Picking a winning list: put your list selection skills to the test. Do you know what will make a particular list work for a given mailing?

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 1990

Choosing among lists for a direct marketing campaign can be a devilish undertaking even for the sharpest circulation executive. Sometimes the list that should work bombs, while the one with only a peripheral connection to the campaign does exceedingly well. What can be especially difficult is deciding between two (or more) very similar lists, both of which could work-although only one does.

What follows is a chance to test your list-selection savvy. We present several direct marketing campaigns, with two or more lists that were tested, and ask you to select, in each case, the list that performed best. Answers with explanations appear at the end of the article. Of course, direct marketing not being an exact science, explanations for why one list did better than another tend toward the conjectural. it should be stressed that all the lists presented, including the ones that lost," are reputable lists from reputable companies. Not winning in one direct mail test has almost nothing to do with the potential for winning in another campaign.

This article is based on material presented at a List Day seminar sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association. Diane Silverman, manager of list marketing for Doubleday Book and Music Clubs, served as moderator. Panelists were Stephen Belth, president of Belth List Marketing, John Forte, president of RMI Direct Marketing, Inc., and Joseph Furgiuele, president of Furgiucle and Company, Inc.

Child

When Child was introduced in October 1986, it carried beautiful fashion ads, but not much other advertising. (Today, it carries a range of ads, from toys to food.) And the magazine seemed geared more to one-time newsstand buyers than to subscribers. After acquiring the magazine in the fall of 1987, The New York Times Magazine Group decided to take Child to a wider audience by turning it into a self-help book for upscale, thirty-something, first-time parents who are juggling parenthood and professional careers.

In each case, Child tested segments of catalog buyers and catalog requesters. Which responded better-the buyers or requesters? Write "B" or "R" in box. List choices

[ ] After the Stork, a children's clothing catalog featuring outerwear, sportswear, pajamas, boots, slippers, for ages two to 10. All customers sold through direct mail.

[ ] Childcraft, a catalog of "toys that teach," including telescopes, mobiles of the universe, dinosaurs, animal models, exercise toddler bikes. All customers sold through direct mail.

Consumer Reports

This magazine offers product tests and comparisons relating to safety, reliability and ease of use. Manufacturers' claims regarding features and workmanship are assessed. The magazine covers the universe of consumer products: cars, microwaves, stereos, TVs, refrigerators, health insurance, banking services, frozen food, toothpaste, shampoo. The subscription solicitation for Consumer Reports, which carries no advertising and is published by Consumers Union, a nonprofit organization, was for 11 monthly issues, an annual buying guide (the December issue), a bonus buying guide and a bonus medical guide (rating over-the-counter prescriptions and pharmacy products). One list worked significantly better than the other. Which one?

List choices

[ ] Recent Black & Decker indoor-product buyers who returned warranty cards. Products include toasters, can openers, coffee pots, portable vacuums, electric drills.

[ ] Recent Black & Decker outdoor-product buyers who returned warranty cards. Products include leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, circular saws, electric drills.

Family Circle

Family Circle offers women's service articles on decorating, recipes, kids, parents, spouses, diets. The magazine wanted to expand its subscriber list beyond what had previously worked-other magazine subscribers-to include merchandise purchasers. Lists of merchandise purchasers tend to be smaller and more expensive than magazine lists. In each case, Family Circle tested segments of catalog buyers and catalog requesters. Which responded better-buyers or requesters?

List Choices

[ ] Herrschners Needlecrafts catalog features needlecraft kits and accessories. Its clientele is 98 percent female with an average age of 44. Catalog requests were generated by space ads and Sunday newspaper supplements. All customers were sold by direct mail.

[ ] Regalia is a women's catalog featuring clothing for the full-figured woman and shoes in large and half sizes. Requests were generated by space ads; buyers through direct mail.

Guideposts

Subtitled "a practical guide to successful living," Guideposts is published by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Peale is a minister, philosopher and author of dozens of books, including The Power of Positive Thinking. The magazine, which offers inspirational articles about Christian living, has a subscription price of $7.95 per year. The average age of subscribers is 49 to 50 years old. Most of the subscriptions are in a female's name, although readership is equally divided between men and women.