Question

Topic: Strategy

Multiple Mailings To The Same Target-good Or Bad?

Posted by Anonymous on 7/29/2005 at 2:08 PM ET 125 Points
Trying to find some argument (either against or for) hitting a target more than once with the same direct marketing piece.

The President of our company is of the opinion that when we co-sponsor an event, it's okay for the co-sponsor to send out the marketing brochure AND for our organization to send out the marketing brochure, even if it means sending the same marketing piece twice to a recepient.

I am of the opinion that we should dedup the list so that we aren't hitting the same target (i.e. the CEO of a bank) with the same exact brochure twice in a short period of time...but I really need some arguments as to why that isn't a good idea.

Some questions I have: What does the target think when they get two of the same brochure, even if they come from two different organizations? Do they even notice at a particular level (i.e. President or CEO) or are they only seeing one because their gatekeeper only puts one through? What do you think when you get two pieces of the same thing from a company?
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  • Posted by ReadCopy on 7/29/2005 at 4:02 PM Member
    DON'T DO IT.

    It would make you or your partner look daft for duplicate mailings.
    You can mail with a similar message, but not the same one. If you think it might help reinforce the invitation, then by all means mention in a new mailer that they have already recieved an invitation, and yours is a reminder :-)

    Every effort should be made for you to get the lists together and dedupe them.

    Good Luck
  • Posted by mgoodman on 7/29/2005 at 9:19 PM Accepted
    There is an argument for frequency in your communication, and consistency in the message. But sending the exact same thing to the same people within a short period of time is truly a terrible idea -- especially for a direct mail piece.

    You could argue that companies deliver the same ad in different magazines during the same month, and some percentage of those are read by the same people. But that's different, because the vehicle itself (the magazine, in that case) provides a different environment for the ad each time.

    That kind of frequency is good. But if all you were doing is delivering the same magazine twice to the same person, it would be very reasonable to assume that they would (a) throw the second one away, and/or (b) become annoyed that some dumbo can't cull out the duplication and send just one.

    With broadcast media, it's different too, because you need the repetition to gain awareness. People don't usually keep a commerical around and watch it several times on their own, so you need to "remind" them often.

    Net, don't send two. It's a waste of money AND it risks having the recipient think you can't figure out who already has a copy, and subconsciously thinking of you as not too swift.
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