#125 Blog Post - Tuesday, May 4, 2021
http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2021/05/125-small-ball-direct-marketing.html
Posted by Denny Hatch
Guest Post by Robert Hacker
SMALL BALL DIRECT MARKETING
A Great Rarity: Using Direct Mail
To Prettify Up Your Neighborhood
From Bob Hacker to DH:
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Loved your latest blog. And you are
right, direct mail can be a blast.
Your last blog got me thinking: what campaign do I have that can show you a fabulous response? I was reminded of this one for Waypoint, here on Bainbridge Island. The letter tells the whole story, so I won't repeat it here. I can share the stats, though.
• The database was 6,231 names, not the 8,000 noted in the letter. (We found lots of dupes when we merge/purged the files.)
• Every name was a prospect, since Waypoint had never mailed before — hell, they didn't exist before!
• We generated 1,794 responses for a 28.8% response rate! FROM PROSPECTS! I've had NFP [not-for-profit] clients that would kill for .5% on a prospect file!
The average donation was $32.25 for a total take of $57,896. The money went into a trust to pay for Waypoint maintenance in perpetuity.
Direct Mail on the side of the angels. Who knew?
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Here's Bob Hacker's Small Ball Mailing
Can you help us fix
the ugliest eyesore
on Bainbridge Island?
<First Name><Last
Name>
<Address 1>
<Address 2>
<City>, <State> <Zip>
Dear <First Name><Last Name>,
You’ve seen it. It’s on the right when you board the ferry. It’s on the left when you get off. Yup, the ugliest eyesore on Bainbridge Island is there for all to see. We’ve been looking at this urban blight so long we’ve trained ourselves to ignore it. But not the tourists, not your guests – the first thing they see when they come to our beautiful island is the ugliest thing here.
The first impression is often the most lasting impression, and this one has to go.
With your help, we won’t have to look at it much longer. You’ve seen the work going on there. We’ve already cleaned the place up, now we’re right in the middle of creating The Waypoint. There is a picture of what it will look like on the next page. Take a peek, you’ll be amazed at how beautiful this new gateway to Bainbridge Island will be.
We’ve got some of the money we need. There has been a very generous donation from Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island. And another few islanders, who wish to remain anonymous for now, have stepped up and made major contributions to cover most of the rest. We’ve got most of the money we need, but not enough to finish the project. That’s why we need your help.
There is enough money to start the project, so we did. With winter coming, we had to start now or wait until spring. And, frankly, another six months of staring at that mess made no sense. Now we are asking you to pitch in, too.
We need about $150,000 between now and December 15th to finish The Waypoint. This letter is being sent to only 8,000 Bainbridge Island residents — so we need to get a donation of about $20 from each and every one of you. And since some won’t give, some of you need to give a lot more.
If $20 seems about right, why not give $40? If you’re comfortable with $50, why not donate $100? (All donors giving $100 or more will have their names listed on a plaque.) But the important thing is to give, we’ll be grateful for whatever you can between now and December 15th.
Sincerely,
Chairman, The Waypoint Committee
P.S. Isn’t it worth just a few pennies a day to remove
this blight and beautify our Island?
We think so, too. All donations are tax deductible.
Brochure/Order Coupon
Hatch-Hacker Email Dialog:
[Denny Hatch]
Bob,
Many thanks for your kind words.
Love your Bainbridge beautifying effort and the story.
1. May I run it as a post?
[Robert Hacker]
Sure.
[Denny Hatch]
2. Am I missing something?
[Robert Hacker]
I don’t think so. What do you think was missing? For me, the whole project was about the power of words. It was all about the letter. Tell a compelling story and the money will come. The original design was done on Word, so we know the art director had little impact on the return rates.
[Denny Hatch]
3. What was it that was so ugly?
[Robert Hacker]
An old gas station had been there. They took it out years and years ago and put an ugly fence around the site that people were using to hang signs and lock bikes to it. And the wind-blown trash added to the look. Inside the fence, the blackberry bushes took over, as they always do in the Pacific Northwest.
[Denny Hatch]
4. Do you have a photo of it?
[Robert Hacker]
No, but think of homeless camp sans people.
About Bob Hacker
Bob Hacker graduated from the University of Washington in 1966 with a BA in Journalism/Advertising. After a short stint in the Coast Guard and a detour to San Diego for a year, he joined David W. Evans in Seattle as production manager/AE/copywriter. He then went to work for KING Radio but soon left to attend Harvard Business School, where he graduated with an MBA in Marketing/Entrepreneurship.
After Harvard, Bob returned to Seattle and had, to put it bluntly, a rather checkered career. Advertising at Sea- First—that didn’t last. Marketing at Kenworth—that didn’t last either. He then co-founded an advertising agency with two partners, landed two big accounts, lost two big accounts—and the agency was no more.
Then, in 1981, he joined Thousand Trails as director of direct marketing. With an unlimited direct-marketing budget (yes, unlimited) he could and did test everything that he, his team, vendors and agencies could dream up. Armed with knowledge gained through thousands of test observations, in 1986 he launched The Hacker Group, now HackerAgency.
Bob and his first hire needed an office. The got free space, phone and fax by camping in the spare office of the telemarketing center they were using to handle inbound calls. Growth forced them to take the space next door. Free furniture from a bankrupt client made the move affordable.
Over the years, clients such as IBM, Hilton, Hyatt, Symantec, AT&T Wireless, GNA, Airborne Express, Microsoft, Expedia, Oracle, Washington Mutual, and more, continued to help built the company.
He and his wife and COO, Jo Anne, sold The Hacker Group to Foote,Cone & Belding (FCB) in 1999 and they continued to work for the new ownership for another three years, before retiring from the agency in 2002. After the second glass of wine, he’ll tell you about the four things he’s most proud of during The Hacker Group era:
• The agency grew ever year, so he never had to lay off staff.
• The bonus program changed a lot of lives for the better.
• Turnover was low—under 5%.
• FCB had 205 offices worldwide. With a staff of only 85 in Seattle. The Hacker Group generated more than 20% of FCB operating profit while Bob and Jo Anne were still involved. Within FCB at that time, The Hacker Group was called “The Cash Machine.”
Not many agencies survive the departure of the founder, let alone thrive. And who would have guessed that the two biggest agencies in Seattle (HackerAgency and Wunderman) now are direct-marketing shops, not general advertising agencies.
Bob still consults on direct-mail strategy and copy with his old creative team from The Hacker Group as Arcanum, Ltd., from his home office on Bainbridge Island. That’s when he’s not fly fishing off the shore of the Yucatan Peninsula, Christmas Island or British Columbia.
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Word count: 1314
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