The story behind a ‘giant slayer’ direct mailer

By Bill Johnson

Some years ago, I was given a rather unenviable assignment: write a test mailer for Crest Fruit Company, which is based in Alamo, Texas. Unenviable because the control piece was written by direct response copywriting guru Herschell Gordon Lewis.

In case you haven’t heard of him, Mr. Lewis has worked for some of the country’s top direct marketers, he has spoken at countless conferences and workshops, and he has written books on the subject. I, on the other hand, am a relative nobody in direct marketing.

Prior to my involvement with this project, other agencies and freelance writers had tried to topple Mr. Lewis’ control mailer for Red Cooper^® brand “Orange-Sweet” grapefruits, but to no avail. For a number of years, it survived each challenge.

Undaunted, the graphic designer and I sequestered ourselves in a meeting room and sifted through a stack of direct mailers, hoping to find “killer” ideas that would make our test mailer the new king of the hill.

Guess what? We did it — and not just once. Here’s the comment I received directly from the client: “Your mailer is blowing the socks off our control…again.”

So how did we do it? Beats me. However, let me share some of the elements that went into this mail piece:

Format: invitation

I’m not the first to figure out that people like to be invited to do something, but I do know that it works. In fact, I’ve used this format successfully with two other clients….including a business-to-business marketer.

Envelope: plain but refined

Nothing elaborate here, just a high-quality, cream-colored envelope with a laser-printed recipient name and address on the front and the Red Cooper logo with return address on the flap. We did not include a teaser message. (I do not know if the client used metered postage or a live stamp.)

Letter: one page, front and back

If my memory serves me right, the control letter was twice as long — and contained in a larger 8 1/2 x 11” page size (vs. our 6 x 9” page size). Which tells me that, contrary to conventional direct marketing wisdom, longer isn’t always better. My rule of thumb for letter length: whatever it takes to get the message across and break down the barriers that keep people from responding.

Voice: a storyteller

Everyone loves a good story — especially when you use the word “disaster” as I did in the phrase “sweet success from the clutches of disaster.” The story is told in Red Cooper’s folksy style.

Offer: bulletproof

The offer remained unchanged from the control piece. It is, however, worth mentioning: “We’ll send you the fruit. If you like it, send us the money. If you don’t like it, you owe nothing.” That’s instant credibility, not to mention a company that has a really terrific product.

Device: transfer sticker

Was a “Yes, Red, I accept” transfer sticker worth the extra expense? I honestly don’t know, but it has certainly been used often enough through the direct marketing ages to warrant testing.

Reply card: two-part, perfed

There’s a lot going on with this RSVP card! The top half restates the offer and “no-risk pledge” (note that we did not use the word “guarantee”), lists the benefits and includes a picture of the fruit. Below the perf, we stated the offer again and specified a spot for placement of the transfer sticker. The mailing panel shouts “RUSH ORDER” in red type.

It is interesting to note that the mailer is missing one fundamental direct marketing element: the toll-free phone number. I don’t recall the rationale for this omission, but knowing Crest Fruit’s savvy, I’m sure there was a good reason. Perhaps relying solely on a reply card is more in keeping with the Red Cooper aura. Red says in his closing: “I’ll look for your card on my desk.”

Otherwise, we deployed several tried-and-true direct mail techniques, weaving them into the fabric of Red Cooper’s personality. Maybe that best sums up how we managed to knock off a champion.

If you’d like to see other direct mail pieces I’ve written, send me an
e-mail or give me a call at (651) 351-9385.

Bill Johnson is president and chief copywriter at WordWizards, Inc., a marketing communications firm located in Stillwater, Minnesota. Bill has been a promotional copywriter since 1983 and an independent writer since 1991.
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