From “carbon” slips to benefit statements, voucher packages continue to be the fastest-growing format for publishers. In 2000, voucher packages accounted for 17 percent of consumer magazine direct mail packages tracked by ParadyszMatera's MarketRelevance database. In 2001, the number rose to 25 percent and, so far this year, it's up to 31 percent.

While hardly dazzling from a design standpoint, these economical workhorses obviously are working for nearly all publication types, making even the subtlest variations noteworthy.

• TOWN & COUNTRY

  Even titles devoted to living the affluent lifestyle are looking to adapt the voucher format to their audiences. Hearst's Town & Country rolled out with its first voucher effort in mid-June, an effort that forgoes the format's original “professional discount” concept and language in favor of an aggressively flattering approach. Called a “Connoisseur's Courtesy Discount Offer,” T&C's voucher uses the popular tear-off format to list the perks of subscribing in invoice-like fashion (“Benefits you'll receive if you subscribe to T&C, the magazine of elegance, style and sophistication…”).

  “Everyone under the sun is using voucher packages now, so we decided to test them to see how they'd perform in our market,” says T&C promotion manager Tammy Normile. “And you can't argue with the results.” In December 2001 tests, the three-panel voucher with BRE beat the title's considerably more costly longstanding control, a plump 6" × 9" invitation-style package.

  The June campaign sought to further hone the format. In addition to the new control (designed by Boston-based creative Shira Goldberg), the mailing included three similar test pieces: a two-panel voucher that features less-detailed benefits than the control; a three-panel voucher with a fast-25 jewelry offer; and a three-panel voucher with a small home decor edit buckslip. The giveaway and buckslip are carry-overs from T&C's previous control, which used fast-50s for Jacqueline Kennedy coffee-table books or Spode vases and included a larger version of the home decor buckslip, among other inserts.

  All four packages featured the new one- and two-year hard control offers of $12 for 12 issues (down from $15 for the same term) and $24 for 24 issues (down from $28). The new definition of paid circulation for auditing purposes prompted the price reductions, confirms Normile, who notes that the lower prices helped boost gross response and pay-up during testing in June 2001.

  The current packages are performing “on budget” so far, Normile reports. “The higher response rate and reduced cost of the vouchers have allowed us to mail more deeply into our expires and go a bit more aggressively into outside lists,” she adds. While it's too early to gauge whether any of the three test packages are out-performing the latest control, the results will help T&C determine whether giveaways or additional “edit sell” are in order for future mailings.

• WOMAN'S DAY

  The recent voucher package from Hachette's WD demonstrates the format's popularity even among the most general-interest consumer magazines. One of the original “seven sisters,” WD built its circulation on the newsstand and long relied on sweepstakes agents for nearly all of its direct mail prospecting. Indeed, the current WD voucher is only the second DTP piece tracked for the magazine in the last two years. Price and term have remained $8.99 for 17 issues since WD's agent days, although the offer is now soft, with one free trial issue. While soft offers have become more common in voucher efforts, the format is still used more frequently for straightforward bill-me offers.

  In adopting the voucher format, many general-interest consumer titles (including Redbook, Reader's Digest, Family Circle) have tended to shy away from the “professional discount” language, in favor of vaguer tags such as “preferred subscription rate.” But WD has labeled its piece a “Professional Discount Order Form.” Perhaps the language is a nod to the changing nature of American homemakers, most of whom now also work outside the home. (HF circulators declined to comment on the piece.)

• ARTHUR FROMMER'S BUDGET TRAVEL

  Another publication that rolled out with its first voucher effort in June. The expanded #10 format includes two full-color inserts, but no sales letter. AFBT's voucher (dubbed a “Traveler's Free Issue Voucher”) uses a soft offer of $12 for 10 issues (one free). In its previous control — a 6" × 9," edit-driven package — the magazine, which upped its frequency from six issues with its September 2002 issue, offered six issues for $11.97, with one free. So, the current control offer is a considerably better deal for new subscribers.

“Since we wanted to focus on our great offer, we thought that the voucher would be a better fit than the 6" " 9",” says direct mail manager Nicola Zelle. And it has been. After testing in January, the voucher package (designed by New York-based creatives Michelle Flaum and Jackie Ho) became AFBT's control. The most noteworthy element in the new piece is the use of a freemium — a rarity in voucher efforts. The freemium — a mini-sized “25 Tips” booklet — was also a regular feature in AFBT's full edit packages, but is now promoted on the outer envelope (“…Important Travel Tips Enclosed”).

The package also includes a mini-brochure (a now-common element in voucher packages), which helps give prospects a better idea of the magazine's editorial offerings, according to Zelle. This two-fold brochure offers more travel images and sell copy for the bargain traveler, such as “40 Best Bargain Vacations” and “Affordable Waikiki & Puerto Vallarta.”