University of Minnesota Alumni Association
Annual Giving Campaign
Overview
Personal stories shaped this annual giving campaign, featuring voices from alumni, students, and emerging professionals. Cohesive typography, color, and texture created an authentic, unified visual system.
Approach
Three tailored direct mail variations spoke to distinct audience segments while sharing a common design language and connection to the University of Minnesota: Never Member, Current Member, and Lapsed Member.
Outcome
By centering real voices within a cohesive identity, the campaign deepened emotional engagement and encouraged continued support for the university’s mission. Mailed to 60,000 recipients, the campaign raised an estimated $240,000, demonstrating strong engagement across alumni segments.
Guthrie Theater
Acquisition & Membership Upgrade & Lapsed, Campaign
Overview
With a $1 million, three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Guthrie Theater launched Level Nine to broaden its audience through readings, dance, and public discussions in the Dowling Studio and adjoining lobby. To support the initiative, the Guthrie aimed to raise an additional $250,000.
Our role was to develop and design a direct mail campaign to drive donor acquisition and reactivation, helping meet the annual fundraising goal.
Approach
We recommended an A/B test to determine the most effective direct mail for Guthrie’s fundraising.
A 6×10 full-color brochure, incorporating the bold look of Guthrie’s recent rebrand, was tested in a clear outer envelope and a #10 letter package, both with a BRE.
Outcome
The #10 letter package delivered a 50% higher response rate than the 6×10 brochure, with donation amounts two to three times larger by segment. As a result, Guthrie established a new fundraising control with stronger performance and 66% lower ad costs, enabling more funds to be directed to support the Level Nine initiative.
