Key Takeaways:
- Never trust your gut — trust your tests. What “experts” love isn’t always what your market responds to.
- How the judges gave the marketing award to… the loser. A powerful reminder that industry praise and real-world results rarely match.
- The market — not committees, awards, or opinions — is the only true judge of winning creative.
- If you want breakthrough results, you must continually test headlines, teasers, offers, and formats. Guess the 60% response.
Testing is critical.
Even the best marketers are often wrong. Digital, video, landing pages, email… all require testing.
Here is a direct mail example:
My client 800 Direct needed to get its message into the hands of key telemarketing managers and marketing directors of companies nationwide, a skeptical audience.
The goal was to generate leads for their in-bound telemarketing services.
Part of what we did for 800 Direct was direct mail, with direct mail copy on an envelope. It’s called “teaser copy.”
Your envelope is a key factor in getting you piece into the hands of the decision maker. But not only is creating the envelope important, so is testing it.
Two envelope concepts. One real-world marketing test. One unexpected twist.
My client needed to reach high-level marketing executives. We created two completely different direct mail envelopes:
Version A — the Straight Approach
A powerful, professional envelope with a clear, serious message to senior decision-makers.
Envelope A had text with just a simple image of a telephone cord. It read, “Special Management Update. 4 Surprising Telemarketing Innovations!”
Envelope B had a cartoon of a telemarketer answering the phone while filing her nails and reading a magazine. It read, “Who is answering your in-bound calls?”
Version B — the Humor Approach
A light, ironic line designed to get attention and raise curiosity.
Both envelopes also read, “Enclosed: FREE Checklist – 8 Costly Telemarketing Blunders.” This statement created the perception of value inside. And each envelope contained the same information inside.
One of the test envelopes had a 60% better response!
Before you look at the results, can you guess which one did better?
We tested both in a live campaign.
The Results:
Version A — the straight, serious envelope — produced the highest response rate. It was 60% higher. It wasn’t close. The market told us clearly: clarity and authority work best with senior executives.
But then came the twist…
The Award Committee completely disagreed.
The Business Marketing Association reviewed both versions — and gave their Gold Award to…
Version B.
The loser.
The approach that did not produce the greatest number of leads.
The envelope that did not generate the highest return.
In other words…
The judges loved what the market rejected — and rejected what the market loved.
The Lesson for Every Marketing Director and CMO
This test reinforces one of the most important direct-response truths:
Only the marketplace determines what works. Not awards. Not creative directors. Not committees.
Version B looked clever.
It earned praise.
It even earned a trophy.
But Version A earned sales, response, and ROI — and that is the only thing that matters.
For over 40 years, we’ve seen this pattern repeatedly:
Great creative wins awards. Tested creative wins money.
And your job — like ours — is to generate measurable results.
Action — Boost Your Direct Mail and Digital Results Now
If you want to maximize response, lower your cost per lead, and test creative that produces award-winning results in the real world — not just on a committee score sheet — contact Michael today.
For over 40 years, CDMG has led the industry with:
• 10,000+ direct mail tests
• 124+ marketing awards
• Complete strategy, copy, art, lists, printing, mailing, and analysis
• Direct mail + digital integration that multiplies ROI
Call Michael at 615-933-4647 or email him at [email protected] to start a test campaign that can transform your results.
FAQs:
Q: Why did Version A outperform Version B?
Because senior executives respond to authority, clarity, and credibility. Humor is unpredictable in B2B — especially when selling a complex or high-value solution.
Q: Should humor ever be used in direct mail?
Yes — but only when tested. Humor is a creative risk. It can win big… or collapse. In this case, the market rejected it.
Q: How can I know which creative approach will produce the best ROI?
By testing multiple versions — headlines, teasers, offers, formats — and letting the data pick the winner.
Q: What should I test first?
Envelope teasers, headlines, offers, premiums, lifts, and format changes often deliver the fastest, highest-impact breakthroughs.
About Craig Huey:
Craig Huey is President of Creative Direct Marketing Group (CDMG), a leading authority on direct response marketing, accountable advertising, and data-driven campaigns. He has helped over 1,000 companies increase leads, boost sales, and generate measurable growth across digital, print, TV, and integrated multimedia strategies.
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