Cricket Wireless will start its first major direct mail campaign this month.
The firm, which up to now has relied mostly on mass media TV spots, will send 4 million to 5 million pieces during the next quarter.
The rollout rides on the heels of a successful mail test that cost less than $1 million to reach some 1 million prospects.
An analysis of Cricket's database identified the firm's three most profitable customer categories: Young families, teens, and stable, well-to-do 30-somethings.
The campaign is designed to drive prospects to retail locations across the country with instant rebate offers, said Carolyn Goodman, vice president of 360 Group, Cricket's agency of record, which developed the mailing.
The first wave of the test mailing went to 600,000 young families in August and pulled a 1.6% response. It featured different versions of a roll-fold self-mailer, which unfolded like a wallet-sized family album.
One featured images of a man golfing, with the tag line, “Dad can call Grandpa for golf tips from every hole.” Another showed a little girl swirling a Hula-Hoop around her waist, with the tag line, “Dad and I had so much fun, we lost track of the time…call Mom to keep dinner warm!”
An attached coupon offered $50 off any Cricket phone plus the first month of service free. Placed discreetly in each image was a bright green couch, Cricket's symbol for “comfortable wireless,” that appears in all ads.
Cricket was launched in 1999. It has branded itself as a company that keeps things simple by offering one fixed monthly rate, and by not requiring annual contracts.
To reach the young families, prospects were identified by those who lived within the retail trade area of a local Cricket store. Cricket service coverage maps were overlaid to ensure that prospects lived in the appropriate regions.
Households were selected from compiled lists according to key target criteria, including ZIP code. Other variables included presence of children under 18 and a predetermined wealth rating.
Cricket also sent out about 375,000 pieces to teens, followed by some 25,000 e-mails.
(The e-mail portion was severely limited by the lack of correct addresses for prospects within range of a Cricket store.)
Cricket tested two creative approaches to reach teens. One was a personalized “Hallmark”-type card with a coupon addressed to the recipient inside, and a less expensive self-mailer. The creative for both used teen-speak text messaging and a clearer version for the benefit of parents. “We knew that would be a teen hot button,” Goodman said.
For example, on the outer of the self-mailer, a young man holds a cell phone enlarged in front of him displaying the text message, “40 Bucks 4U John.” Inside, the message reads: “School's starting soon, John…but you don't need to be a math whiz to get this — any Cricket phone minus 40 bucks=one excellent deal. (It's a no-brainer!) Come in, we'll set you up.” A personalized coupon is attached.
The self-mailer and the card performed equally, delivering a little better than a 1.5% response. When the e-mail follow-up was added, the response rose to slightly more than 2%.
A third mailer called Cricket Talk was aimed at 100,000 stable and creditworthy prospects in six test markets. The offer featured an instant $40 rebate on any handset purchase.
Cricket had noticed one drawback to not requiring a contract — that some people who bought phones have no intention of using them for long. “Not a good business model,” Goodman said.
So instead of going against its brand strategy, Cricket selected prospects age 30 and older who showed signs of stability, and applied a wealth rating as a substitute for creditworthiness. The mailing yielded a 1.3% response rate.
