New media technologies enabling marketers to reach audiences with unprecedented precision and immediacy have, in a surprising way, given new life to traditional direct-marketing campaigns. In large part because Internet-based marketing today is so impersonal, the power of a personal letter has never been greater.
This is especially the case when a marketer seeks a direct response from a consumer that, whatever the reason, is not comfortable transacting business on the Internet. Direct mail—and direct marketing generally—also remains effective for products that have traditionally been marketed through direct mail. So, while direct mail is often not the best method for general brand building, it remains a strong mechanism for delivering a specific direct-to-consumer message—and for soliciting a favorable response.
For the right client, and for the right product or service, there is no substitute for direct mail. Fortunately, the Bergman Group has a rich history of successful direct-mail programs going back some 20 years. As circulation director and director of marketing and creative services for Newsweek, Bill Bergman, the Bergman Group's president and CEO, was responsible for the design and execution of more than 20 million direct-mail packages a year. When he ran his own agency in New York City, he conducted direct-mail campaigns for more than 30 different magazines.
Building on our founder's strength, the Bergman Group has achieved notable direct-marketing successes in six areas, for a range of clients in several industries and professions:
In fundraising, we have developed and executed direct-mail fundraising campaigns for United Health Care; Beaumont Hospitals (Detroit); Audubon; Children's Medical Center Dallas; and Benedictine High School and Collegiate School, both in Richmond, Virginia. In the historically demanding area of magazine circulation, we have handled assignments from People, Newsweek, Audubon, OK! and The American.
In the area of higher education, we have developed campaigns for undergraduate programs at the College of William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University. In executive and postgraduate education, we have also conducted campaigns for St. John's College (Santa Fe).
For business-to-business clients, we have conducted direct-mail campaigns for World Access, Sandler Training, Trilegiant Loyalty Solutions, Dixon Ticonderoga and Marts & Lundy. In the area of financial services, we have created programs for Guaranty Bank, Capital One, Wachovia, Bank of America and Hanover Bank, now known as Eastern Virginia Bankshares. Finally, we have also enjoyed successes in the related area of direct-response television, creating and executing programs for DriveTime and 1-800-Flowers.
One notable campaign was our work in 2003 for Children's Medical Center Dallas, in which we were asked to develop a new direct-mail program for a fundraising program the client had conducted on its own for the three previous years. Our packages, featuring new creative content and sent to lists we acquired on the client's behalf, doubled the existing campaign's response rate, with the average gift increasing by 50 percent. We've handled Children's Medical Center's direct mail ever since.
If you think a direct-mail program might be right for your product or service, please let us know.
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