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Vaughn Communciations
Summer '98 Newsletter

For Professional 
Video Users

 In This Issue:
(modified for vidpro subscribers)
  		Affordability
Factors
Many marketers dismiss video direct-mail without analyzing the numbers, assuming it's too expensive. But their more successful colleagues know something important: Video is getting better and more affordable all the time.
  • New lightweight shells increase durability while lowering materials and mailing costs
  • High-speed duplicating technology provides faster turn-around at lower per-unit costs
  • Digital editing is faster, easier, and cheaper than analog systems
When you factor in lower costs with significantly higher response rates, video direct-mail is the clear winner versus print in terms of your return on investment.

Video Direct-Mail Dramatically More Cost-Effective Than Print
If you market your product or service using direct-mail print campaigns, nobody has to tell you that response is plummeting these days.  The experts call it "clutter."  You call it your shrinking marketing dollar.  How to get noticed?  Try substituting a video or CD for your print materials.  Many marketers have found that new-media products are an exceptional way to break through the promotional clutter.

Grocery Store Sees 27% Response To Direct-Mail Video Campaign
To jump-start sales and build a customer base quickly, a new grocery store promoted their grand opening by mailing 3,000 videotapes directly to target households.  (Their campaign included a test of the most effective cover copy; see story on back page for details.) The video offered several incentives for prompt action, drawing an incredible 27% of recipients into the store during the grand-opening week.  But the store didn't stop with simply enticing people in.  They increased their already- 

 already-impressive ROI by including a follow-up program to build loyalty: When new customers brought their video in, they got not one, but four, coupons, one for each of the next four weeks. This savvy marketer knows that it's more cost-efficient to keep the customers you have than to keep finding new ones.

Cruise Line Increases Bookings 500+% With Video Direct-Mail 
A marketer of high-ticket vacation cruises was well plased with the cost-effectiveness of video versus print as a direct-mail campaign cost roughly three times more than a comparable print campaign, but it returned almost six times the number of bookings - a clear winner in any accountant's book!



 

 They didn't even show the cruise 
ship in the video; instead, they showed the destinations. That's part of the power of video: to make a product or service real for potential customers. This marketer used that unique power to exceptional advantage.

American Cancer Society Triples Contributions Using Direct-Mail Video
The Tampa branch of the American Cancer Society tried sending a video instead of their usual print materials this year, to invite potential donors to attend their annual Cattleman's Ball.  The result? They doubled their normal attendance, and they tripled 
the number of dollars raised! Why the big increase? As any fund-raiser knows, the way to a donor's checkbook is through the heart...namely, by helping them to visualize the results their generosity will yield. And what bettter way to paint such a picture than with video? Video reaches people on an emotional level, far more effectively than any print piece ever could. And that's the level at which people buy.

Published with permission from Paul Nicholas, Vaughn Communications, Corporate Hdqtrs in Minneapolis, MN

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