Key Takeaways

• Testing replaces opinions and assumptions with measurable marketplace evidence.
• Test one meaningful variable at a time so you can identify what caused the difference in response.
• Headlines, graphics, offers, prices, formats, audiences, calls to action, and marketing channels can all be tested.
• A magalog combines the informative appearance of a magazine with the persuasive selling purpose of a catalog or direct-response promotion.
• Magalogs educate prospects, establish authority, overcome skepticism, and help marketing messages get past corporate gatekeepers.
• The magalog principle also applies to digital marketing through special reports, online magazines, landing pages, email sequences, webinars, and video sales letters (VSLs).
• In the SurfControl test, a copy-driven cover featuring the headline “How an Email Joke Cost Chevron $2.2 Billion” competed against a graphics-driven cover showing burning $100 bills.
• The copy-driven Chevron headline outperformed the graphics-driven cover by more than 24%.
• The SurfControl test does not prove that copy always beats graphics. It demonstrates that marketers should allow the marketplace to determine the winner.
• Successful testing can increase response, reduce customer acquisition costs, improve return on ad spend (ROAS), and create winning approaches that can be used in future campaigns.

 

Should your marketing lead with a powerful graphic—or a powerful headline?

You may have an opinion. Your creative team may have an opinion. Your president or marketing director may be certain they know the answer.

But the marketplace—not personal preference—should make the final decision.

That is why marketers can and should test individual campaigns. Testing reveals what improves response, what reduces response, and what can produce a higher return on investment.

The key is to test only one meaningful variable at a time—such as the headline, graphic, price, offer, format, call to action, or audience. This allows you to identify what actually caused the difference in results.

And this principle applies to virtually every form of marketing today, including:

• Email subject lines and creative
• Landing pages
• Websites and e-commerce product pages
• Paid search and social media ads
• Display and native advertising
• Video sales letters and commercials
• Connected TV and streaming campaigns
• Direct mail
• Magalogs and catalogs

Let’s look at a revealing direct-mail test that demonstrates this principle.

The Marketing Challenge: Reaching the Decision-Maker

I created this test for SurfControl, which was a global provider of corporate security software.

Its SuperScout product competed in a difficult marketplace against major, heavily promoted security-software companies. These competitors were constantly targeting prospects through email, digital and personal sales calls.

One of SurfControl’s biggest marketing challenges was reaching high-level executive decision-makers.

The solution was a magalog designed to look and read like an authoritative industry publication.

What Is a Magalog?

A magalog combines the editorial appearance and informative content of a traditional magazine with the persuasive selling power of a catalog or direct-response promotion.

Instead of looking like an obvious advertisement, a magalog uses articles, headlines, case histories, charts, graphics, and other valuable information to educate prospects while leading them toward a product, service, or offer.

In this campaign, the magalog helped top management understand the business and financial dangers created by inadequate email security.

Those executives could then ask their IT departments to investigate the problem and evaluate SurfControl’s solution.

The magazine-style format also gave the promotion a better opportunity to get past corporate gatekeepers and reach the intended executives.

The Test: A Graphic Versus a Specific Headline

Two magalog covers were developed.

Each cover was designed to warn executive decision-makers about the financial dangers that unprotected email systems could create for their companies.

But the creative approaches were very different.

One cover was graphics-driven. It featured a dramatic image of burning $100 bills. Everyone loved this cover.

The second cover was copy-driven. Most thought it was too copy heavy. It featured this specific headline:
“How an Email Joke Cost Chevron $2.2 Billion.”

Both covers communicated financial danger.

But which approach would generate the stronger response—the dramatic visual or the specific, curiosity-building headline?

Rather than guess, we tested them.

The Results: The Copy-Driven Cover Won

Both covers performed well.

However, the copy-driven Chevron headline outperformed the burning-$100-bills cover by more than 24%.

Overall, the campaign produced a response rate of more than 1% from selected prospect lists.

Why did the headline win?

The graphic communicated a general idea: Poor email security can cost your company money.

The headline communicated a specific and dramatic consequence. It named a major company, identified an enormous financial loss, and created an information gap that executives wanted to close:

How could an email joke possibly cost a company $2.2 billion?

That curiosity encouraged more executives to open and read the magalog.

The Bigger Marketing Principle

This test does not prove that copy will always outperform graphics—or that graphics are unimportant.

It proves something far more valuable:

You cannot reliably predict which creative approach will win without testing it in the marketplace.

A dramatic visual might outperform a headline in another campaign. A video may beat a static ad. A short landing page may outperform a long one—or the longer page may win because prospects need more information before acting.

The audience, offer, product, channel, and stage of awareness can all affect the outcome.

That is why disciplined testing is essential across print, digital, video, email, social media, connected TV, and e-commerce marketing.

As I tell audiences and clients:

We can guess. We can think we know. But the reality is that the marketplace is always right.

What Could One Winning Test Mean to Your Bottom Line?

Imagine improving response by 24% across a major email campaign, landing page, paid-media campaign, video sales letter, direct-mail package, or e-commerce promotion.

That single improvement could mean:

• More qualified leads
• More customers and prospects responding
• A lower cost per acquisition
• Greater revenue from the same media investment
• A higher return on ad spend
• A winning creative approach that can be applied to future campaigns

But you will never discover that improvement if you rely entirely on opinions, assumptions, or creative preferences.

Let My Team at CDMG Help You Discover What the Marketplace Wants

Are you testing the variables that could make the greatest difference in your response and ROI?

CDMG can give you a second opinion on your current marketing and help you develop a disciplined testing strategy for your digital, video, email, direct-mail, e-commerce, and omnichannel campaigns.

We can help you determine:

• What should be tested first
• How to isolate the variable properly
• How to develop meaningful test alternatives
• How to measure the results accurately
• How to roll out the winning approach across other marketing channels

Call Michael at 615-933-4647 or email him at [email protected] to discuss your current marketing challenge—and discover whether one strategic test could produce a significant breakthrough in response, revenue, and ROI.

About Craig Huey:

Craig Huey is a nationally recognized direct response marketing expert, author, and speaker. He is president of Creative Direct Marketing Group (CDMG), where he has helped businesses generate millions of leads and sales through accountable advertising and breakthrough campaigns. He is also the publisher of Direct Marketing Update and The Huey Alert, and author of several books including The Great Deception and The Christian Voter.

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