Because people understand the idea of price reductions, we used this analogy to create a visually arresting pack that had the stand out and impact required to cut through the clutter of financial DM.The outer envelope was unique in the marketplace, but remained true to the Virgin One brand.Once inside, a table compared a Virgin One Account mortgage to those offered by many of the popular high street banks. This simple but effective comparison demonstrated that the Virgin One Account benefits were, after all, relevant to our prospects and could save them money.

Responses increased by 16% compared to the 2002 control pack. Following this success, the creative was adapted to target non-converters - people who enquired but didn’t switch. The response rates increased by a staggering 400%!The cold mailing generated a 0.60% response rate (target was 0.50%) with a 12% conversion rate. The cost per first contact was the lowest in 2002 – £95.67 compared to the yearly average of £161.08.The non-converter variant generated a 3.1% response rate and a conversion rate of 1.04%. With its unprecedented 400% increase in response rates, this made it 2002’s most successful non-converter mailing.