

Lands' End says "Daddy!"

I have been a loyal customer of Lands' End for over 20 years, purchasing clothes by mail and online for myself. Because of that, they occasionally send me catalogs and frequent discount offers.

I have not purchased any gifts from Lands' End or clothes for other people, so why did I receive this Lands' End Kids catalog? The timing is not bad -- Back to School shopping season is approaching, as is fall -- but the use of their in-house mailing list and big data is questionable. Why target someone who does not have children and has not purchased anything for children from their company?

Or perhaps the Lands' End database knows something I don't. Perhaps I'd better check in with my ex-wife.