Is this a fair exchange of value? How would you improve it?

by 12 replies
13
Exchange $10 for a $10 Silver Coin

This is the premise behind an offer that was mailed to Australian households today.

I've included five images of the contents of the mailing below for you to study.

It would be great if the direct mail experts could comment and add to conversation to build a resource for others who might like to consider direct mail as an option in their marketing mix.

Background information in regards to timing.

ANZAC day is approaching on April 25th. This is a national day of remembrance that commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations -->
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day


What are your thoughts?

What are these people doing right or wrong?

How could they improve their offer?

Here is the mailing--->

Envelope.



6 x 4 Insert/teaser on satin photographic paper - printing on back in red says
"Limited time only! Ends May 8 2017"



Front side of letter.



Backside of letter.



Reply Paid Envelope.



Best regards,

Ozi
#offline marketing #commemorative #direct mail #exchange #fair #improve #letter #offer
  • Here is the question how many grams are in the Silver Coin ? Since it is to cheap to be a 1oz. coin. That would be one question before purchasing many people might ask. I would think that should be address.

    I'm no expert with direct response, But answering that question would be important. I have seen offer for Silver Coins and they usually tell you the silver amount in each coin by weight, not the percentage.
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    • It says in the letter the coin is legal tender in Kiribati which is an island nation whose currency is pegged to the Australian dollar so the idea of getting a $10 coin for $10 is a pretty good risk reversal or guarantee in itself as is something that has the Queen's head on it.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiribati_dollar

      The coin will have been struck by the Royal Australian Mint.

      I don't think the idea here is about the front end offer making a profit but the back end sales that will follow.

      It is a nice switch on the Free + Shipping idea.

      They've just made it $10 + FREE shipping.

      Kind regards,

      Ozi
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  • Hi Ozi,

    Thanks for another good one. I'll throw in my opinion (heck, everyone has an opinion, right?)

    First, I have to ask... Is the MacQuarie Mint well known in Australia? I only ask because I don't notice any mention of a "trust" element here.

    I got a similar piece from the Franklin Mint a while back ( I guess they would be the USA version of MacQuarie Mint?)

    And even though they're extremely well known here, there was still a line referring to... "For more than 50 years, you've trusted the Franklin Mint to bring you only the finest collectables." It wasn't front and center... but it was there.

    One other thing that caught me was... this mailer mentions "No Risk" multiple times, but then it doesn't tell me what the guarantee is. Instead, it makes me go to the website just to find out what the no risk policy is.

    Perhaps just a sentence somewhere, that mentions "If you're not completely thrilled with your purchase, simply return it for a full refund?" (or whatever their policy is)

    I know it's only a few words, but a copywriter once told me "sometimes a few words can make a big difference."

    All the best,
    SAR
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    • Thanks SAR,

      You got me looking a little more into them.

      I've seen their mailings in the past and they were always much like Franklin Mint advertising in the *old* TV week, or a Sunday television lift out from national newspaper publishers.

      Maybe they think the Queen's head is enough of a trust badge without making a statement or maybe they can't make a genuine statement that people would believe so they leave it out.

      When you mentioned trust it made me think of a few things relating to the word "Macquarie".

      We have Macquarie Bank, Macquarie Dictionary, etc....also there was a governor Macquarie back in the early 1800's

      There is a popular tourist destination in Sydney Harbour called Mrs Macquarie's Chair

      I think the company is clever to borrow authority from these associations but as for publicly making claims perhaps they have issues.

      I did find out they ran a similar promotion in 2015 that lead to an investigation because they used the word "ANZAC" and the "Rising Sum Emblem" - you can read about it here:
      Macquarie Mint under investigation for use of Rising Sun badge on commemorative coin; ceases promotional material using word 'Anzac' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

      In the article they agreed to stop using the term "ANZAC" in a very similar marketing piece.

      They did point out they contributed $100K of donations to war veterans via LEGACY over the previous 4 years.

      Given the similarity of the promotion their efforts must be very profitable which makes it more intriguing to study their material.

      As for risk reversal who is to know whether they mailed tow or more versions of the mailing testing different copy.

      I'd expect them to test pretty much everything to maximise ROI.

      When I dug further I found they marketed a similar coin back in 2011 and probably every year they do the same thing.

      Here is a video I turned up also....

      $10 coin for $10 (Macquarie Mint) - Now with links in description! - YouTube
      Best regards,

      Ozi
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  • It's a beautiful offer.
    The only thing that pops out at me is that they could mention that only one piece "per household" and that these can be sent as gifts to others. That would add to the mailing list, and these names would be nearly a valuable, I would think.

    It's a great lead generation ad to a very select market. I'd be interested in the lists they used..what the prospects bought previously.

    Thanks Ozy, for the great share.
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    • Excellent point. I didn't even think of that.

      Even if they only got 10% of the orders shipped as gifts, they'd get 10% more names on their mailing list. (the order placer, and a potential collector)


      Well, I've never written for the commemorative market. But if you ever feel like throwing some tidbits of wisdom out here, I'm more than interested in learning.
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    • Thanks Claude,

      Your point about adding additional names so they can be sent as gifts is a great idea.

      I'll put that in my checklist for when I produce an offer that could use your suggestion.

      Best regards,

      Ozi
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