Ugly Duck Call

In March's Pushing the Envelope, I asked readers to share stories of “ugly duck” campaigns — the types of efforts that might not win any beauty pageants but that pull responses like the most popular gal in class.

One of the best came all the way from Australia, courtesy of Linda Loose in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Her campaign was for Victoria's Metropolitan Ambulance Service, a nonprofit government agency. Its more than 800,000 members pay a modest annual charge to ensure that any ambulance trip they'll ever need will be free. The goal was to get more members to self-train in cardiopulmonary resuscitation using a DVD kit, “4 Steps for Life.”

A direct mail campaign to members over age 50 (a high-risk demographic) tested various price points. “It was classic, old-fashioned direct mail — a bit daggy (that's Aussie for ‘endearingly unfashionable’), but dead-right for the older audience we were approaching,” Loose notes. It came in a no-teaser business-size envelope and included a two-page letter, a nice but not elaborate brochure, a non-personalized order form (this will change during the rollout), and a BRE. The result? The $20 (Australian) price racked up a 12% response and an estimated cost per order of $6.22.