Q: The Town of Danville Recreation Services Department is looking into the possibility of going from four produced, printed and mailed Activity Guides to three. Our Fall Guide includes a Fall Arts Insert and our Spring Activity Guide includes a Summer Camp Brochure. Both the Summer and Winter Guide are small.
Have you heard of many agencies doing this, and if so which guides are they combining? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
A: LERN does not recommend reducing the number of brochures you print and mail. Reducing your mailings from four to three has a very strong likelihood of reducing your registrations. In fact, LERN would suggest that you mail your Summer Camp guide separately in February, rather than as an insert. A separate summer camp brochure may increase participation in your camp programs. It is important to understand the reasons you are considering reducing the number of activity guides. If you are looking at cost savings, we would encourage you to do more targeted mailings which might make it possible to reduce your costs without negatively impacting your registrations.
LERN can help you with a strategy for your mailings. We recommend that you get a segmentation analysis from us which will help you see where your most productive distribution areas are. If you would like to have us do this analysis, email debbie@lern.org and ask for a market segment report. She will tell you what you need to provide so that we can do the analysis.
I also recommend that you request a brochure critique. We can not only tell you how to make your current brochure more effective, but give you tips on how to save on costs for the brochure. Send a copy of your brochure to LERN, P. O. Box 9, River Falls, WI 54022, ATTN: Brochure Critique, if you would like us to review your activity guide.
Some programs have reduced the number of terms they offer each year, but because this often results in reduced enrollments, it is not something that LERN endorses.