After 29 years as the lead prospecting package for The Wall Street Journal, the "two young man" package has finally been beaten by a mail piece that adds full-color photography, a first in the Journal’s history.
The new package, created by Malcolm Decker Associates and referred to as the Decker package, plays on the "two young man" mail pieces by using an identical outer envelope and the same lead with a story about college classmates attending their 25th reunion who compare their achievements. Although not explicitly stated, the more successful alumnus was, presumably, a Wall Street Journal subscriber, according to Malcolm Decker Associates in Greenwich, CT.
The Decker package doubles the size of the letter to four pages and adds the color photography. The order card was designed as a voucher.
The first test results were mildly positive and a larger confirming test was made in November. The full-price Decker package won by more than 20%.
