Early Submissions Up As Caples Extends Reach

An expanded international reach, a mail campaign featuring a larger-than-life mail piece and an aggressive e-mail campaign have yielded 280 early bird entries to the XXVII John Caples International Awards. The direct marketing creative contest’s final entry deadline is Sept. 30.

The early submissions represent a 366% increase from the 60 the contest generated in 2003. And entries continue to pour in, according to founder Andi Emerson. While she would not commit to a hard estimate, a final total in excess of 1,100 would not be out of the question, especially since the big agencies, which submit multiple efforts, tend to wait until the last minute.

Should the contest garner that many, it would represent a rebound from the 952 entrants last year.

“With the recession, everything was off, and then we had Cannes come leaping in, and that didn’t help any,” said Emerson.

During the summer of 2003, the Cannes Advertising Festival awarded Lion trophies specifically for direct marketing for the first time.

This year’s bump in entries is partly the result of a 24,000-piece campaign that was sent out during August, as well as a series of e-mails featuring efforts designed by 14 creative artists.

“We wanted completely different approaches because we in the DM industry have had different experiences that have formed our conclusions regarding what is good and what isn’t good,” said Emerson.

These differences also stretch to campaign strategies: Accompanying the increase in submissions was an increase in the complaints about the volume of contacts. Emerson plans to slow the number of e-mail blasts to three every two weeks through the Sept. 30 deadline.

This year’s contest will also feature a wide international reach: As part of the overseas marketing effort, 43 country chairs are overseeing the mail efforts within their own nations. In some cases, this means simply repackaging the self-mailer into envelopes appropriate for the nation’s mailing laws.

In a few cases, it calls for duty above and beyond the call. The contest’s representative in Shanghai, Emerson notes, translated the materials into both Mandarin and Cantonese.

The number of countries and entries isn’t the only manifestation of Caples’ renewed strength. The contest will feature 51 international judges, and might have enlisted more were it not for the experience – five years of hands-on creative activity for those evaluating the first two rounds of judging, and ten years for those participating in the final round – required of them.

For those wishing to submit entries in English, information is available on the Caples Web site (http://www.caples.org).