QAS Tries Super Bowl Tickets as Lure
QAS, an address hygiene software provider, used a free 30-day trial and a sweepstakes for tickets to see the Super Bowl to boost response for its latest mail campaign.The Charlestown, MA, company dropped 50,000 pieces starting Nov. 6 promoting QuickAddress Pro. The effort focused on retail and travel companies along with call centers. Names came from a QAS database of qualified prospects "in our pipeline that we have not yet closed the deal with," said Cecilia Hellman, who does the North America marketing at QAS.
QAS works mainly with companies that have large business-to-consumer databases including those in finance and insurance as well as call centers. Those targeted with the mailers worked in marketing, operations and fulfillment departments as well as call center managers and VP-level executives.
So far, the campaign has seen a 0.5 percent response rate as well as a number of sales for the company, though Hellman would not reveal how many sales have been closed or give a dollar amount. The campaign cost $80,000 to put together, including the cost of the tickets.
The mailer's envelope told recipients they were "eligible to receive tickets and an NFL Pro Gift Shop Certificate." A cover letter carried the football theme with copy such as "you need a brilliant play" and "turn customers into fans" to talk about product features and to convey how the product can benefit a company.
The letter also told recipients that if they replied immediately they would get a free 30-day trial of QuickAddress Pro and be entered in a sweepstakes to win either two tickets to see the New England Patriots vs. the New York Jets on Dec. 22 or Super Bowl XXXVII.
Prospects in the Northeast received the chance to win tickets to the Patriots-Jets game while the rest of the country got the Super Bowl offer. Hellman said the idea behind the two offers was to see if a larger prize would test better against a smaller, but more local prize.
The first 50 respondents also received a $25 NFL Pro Shop gift certificate. The mailer asked people to respond via e-mail, phone, fax or business reply card.
"The goal of the campaign is to obviously generate leads but to also drive people to our site where they can look around and find out more about us," Hellman said. "People have responded by all four mechanisms but the Web and the BRC have been the most popular."
A three-page foldout brochure offered highlights and features of the product along with the BRC, which contained three qualifying questions people needed to fill out to become eligible for the prizes.
The mailer also included two pieces designed to look like football tickets. One highlighted the ticket giveaway. The other listed companies who are "already playing ball with QuickAddress Pro" along with comments from satisfied customers.
