Interview by Chantal Todé

Commercial printer Montage Graphics has a knack for helping its clients gain an edge through direct mail. Most recently, the company devised an effective and engaging mail campaign that has helped Savvi Formalwear, a marketing and sales cooperative composed of 35 men’s formalwear retailers, hold its own against even the larger retail chains.

Relying on deep personalization, the series of four-color mailers have helped boost business by driving in-market consumers online and into stores for Savvi tuxedos. The mailers also earned Savvi (and Montage) more attention after it was named the winner of the Deliver® “Best of the Brag Room” online competition.

We recently sat down with Toby Gadd, president of Montage Graphics, to talk about integration, personalization and the makings of a winning mail effort.

DELIVER: We hear a lot about personalization these days. Is there anything unique about the direct mail from Savvi?

TOBY GADD: A lot of one-to-one campaigns happen only once. What is unique about this program is that it is ongoing. Savvi members have continued using the same 8.5-inch by 5-inch oversized postcard, making this one of the most successful ongoing, personalized, automated direct mail campaigns out there.

DELIVER: What can other marketers glean from Savvi’s success?

GADD: Direct mail is good, but if you can make it retainable, you go a lot further toward encouraging the recipient to follow through on an offer. We were able to do this for Savvi via digital print technology that incorporates a name into an image. When this type of personalization is done in a way that is appropriate and creative, the piece becomes retainable. For example, Savvi uses an image of a bride and groom on a beach in which the groom is writing his and the bride’s names inside a heart in the sand. This particular piece has become a keepsake for many brides.

Another reason for the program’s effectiveness is that consumers are being slammed with e-mail and it is becoming noise. This, in turn, creates a situation where direct mail is more likely to be noticed by the recipient and to imbue the sender with credibility and prestige, something that matters very much in the bridal market.

DELIVER: How is the personalized direct mail generated?

GADD: It’s generated with the SavviOne system, which was built on Montage Graphics’ ParticleLogic one-to-one platform. It automatically generates direct mail, e-mail and personalized landing pages incorporating image personalization, variable coupon offers, retailer branding and store locator maps.

We do a mail drop every week, and it is usually a big mix of campaigns at different intervals from a variety of Savvi stores.

The system also handles all of the data. Members send us lists of leads, which come primarily from bridal shows. We get up to 30 different lists a week from members around the country. These go to a primary database and, each week, every lead is run through NCOA software to keep the database current. This helps keep track of people who are moving around, something Savvi’s younger demographic does a lot. Leads are then assigned to a specific member based on where the person lives.

DELIVER: What do the stores do to determine mailing intervals?

GADD: Each store typically sends us the data for their bookings, and we determine how far out from the wedding date most brides in their area book the groom’s tuxedo fitting. The membership of Savvi also meet twice a year to share what’s working and what’s not. Often, members will borrow a successful strategy used by another store and test it.

DELIVER: How does the direct mail fit with other elements of the program?

GADD: The direct mail campaign is the entry into a comprehensive multichannel marketing system. The direct mail pushes recipients to a personalized URL to learn more. Once someone goes to the Web site, this triggers a message to the appropriate telemarketer to follow up with a call.

DELIVER:You mentioned this being a keepsake. Do you keep any direct mail pieces because they inspire certain feelings?

GADD: I have around 100 pieces I hold on to. They are my inspiration bank.

There’s one piece I used to keep because, at first, I thought it was a good example of how not to use personalization since the only apparent personalization was the use of my name. However, the piece was from a well-known direct mailer that continued to use this strategy, so I decided I must be missing something.

After speaking with people who liked receiving these pieces, I realized that it wasn’t the incoming personalization that was significant, but that recipients could personalize their response back using information provided in the mailer. This taught me that while push personalization is important, the pull aspect can be even more valuable. So now when I develop direct mail campaigns, I’m always trying to find ways to allow someone to show their preferences or describe their lifestyle.

DELIVER: What types of direct mail pieces make you cringe or get you excited?

GADD: I receive a lot of direct mail without offers or calls to action, which makes me cringe. When someone puts a mailer out there and it’s not evident what I am supposed to do as a consumer, it’s a waste of money. Simply making me aware of the fact that a store exists isn’t enough to drive me in there or make me a loyal customer.

I love it when I see a mailer that is retainable, makes the call to action obvious and has an offer that applies to my need at that time. In an instant, I know what I am supposed to do. That really does inspire me.