Experienced direct marketers know that an effective way to optimize their offers is to give away premiums as incentives to buy. Subscribe to this or that magazine and take delivery of a calculator or compact disc, compliments of the publisher. Give to such and such nonprofit organization and receive a free umbrella or tote bag. Buy something from us and we’ll give something to you. It’s only human nature, after all. People are more inclined to try something new if you can dangle an attractive, appetizing come-on as a reward for their business. You have to think quid pro quo. Which is precisely what banks in the Boston area are doing a lot of lately, according to an article appearing in today’s business section of The Boston Globe.

“Banks have been offering new customers coolers, folding chairs, beach towels, and small cash rewards for a couple of years,” writes Bruce Mohl, “but competition has intensified since Bank of America Corp. took over FleetBoston Financial Corp. last year. Promotions seem to be getting bigger and better and offered more frequently.”

According to the article, Citizens Bank is “testing a promotion that offers a free iPod mini or a $200 gift certificate to any person who opens a checking account with a $2,500 initial balance.”

If you ask me, that’s not just a carrot on the end of the stick, that’s a whole garden salad, dressing included.

Also, Sovereign Bank “is in the midst of a $200,000 sweepstakes” (the branch in Sudbury, my hometown, even has a sign on the door that says, “You could win a $2,500 shopping spree!”) and Eastern Bank “has been offering a free companion airline ticket to new customers.”

Not be outdone, of course, TD Banknorth Inc. – yes, the same bank all New England sports fans have to thank profusely for resurrecting the name of the legendary, old Garden – “will stay open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays starting next week and offer special gifts to customers who come in on Thursday to do business. The gift next month is a $50 VISA gift card to customers who open a home equity loan or line of credit.”

Good for all of these banks. And good for their constituencies, too. After all, premiums are more often than not a win-win proposition all around. From a marketer’s perspective, using a premium – especially one with a high perceived value or one that has a natural tie-in to your organization – to sweeten the pot will invariably result in a much greater demand for whatever it is you have to offer. The appeal and popularity of a premium will also go a long way toward solidifying the relationship between companies and customers or, on the nonprofit side of business, donors and charitable organizations. Everyone is happy to get something free and don’t soon forget such acts of goodwill.

Not to say there isn’t a potential downside to using premiums, however. Some consumers only want the free gift. Whether they realize it or not, they don’t care as much about your organization as they do about getting something for nothing. In the long run, they may not be as loyal as those who come to you out of a genuine interest in your products and services. They may be so dependent on incentives that the only way they’ll stay with you is if the gravy train continues to roll, doling out tchotchkes all along the way.

Premiums can be encumbrances in other ways, too. They can add costs and complications for which marketers need to be prepared. Ultimately, any such promotional lures and enticements should be tested carefully and, in most cases, used as an exception, not as a rule. They are most effective when you want to make a big splash for some reason or other, such as new product introductions or any new customer acquisition campaign amidst a fiercely competitive marketplace. In those instances, premiums are usually as good as, well, money in the bank.

Some 20,000 people ran the Boston Marathon just a few days ago (I was one of them, plodding my way along the legendary, 26.2 mile course – all the way from Hopkinton to Boston – in a painful, interminable 4:24:51), but only 26 of them had been selected to tell their stories prior to the mother of all road races and heralded as one of the Saucony 26. For the chosen few, it must have been a tremendous honor to be able to personify the marathon as such pillars of inspiration. From a marketing standpoint, of course, putting a warm, identifiable face on the company and its products was a brilliant way for Saucony to connect with its constituency.

“While each person will have a very real and very intense motivation to run this year’s marathon, these motivations are different for each and every one of them,” reads the copy from a 32-page, pull-out section – featuring all 26 runner profiles – commissioned by Saucony inside the April 2005 edition of MetroSports Boston magazine.

“It’s those differences that have inspired us to introduce the second selection of the Saucony 26 in Boston,” the copy continues. “Twenty-six stories of people from communities in and around the racecourse have been chosen to represent each full mile of the race. It’s a way for all of us to celebrate our differences as we also celebrate our collective and passionate love for the sport of running.”

This special section, entitled “Every Runner Has a Story,” is not unlike a custom-published magazine, intermingling quality, relevant editorial (e.g., “26 Tips for Marathon Race Day,” “26 Sites for a Runner in Boston,” etc.) with a little advertising and a lot of PR, including a letter of introduction from company CEO, John H. Fisher (e.g., “Just like last year, we have selected from those who will run the marathon 26 stories that are amazingly unique from one another except, of course, for their passion for running.”), and, of course, the 26 tales of triumph and adversity.

Speaking of which, you can read about each of these fascinating runners – most of whom ran Boston for one charity or another, five of whom were my teammates on the Children’s Hospital Boston Kids at Heart Marathon Team – on the exclusive Saucony 26 Web site, which you will find by clicking here. The accompanying head shots alone are worth taking a look. All 26 shiny, happy faces are not as much photographed as captured in pure, unadulterated pride and joy, a credit to the individual behind the lens (Rich Cruse Photography) as well as to the subjects themselves.

Yes, like the marathon is to the runners, clearly this special event-related marketing campaign was a labor of love to all concerned. It was crafted from the heart, but not without first grounding itself in a sound, time-tested strategy that can’t help but engender unanimous – and universal – raves from both runners and those who aren’t quite so peripatetic. It’s less about the brand than it is about the people who embody that brand. It’s more about the Saucony 26 than it is about Saucony. It’s a winning campaign from which we can all learn a thing or two or even 26.

With only a few days to go before the 109th Boston Marathon, it’s a good time for me to follow up on the four-part, 2,637-word article I posted here in A Fine Kettle of Fish a couple of months ago on my experiences running this legendary race for charity. If you read my original piece, you know that I’ve participated in the Boston Athletic Association’s Boston Marathon Charity Program three times already, once for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (in 1996), and twice for The Home for Little Wanderers (in 2002 and 2003). And less than a week from now I’ll be doing everything I can to successfully complete the long, laborious 26 miles and 385 yards from Hopkinton to Boston once again, but this time around for a different charitable organization, Children’s Hospital Boston.

Let’s recapitulate. Since early February, I have mailed 112 homemade, heartfelt direct mail fundraising packages to my friends, relatives and colleagues, asking them to “please sponsor by Boston Marathon run with a gift of $25, $15, $50 or more to Children’s Hospital Boston.”

In the letter I wrote and enclosed in this package, I told the story of a courageous, young child named Hailey (my patient partner):“Your generosity will help Children’s Hospital Boston help children like Hailey, a cute, little girl living with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic disorder – characterized by bones that break easily, often from little or no apparent cause – for which there is not yet a cure.”

“Imagine, Hailey is only six, but she’s already suffered 47 broken bones and undergone a number of serious surgeries,” I explained. “Thanks to Children’s Hospital Boston, however, Hailey’s OI is under control, and she’s making the most of her young life.”

Also enclosed in this package were a reply form and pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope as well as a snapshot of Hailey with the following caption (in her own handwriting):“Please help Bob raise funds for Children’s Hospital Boston! Thank you!”

In addition to mail, I sent the same message by email to many of my industry colleagues, people who are accustomed to hearing from me online and would be predisposed to making a charitable contribution that way. Writing about this personal fundraising endeavor in A Fine Kettle of Fish has been another method of engendering interest in – if not contributions to – my campaign.

The Results

The response – so far – has been overwhelmingly favorable. Sixty-nine people have participated in the campaign, donating a total of $2,537. Of those donations, six were a result of the blog and another eight were triggered by email. That means 55 people, or 49% of my audience, made a charitable gift to Children’s Hospital Boston after receiving the appeal in the mail. These 55 kind souls gave a total of $1,991, yielding an average gift of $36.20.

True to form, the response rate this year is remarkably consistent with those of my three previous Boston Marathon Charity Program fundraising campaigns – right around 50%. The main difference so far is that the average gift is less than it was in 2002 ($41.22) and 2003 ($45.89), but still higher than it was in 1996 ($33.95).

There’s Still Time to Sponsor Me

But my 2005 campaign is not over yet. Gifts are still coming in – thankfully – and I have no plans to close the books on this one until a few days after the marathon – say, Friday, April 22. So there’s still time to raise that average gift and reach my goal of raising $3,000. Hint, hint….

Yes, if you haven’t already, you can help me help Children’s Hospital Boston make dreams come true for more boys and girls. To sponsor my marathon run on Monday, just click here first before clicking on the Sponsor a Runner button. Charitable gifts of any amount are welcome and greatly appreciated. Thank you.

My Random Observations

Finally, I’d like to share a number of random observations I’ve made during the course of this campaign, details and idiosyncrasies I might never have had the chance to notice without having embarked on such a personal fundraising endeavor.

* Those most inclined to respond with a gift are those who either have a current, close relationship with you (the one who is asking for a donation) and/or the nonprofit organization you’re representing.

* About 20% of the gifts to this campaign have been made online.

* About 10% of my donors mailed business, not personal, checks.

* Very few people will give without being asked; it’s extremely rare to receive an unsolicited gift, even from your closest friends.

* By and large, though, people are glad to be asked to give to nonprofit organizations because they feel good about themselves when they’re able to help others less fortunate than them.

* More women than men wrote the checks and took the time to write personal notes which they included along with the donations they mailed to me.

* You can’t necessarily count on the same people from year to year. Their financial circumstances change, as does their view of you – for better or worse – and the cause for which you’re raising funds. So prepare yourself for such turnover.

* If people are going to give anyway, they feel even better giving through someone they already know, someone who is going to show them genuine appreciation for their support and generosity. That’s the beauty of pledge-based, fundraising events – due to their affinity with participants, the donors are extremely warm prospects.

* Giving to charity is a very personal, warm gesture. It’s different than paying for a product or service. It’s an emotional act of benevolence triggered by a dramatic plea for assistance. In most cases, people give of their hard-earned money for no other reason than altruism. So it is incumbent on those of us doing the asking to treat our donors like royalty. We need to thank them promptly and profusely. And we need to acknowledge that they’re going above and beyond the call of generosity to help us help others.

Despite all the attention being paid by marketers today to exciting, newfangled online channels and strategies, traditional direct mail is very much alive and well and more effective than ever in reaching individual customers and prospects. That appears to be the premise – which, as much as I’m enamored with the Internet, I certainly couldn’t disagree with – behind the U.S. Postal Service’s recent launch of Deliver, a free, bi-monthly magazine that, according to the March 14 issue of B to B, “explores how the U.S. mail can play a key role in companies’ overall marketing.” If you weren’t one of the several hundred thousand to receive the March issue, you can apply for your own complimentary subscription here.

Creative Directors Take Note

In the March 28 issue of Adweek (where, coincidentally, you’ll find a clever ad for the aforementioned Deliver), David Tobin, associate creative director at Rives Carlberg in Houston, TX (and whom I’d like to believe is my kindred spirit, a fellow man of ideals), shares five lessons for up-and-coming creative directors, including “the law of exponentially rising frustration” (e.g., “By all means push your writers and art directors. Raise the bar. Fight complacency. Good isn’t good enough. Et cetera. But also keep this law in the back of your mind: At some point in the quest for perfection, you begin paying a rapidly soaring price in diminished morale.”), “the alchemy fallacy” (e.g., “‘All work submitted to me, I will touch and make better. Your bronze will become our gold.’ Maybe that attitude is necessary for a creative director to survive and prosper. I hope not. Humility has its place. Your judgment is not infallible. Practice saying the following: ‘I’m not sure about this, but you may be right. Let’s go with it.’”) and “the cherry-picking paradox” (e.g., “Steering high-visibility, high-reward projects to yourself is permissible so long as you also cherry-pick some lemons. I’ve worked for two creative directors who would on occasion spend the weekend handling the dregs.”).

Deceptive Advertising?

In the March 7 issue of DM News, freelance copywriter, direct marketing guru and, yes, fellow blogger Robert W. Bly ponders whether DMers are ever guilty of deceptive advertising. Given the recent controversy over Blockbuster’s questionable “the end of late fees” claim, Bly addresses “the issue of how far we can go in creating perceptions about our products and services versus describing them flat-out in literal, accurate, to-the-letter language.”

“Even formats can be deceptive,” writes Bly. “How about those mailings in which what appears to be a check shows through the envelope window?”

“Or those mailings that look like articles torn out of a magazine or newspaper with a yellow Post-it note attached that says, ‘Try this. – J.’ …and you have no idea who J. is?”

“Or ads in the newspaper, or those sections in the magazines, that look like articles, but are really paid ads?”

“Or those postcard and vouchers that look like they came from an official government agency?”

Bly’s conclusion? “The bottom line: If your gut tells you that your promotion is deceptive, it probably is. And you should probably fix it.”

Seth’s Seminars

And finally, marketing maven, entrepreneur extraordinaire, world-renowned speaker and best-selling author, Seth Godin (who could have had those new Blockbuster ads in mind when he wrote his latest book, “All Marketers Are Liars”), recently announced that he’s hosting two new seminars at his office on April 19 and 21. If you come from a company with more than 10 people, the price of admission is $1,000 for the first person and another $400 if you bring your boss. But if you’re a student or someone, in Seth’s words, “from a really little company,” it’s only $400.

Get this, though: The seminar on April 21 is for nonprofit organizations only, so if you work for one of them, it won’t cost you a cent. That’s a very nice gesture by Seth – and an extraordinarily good opportunity for the nonprofit professionals among us.

Space for both seminars is quite limited, though, so if you’re interested in spending a day with Seth Godin – and who isn’t? – drop him a line today.