The document discusses direct mail testing done by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to address declining response rates from their acquisition mailing lists. They tested mailing 60,000 letters using established "banker packs" and also tested new list sources like data swaps with other charities and data co-ops. The results showed much higher response rates from the new list sources compared to cold lists, with the charity data swaps and co-ops producing over half the new donors. This demonstrated that more "promiscuous" donors who support multiple charities were more likely to respond. The testing helped maximize returns and identify more effective targeting strategies while minimizing risks.

1. Donor Acquisition:
What can you gain
from direct mail?
SPEAKERS
Carl Young
Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation
Fiona McPhee

2. Our Investigation Journey
Market
Context
Audience Testing

3. WHAT IS GOING
ON OUT THERE?

5. 70% of ‘new’ donors
in 2012 were single
cash givers (the rest
being new regular
givers)
New cash donors
accounted for 37% of
all cash donors in
2012 (up from 28% 6
years ago)
25% of cash income
in 2012 came from
these new donors
18% of all Regular
Givers in 2012 were
new donors

6. New Recruits
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
Cash Regular Gift
PFBM10_Analysis_ALL_v2.xlsm

7. Where the cash donors
come from
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
500,000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Direct Mail Face to Face Media Online Other Phone 2StepPFBM10_Analysis_ALL_v2.xlsm

8. DIRECT MAIL
IN YOUR PORTFOLIO

9. New Cash Recruits

10. Average Cash Gift
Face to Face, $356
SMS, $342
TV, $174
Door to Door, $172
Unsolicited, $160
Online, $159
Other, $154
Unaddressed, $132
Email, $127
Press Inserts, $113
Press Adverts, $105
Radio, $91
Direct Mail, $61
2Step, $40
Phone, $40
$0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400
1,859
227
7,819
7,678
68,113
3,299
4,379
2,258
PFBM10_IncomeSummary_v4.xlsm
239,507
2,066,846
9
475
11,362
149,233
1,176
Direct Mail delivering a
$61 average gift and
the most gifts of all
channels

11. Average Cash Gift
$0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250PFBM10MSF_IncomeSummary_v4.xlsmPFBM10MSF_IncomeSummary_v4.xlsm
Overall Average Gift
By Charity
$0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300
Habitat
MSF AU
YOTS
Catholic M.
Bush Heritage
Oxfam AU
Anglicare
PCFA
Red Cross AU
A4UNHCR
UNICEF NZ
RFDS WA
Mary Potter
Leprosy M.
HRC
Guide Dogs VIC
Auckland CM
WWF NZ
RSPCA QLD
SCHF
CBMI
Environment Vic
Water Aid
Starlight
Smith Family
Lifeflight
RSPCA SA
RFDS VIC
CanTeen
World Vision
RFDS SE
OXFAM NZ
Wellington FA
Amnesty
IHC
ICV
Berry St
CCNSW
Mater Fdn
Peter Mac
ACF
WWF AU
NBCF
Barnardos AU
CCIA
Vision
SEDA
CBMI NZ
St Johns NZ
CPA
HWNS
Shepherd C.
LDH
Alfred
Yooralla
CHW
Surf LS
RNZFB
Camp Quality
Baker IDI
Heart AU
TCCQLD
Plunket
Independence
Stroke
Greenpeace NZ
Starship
PSEC
First Gift Average Gift
By Charity
Your cause
How you ask
What you ask

12. Who you get
Average age at
Recruitment
Direct Mail: 68
Phone: 60
Online: 48

13. Second Gifts
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
<25
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
(blank)
<25
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
(blank)
Cheque Credit Card
Cash 12m RG 12m
PFBM10_Analysis_ALL_v2.xlsmPFBM10_Analysis_ALL_v2.xlsm
Second gift rates vary for
different demographics &
giving behaviours

15. Sir Peter MacCallum was an esteemed pathologist whose vision was to create a world class
cancer centre where scientists and doctors worked side-by-side to quickly translate research
into care.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a public hospital situated in Victoria but treats patients
from across Australia.
It is Australia’s only specialist hospital and research centre with a single focus – conquering
cancer.
It houses the largest
cancer research
group in the
Southern Hemisphere
and is world renowned
for its work.
Today’s Peter Mac Vision
The best in cancer care,
accelerating discovery,
translating to cures.
Sir Peter MacCallum
“Nothing but the best is good
enough in the treatment of
cancer.”
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6acEVLwADY

16. Peter Mac Gross Income Growth
$0
$5,000,000
$10,000,000
$15,000,000
$20,000,000
$25,000,000
$30,000,000
$35,000,000
$40,000,000
1 2 3 4 5
$13,227,938
$16,274,079
$21,245,787
$30,660,073
$39,757,102
Gross revenue FY 2009 - 2014
1 2 3 4 5

17. Peter Mac Gross Income by Channel
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
7,000,000
8,000,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Fundraising Revenue by Stream (FY2009-2014)
Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4 Series5

18. Direct Mail the engine room of FR – full integration ahead
Direct Mail
Geographical
reach
Donor
Acquisition
(cash)
Obtain second
gifts and lead
generation for
Regular Giving
High Value &
Major Giving
Bequest lead
generation
Stewardship (all
FR programs),
reactivation and
upgrading

19. Growth in Peter Mac donor base

20. TARGET AUDIENCE

22. Finding the Core Audience
$34.90 $35.60
$32.90
$0.00
$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
$25.00
$30.00
$35.00
$40.00
0.00%
1.00%
2.00%
3.00%
4.00%
5.00%
6.00%
7.00%
8.00%
9.00%
10.00%
1 2 3
Results by List Type
Series1
Series2

23. A charity donor is a charity donor …
Swap Co-Op Subscription Compiled Survey
2nd Gift 90 13.6% 8.9% 8.4% 4.1% 5.4%
2nd Gift 180 30.4% 23.0% 15.6% 10.2% 14.3%
2nd Gift 270 37.8% 28.4% 20.4% 14.6% 12.7%
2nd Gift 12m 48.6% 36.5% 29.9% 23.4% 18.2%
Recruits 1,189 3,177 169 852 57
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Great cash donors, usually RG
rejecters

24. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+
Proportionofdonorsgivingtomultiplecharities
Cash Donor Retention 2012
by number of additional charities supported

25. PREMIUM ACQUISITION
MAY 2013
DATA SWAPS & CO-OPS

26. Our Downward Trend
• Previously successful packs mailed to high response cold
lists that had initially achieved 5-6% response rates, had
now dropped to 3.4%
• Tactics that had once achieved an ROI between 0.9 and
1.2 were now achieving 0.6
Declining
returns from
cold lists
• As a state-based charity with no permission to mail to
names in NSW, growing our prospect pool (via lists) was
becoming increasingly challenging
• By April 2013 short around 9,000 new cash recruits
against an annual budget of 21,900 recruits and down on
acquisition gross income by almost $200,000
Limited
geographical
reach

27. Addressing the downward trend
Change in
strategy
• Continued to mail proven premium acquisition packs.
• Simultaneously tested other techniques to lift response rates
Testing with
Banker packs
• The creative was already successful
• Sending our ‘banker’ packs ensured risk was minimised and the test outcomes more valid for
benchmarking
Testing
targeting
• Testing new high-performing list options, including data swaps with other charities and data co-ops
• We believed these would be the greatest returns, both in terms of immediate campaign results and in
learnings for future campaigns
Less
subjectivity
• Using an established banker creative provided more reliability and less subjectivity in the final results
analysis

28. Banker 1: Dove Stationery Pack

29. Banker 2: Butterfly Notepad Pack

30. Strategy
•18,700 cold list names from three of our best performing lists
•9,600 charity swapped names from six charities
•31,700 names from two data co-ops
Targeting
•Timing had not shown to significantly impact acquisition
activities
•However, MAY 2013 chosen to leverage tax-time giving donors
•Get in first to overcome the potential ‘overcrowding the
mailbox’ issue of Tax appeals
Timing
•The acquisition cash ask strategy was based on our previous
and successful ask strategy of $25, $50 and $100Asks

31. Testing Cash Amounts
A lower ask resulted in a higher ROI due to a higher response rate

32. Results
Mailed 60,000
3,909 (6.5% response rate) new cash donors
recruited vs. targeted 2,595 (4.3%)
An average gift of $38.71 vs. targeted $34.52
($20,000 outlier removed)
Positive net return of $36,318
An ROI of 1.27, twice that of the targeted 0.6

33. List Performance
Volume Resp. RR% Ave $ Gross $ Net $ ROI
Cold List 1 1,537 53 3.4% $42.50 $2,255 -$1,202 0.7
Cold List 2 10,504 321 3.1% $41.40 $13,305 -$10,326 0.6
Cold List 3 6,670 287 4.3% $36.50 $10,484 -$4,522 0.7
Co-op 1 3,080 161 5.2% $44.40 $7,142 $213 1.0
Co-op 2 28,578 1,945 6.8% $51.80 $100,756 $36,465 1.6
Charity Swap 1 1,497 161 10.8% $23.10 $3,712 $344 1.1
Charity Swap 2 2,757 298 10.8% $33.20 $9,885 $3,683 1.6
Charity Swap 3 1,914 287 15% $19.10 $5,472 $1,166 1.3
Charity Swap 4 886 86 9.7% $54.30 $4,673 $2,680 2.3
Charity Swap 5 1,619 159 9.8% $49.00 $7,785 $4,143 2.1
Charity Swap 6 937 66 7% $42.30 $2,795 $687 1.3
Total 60,000 3,909 6.5% $43.80 $171,298 $36,318 1.3

34. Learnings
•Pack - very little difference between how each banker pack performed
•Both achieved just over 6% RR
•While the stationery pack achieved a much higher average gift of $51 vs notepad
pack - average gift of $37 can be attributed to a few large gifts (including a $20,000
donation)
Pack
variances
•Charity swapped data performed brilliantly making up 27% of new donors
•Each of the 6 charity swaps achieved varying response rates
•However, overall response was 10.99%, with average gift of $32.47 and an ROI of
1.6
Charity
Swap
Results
•Donors from data Co-Ops made up 54% new donors
•RR 7.34% with an average gift of $32.24 ($20,000 outlier removed) and an ROI of
1.3
•Co-Op data sources exceeded cold list RR of 3.53%
•Ave gift from the cold lists was slightly higher at $36.33
•Large RR of charity data swaps and Co-Ops = more donors at a cheaper CPA
•The ROI was more than double the ROI of cold lists.
Data
Co-Ops

35. Learnings
Promiscuous donors
•The success of these data sources
highlighted;
•The more promiscuous a donor is
(i.e. the more charities they give
to or the more direct mail
responsive they are), the higher
their propensity to respond to
cold acquisition mailings
Testing with established
banker packs
• Investment into testing new creative
and pack elements is essential in
keeping a direct mail acquisition
program fresh
• The strategy of rolling out a volume
of banker packs to solid, best
performing lists (as well as exploring
new data sources) has played an
important part in the Foundation’s
ongoing acquisition strategy - but
not for testing sake
Minimising risk and
maximising test outcomes
•Testing with established banker
pack - minimises risk while
maximising ROI
•Allows for more accurate
evaluation of the data and of the
new list sources

36. Re-mailing lists
Carole
Developed 2009
Young mother
surviving breast cancer
Emily
Developed early 2012
Young girl (a twin)
with a brain tumor
Similar response rates when tested against each other in 2012.
Both have been tested with a range of premiums and other creative treatments
Is current banker: just
achieved 10% RR with
high value premium.

37. Re-mailing lists – from there to here
Emily or Carole - rotating banker packs to maximise returns
Campaign
Qty
Mailed
RR% Comments
Feb-12 25,412 3.76% • Emily and Carole pack achieved the same RR%
Jul-12 120,005 3.00%
• Only Emily's story featured
• This was the time RR really started to drop off due to re-mailed name etc
Oct-12 113,066 3.24%
• Only Emily's story featured
• After this campaign we reviewed our acquisition approach and began to considering
pulling back on acquisition volumes
Feb-13 28,980 4.41%
• Carole used for a quantity of survey packs as she was the original 'banker' for the
survey ask
• Included a number of Emily packs to again rotate our case study to re-mailed names
• All packs received between 4.4% and 4.9%
May-13 60,000 6.19%
• Due to declining response rates from tired lists volumes reduced
• Mailed 60,000 and spread risk by using both Carole and Emily packs
• This was also the first Peter Mac tested mailing to charity swaps
• Carole achieved a similar response rate to Emily
Sep-13 140,000 6.30% • Only Emily's story featured

38. TESTING

39. Peter Mac Direct Mail Experience
Data driven
Strong case study
Urgency
Frequent asks throughout the copy
Longer letters
Strategic ask amounts
Share the vision of a better future – cures for cancers – progress towards this goal
Demonstrated impact but untied gifts - strong research examples – not driven by cancer types
Personalised letters – personalised thank you - clear service level standards for development officers
Integration with Major Gifts and Bequests (Bequest Officers have cash giving KPIs)
All donor functions revolve around the timing of Direct Mail Appeals
Complaint handling – learning to LOVE complaints
No newsletters – just donor care letters – for multiple fundraising programs (variables)

40. Proposition

41. 1.33
0.85
0.73
0.64
0.47
0.50
0.69
0.56
0.47
0.31
0.30
0.86
0.86
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Recruitment ROI
Case Study Survey Telemarketing
Type of Execution

42. Creative

43. THE FIRST STEP IS JUST
THE FIRST STEP

44. Value comes from what you do after
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Five Year Cash Ratio Five Year RG Ratio Five Year BQ Ratio
PFBM10_Analysis_ALL_v2.xlsm
Five Yr Ratio to first gift
mail cash recruits, by charity

45. Assess Subsequent Value
Average bequest
in 2012 was
$43,613.
The average
major giver gave
$4,312 in 2012

46. Supressing Wave 1 or 2 Responders
Christmas 2012
(2 waves)
• Mailed - 49,571
• Gross income - $535,008
• 223 donors gave 2 gifts =
$21,454
• 7 donors gave 3 gifts
each = $555
• 2nd and 3rd gifts
resulted in an additional
$11,111 gross income
Christmas 2013
(3 waves)
• Mailed - 57,272
• Gross income - $652,587
• 465 donors gave 2 gifts =
$50,932
• 7 donors gave 3 gifts
each = $513
• 2nd and 3rd gifts
resulted in an additional
$26,500 gross income
Tax 2013
(3 waves)
• Mailed - 55,029
• Gross income - $971743
• 374 donors gave 2 gifts =
$44,735
• 4 donors gave 3 gifts
each = $1,355
• 2nd and 3rd gifts
resulted in an additional
$23,523 gross income
To supress or not supress that is the question!

47. Brand Awareness or Investment in Direct Mail
The Jim Stynes Story - Official Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwOV6CJmrlE

48. Brand Awareness or Investment in Direct Mail
Total $48,982.10
261 gifts (1 gift $20k + 1 gift $5k)
Excluding exceptional gifts $23,982.10
259 gifts - Ave gift $92 (mainly on-line)
In-memorial gifts from state funeral
Total gifts $111

50. Thank You
Fiona McPhee
fiona.mcphee@paretofundraising.com
Twitter: fimcphee
Phone: +6421 336 905
Web: www.paretofundraising.com