me to open this invitation. The problem with this mailer is I had no idea it was even an invitation.

I receive a lot of mail. I consider myself a student of direct mail so, in turn, I subscribe to everything I can get my hands on. Although a square envelope broke the stack of my business #10 envelopes, and the weight of the double thick paper felt intriguing, the lasered address told me this was a mass mailing and the logo on the back was invisible to me.

So what could COACH have done better? First, they could have put the l

Producing an outer envelope without a teaser is a technique that has proven to lift open rates and, in turn, response rates. Receiving a mail piece from a trusted company (especially from a financial partner like your bank or mortgage company) requires no additional messaging to get you to open it. The curiosity and worry that it is an important document is enough of an incentive to break out the letter opener.

But sometimes I like to be teased! Frequently, companies assume too much when sending out direct mail. No matter what type of company you are, if you don't play your cards right, you run the risk of watching your direct mail program go down the toilet or worse, your brand damaged in the eyes of your most profitable customers.

A month ago I received a beautiful invitation to a special and worthy event. An event benefitting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation with a special sales event with all proceeds going towards the charity. It was sponsored by COACH, the high-end retailer of leather handbags and other "Must-have" accessories and Allure, the fashion magazine.

The invitation gave no misconceptions—this was an exclusive event. It was printed on double thick finely textured uncoated paper with the text letterpressed, giving a very personal and handmade feel. The invitation was well-written, simple and bold and was in a nice clutterbusting square format. It had all the makings of a perfect invitation and not only would I have loved attending, I probably would have spent a lot of money for a worthy cause.

I say that I would have loved to attend because I didn't. I didn't attend because I didn't open the invitation until the day after the event. Sure I received the invitation a full month in advance of the event so it was not a matter of blaming the postal service. The problem was in the outer envelope.

The envelope, although squared in format was plain with nothing on the mail panel except my lasered address and a lasered First Class Indicia. The flap of the envelope carried a simple COACH logo. The problem with this mailer was it assumed that the format and the COACH logo would be enough to get me to open this invitation. The problem with this mailer is I had no idea it was even an invitation.

I receive a lot of mail. I consider myself a student of direct mail so, in turn, I subscribe to everything I can get my hands on. Although a square envelope broke the stack of my business #10 envelopes, and the weight of the double thick paper felt intriguing, the lasered address told me this was a mass mailing and the logo on the back was invisible to me.

So what could COACH have done better? First, they could have put the lo

e of company you are, if you don't play your cards right, you run the risk of watching your direct mail program go down the toilet or worse, your brand damaged in the eyes of your most profitable customers.

A month ago I received a beautiful invitation to a special and worthy event. An event benefitting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation with a special sales event with all proceeds going towards the charity. It was sponsored by COACH, the high-end retailer of leather handbags and other "Must-have" accessories and Allure, the fashion magazine.

The invitation gave no misconceptions—this was an exclusive event. It was printed on double thick finely textured uncoated paper with the text letterpressed, giving a very personal and handmade feel. The invitation was well-written, simple and bold and was in a nice clutterbusting square format. It had all the makings of a perfect invitation and not only would I have loved attending, I probably would have spent a lot of money for a worthy cause.

I say that I would have loved to attend because I didn't. I didn't attend because I didn't open the invitation until the day after the event. Sure I received the invitation a full month in advance of the event so it was not a matter of blaming the postal service. The problem was in the outer envelope.

The envelope, although squared in format was plain with nothing on the mail panel except my lasered address and a lasered First Class Indicia. The flap of the envelope carried a simple COACH logo. The problem with this mailer was it assumed that the format and the COACH logo would be enough to get me to open this invitation. The problem with this mailer is I had no idea it was even an invitation.

I receive a lot of mail. I consider myself a student of direct mail so, in turn, I subscribe to everything I can get my hands on. Although a square envelope broke the stack of my business #10 envelopes, and the weight of the double thick paper felt intriguing, the lasered address told me this was a mass mailing and the logo on the back was invisible to me.

So what could COACH have done better? First, they could have put the l

hion magazine.

The invitation gave no misconceptions—this was an exclusive event. It was printed on double thick finely textured uncoated paper with the text letterpressed, giving a very personal and handmade feel. The invitation was well-written, simple and bold and was in a nice clutterbusting square format. It had all the makings of a perfect invitation and not only would I have loved attending, I probably would have spent a lot of money for a worthy cause.

I say that I would have loved to attend because I didn't. I didn't attend because I didn't open the invitation until the day after the event. Sure I received the invitation a full month in advance of the event so it was not a matter of blaming the postal service. The problem was in the outer envelope.

The envelope, although squared in format was plain with nothing on the mail panel except my lasered address and a lasered First Class Indicia. The flap of the envelope carried a simple COACH logo. The problem with this mailer was it assumed that the format and the COACH logo would be enough to get me to open this invitation. The problem with this mailer is I had no idea it was even an invitation.

I receive a lot of mail. I consider myself a student of direct mail so, in turn, I subscribe to everything I can get my hands on. Although a square envelope broke the stack of my business #10 envelopes, and the weight of the double thick paper felt intriguing, the lasered address told me this was a mass mailing and the logo on the back was invisible to me.

So what could COACH have done better? First, they could have put the l

t attend because I didn't open the invitation until the day after the event. Sure I received the invitation a full month in advance of the event so it was not a matter of blaming the postal service. The problem was in the outer envelope.

The envelope, although squared in format was plain with nothing on the mail panel except my lasered address and a lasered First Class Indicia. The flap of the envelope carried a simple COACH logo. The problem with this mailer was it assumed that the format and the COACH logo would be enough to get me to open this invitation. The problem with this mailer is I had no idea it was even an invitation.

I receive a lot of mail. I consider myself a student of direct mail so, in turn, I subscribe to everything I can get my hands on. Although a square envelope broke the stack of my business #10 envelopes, and the weight of the double thick paper felt intriguing, the lasered address told me this was a mass mailing and the logo on the back was invisible to me.

So what could COACH have done better? First, they could have put the l

me to open this invitation. The problem with this mailer is I had no idea it was even an invitation.

I receive a lot of mail. I consider myself a student of direct mail so, in turn, I subscribe to everything I can get my hands on. Although a square envelope broke the stack of my business #10 envelopes, and the weight of the double thick paper felt intriguing, the lasered address told me this was a mass mailing and the logo on the back was invisible to me.

So what could COACH have done better? First, they could have put the logo in the traditional upper left corner of the envelope. The COACH brand carries a cach?. Any type of correspondence from the retailer would get attention. I frequently design outer envelopes to carry the logo on the back flap but this is only if there is a compelling teaser or image on the mail side where the addition of the logo would be distracting to the message.

Secondly, a teaser would have been appropriate here. This was a one-night event. There was a needed sense of urgency for this time-sensitive offer. The teaser could have approached it three different ways:

1. Play up the Brand:
"A Special Event from COACH"

2. Play up the Cause:
"A Special Event for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation"

3. Play up the Exclusivity:
"An Exclusive Invitation from COACH"

Any of these approaches would have caught my attention the day I received it, and would have persuaded me to open it. This had all the makings for a perfect event invitation: exclusivity, respected retailer, good cause, and a special offer. COACH clearly spent quite a bit of money per piece with these invitations. It's a shame they may have sacrificed response on something as simple as a teaser message.