Rest and relaxation is the theme used by a startup marketing consulting and creative services firm that is offering new clients a $100 gift certificate.
The company targeted 3,000 decision makers, including marketing and sales executives, in industries such as financial services, manufacturing and consumer products with a 9-by-6-inch postcard that dropped Oct. 15.
It features a warm-weather theme, contrasting with the cooler fall gripping the New Jersey-Pennsylvania-Delaware region. The image of a vacationer lounging in a hammock between palm trees next to the ocean appears under the words: Wish You Were Here? FAT CITY.”
“Our message is, 'You need to relax, and we'll take care of your marketing,'” said Todd Feldman, president of The Dan Ryan Group, Spring House, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. The agency opened in January.
“My group loves the whole vintage postcard feel,” he said. “It is very graphical, and we thought how cool it would be to create a fictional place called Fat City, referring to success.
“We've already gotten 15 calls, including some from financial services companies, a consumer electronics manufacturer and a retail clothing chain.”
Along with referring to “our team of consultants, account managers, producers, graphic designers and writers,” the back of the card asks recipients to “call today and ask about our $100 spa gift certificate offer for new clients.” The final sentence on the back reads: “If you can't be on vacation, at least we'll help you feel as though you are.”
“Once we establish a relationship with a client, we'll ask, 'Where do you want to go?'” Feldman said. “We'll arrange for a gift certificate to be sent to them. It can be for a spa, but it can also be for a beauty parlor or a gym — whatever would help the marketing executive who gave us the account to relax.”
Those receiving the piece work at companies with more than $1 million in annual sales.
“Since March we've been working on client acquisition, but we need to expand,” he said. “We've spent a lot of time building our business with smaller clients, including startups. My goal is to go after companies that are more mature and understand the concept of working with an agency and the importance of getting good marketing help.”
Obtaining five to 10 new clients from the campaign “would be great” based on a 2 percent response to the piece, defined as phone calls generated, Feldman said.
“Once the mail goes out and it gets folks calling, it's our job to close the sale,” he said.
A new client could generate $100,000 to $1 million annually, depending on the services needed.
To ensure the piece doesn't go unnoticed, Feldman mailed it again to the same names in November, and will sent a third mailing in January.
“Direct mail is a frequency medium, and I want to make sure we penetrate the audience we're trying to penetrate,” he said. “Doing direct mail to help expand this business is a no-brainer.”
The card's cost per piece was pegged at 60 cents, not including $1,000 for the stock photography that was used.
Names were obtained through zapdata.com, Waltham, MA, an Internet service of D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions.
