Lautman’s Hat Trick at the 2021 DMFA Award Ceremony

Lautman is excited to announce that we scored three wins for two of our partners at this years’ Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association (DMFA) Awards — including Overall Package of the Year for the second time in a row! The prestigious DMFA AWARDS give members the opportunity to showcase their very best direct mail, multi-channel and digital fundraising efforts and we are thrilled to share the following:

In the Best Direct Mail Appeal/Renewal category, Heifer International’s “Wagalog” World Ark Magazine/Catalog won top honors; in the Best Direct Mail Mid Level Appeal/Renewal category, Doctors Without Borders’ “Table Topics” Cultivation mailing was selected winner and was voted Overall Package of the Year; and in the Best Direct Mail Acquisition category, Doctors Without Borders’ “Face Mask” Acquisition was voted runner up.

We are proud to partner with these wonderful organizations and congratulate all the nominees and winners!

Doctors Without Borders’ “Table Topics” was a stewardship campaign developed to inspire donors to talk with other people about how Doctors Without Borders is making the world a better place. This campaign was timed to arrive in homes before the Easter and Passover holidays, when people would be gathering around the dinner table or visiting family and friends. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic declared a national emergency on March 13th (just three days before the mail date), this campaign delivered when most of the country was under quarantine.

Mailed in a simple #10 OE, branded with the Partner logo, there was a one-page letter from the Partner Program Senior Manager, answering the question she hears most from Partners, “What else can I do to help, besides making a financial contribution?” The answer was simple … start a conversation using the table topic cards enclosed — designed with powerful photos from the field, thought provoking questions to answer, and emotional discussion points presented.

The Results

Nearly 1,500 people made a gift and the campaign ultimately raised over $1 million. With no ask in the letter and only a blank line to give a gift on the reply form, this campaign performed even better than a traditional appeal!

Better yet, eleven gifts of $5,000+ were received from this campaign, converting these Partners into Major Donors for MSF-USA.

These incredible numbers were definitely worth starting the conversation — even under quarantine!

Heifer International’s longstanding World Ark Magazine delivers a detailed report of Heifer’s work in the field. However, magazine revenue had started to decline over the last few years. The holiday issue was a critically important revenue source, so as the COVID-19 pandemic started, Heifer knew they needed to start thinking NOW to secure these funds. They wanted a big change with big impact.

The holiday issue of the magazine typically included an abbreviated gift catalog feature in its pages, giving donors opportunities to buy gifts of animals for family and friends. Heifer turned up the volume on the catalog, transforming the holiday magazine into a “Wagalog”: a World Ark version of the full catalog. The cover used an image that resonated in the catalog: a girl and her goat. The headlines let donors know right away that the entire catalog was in its pages: “21 Pages of Gifts that Change the World!”

Inside, donors were treated to the complete catalog content – all the stories, offers, and photos that are included in the full-length catalog each year. But this special edition “Wagalog” also included feature, in-depth articles that linked to catalog offers, so donors could see the direct connection between their gifts and the families Heifer helped. Heifer created a special “stocking stuffer” spread at the end of the catalog and introduced a gift card “advertisement” at the beginning, so holiday giving was tied in across all the pages. This provided donors so many opportunities to make their holiday gifts!

The Results

Heifer donors loved this new format! The “Wagalog” yielded an amazing $2.5 million in gross revenue. This beat budget by $891K! A special bonus was the dramatic 49% increase in $1,000+ gifts year over year — a big benefit! More than 13,000 caring and compassionate donors rushed gifts (56% more than goal!), showing they were excited at the opportunity to give animals to help hungry families.

It just goes to show, sometimes bold action can really pay off!