The fat envelope with a tote bag inside (Part 2)

Yesterday we looked at the front of this outer envelope for a direct-mail acquisition piece mailed by Doctors Without Borders.

Here’s the back of the envelope:

To state the obvious, every envelope has two sides. Both are likely to be seen. If the recipient has even a vague inclination to open it, they’ll spend more time seeing the back than the front. It’s smart to use that real estate.

But here’s the interesting thing: This envelope literally contains a tote bag. It’s a thick envelope, quite unlike most others in the mailbox.

You might be worried about the high cost of sending tote bags to a rented list of prospective donors. The “Made in China” tells us they’re doing their best to control the cost, but it is no doubt quite a bit more expensive than a “normal” direct mail pack. What makes it work is a very good response rate. More people are responding to it.

If you want to try something like this, I have just one warning: Putting your organization name on the tote bag (or almost any item) is probably not a good idea. If you have a brand presence like Doctors Without Borders, maybe. The rest of us: Think “pretty.” Think what you mom would like on a tote bag. Logo-wear only works for a few organizations.