We all have brand imprints that are part of our core. Coke, Kellogg, General Electric, Disney — these are trusted, bedrock brands we’ve known since birth.  The most valuable brands today would be Apple, Google, Facebook–but not necessarily the most trusted, yet.

Then, there are those brands which court obscurity.  Names like Zenith, Woolworths, IGA, Rexall…all in their time were once powerhouses.

So how is it that a company called Haband has 5,000,000 customers?

I wondered this puzzle when I received their mailing last week.  Haband is a mailorder merchandiser founded in 1915 by two gentlemen: M. Habernickel and John Anderson.  They sold ties to bankers in Manhattan.

Talk about product selection! Who wears ties today?

From their early beginnings the Haband brand grew to offer general merchandise, mostly, but not limited to, clothing.

Their style choices are not for everyone, and you would be right to suggest that your parents and grand parents would be more likely targets.  Put another way, getting a Haband mailing is like getting an AARP mailing, only much later.

The secret to Haband’s success is the core… the essence of direct mail.  A champion writes a letter to a customer, providing personal assurance about the desirability of a product.

Duke Habernickel is, I am guessing, the son or grandson of the fabled company’s co-founder.

The products in question range from duck boots to space heaters, from fleece pants to “ForeverSharp” razors.  The broad selection is what I might have found in my late parents’ closets when we moved them into more modest and permanent surroundings.

But when it comes to direct marketing, what sells, and what doesn’t sell is more than personal taste.  I have learned that my opinion does not count.

This is a platinum rule, maybe even titanium.  Put another way, just because I wouldn’t buy it doesn’t mean that no one else will buy it.

Au contraire!

Haband is successful because it knows its customer very well, and the customer has a reciprocal expectation and trust in Haband.  Thus, Duke Habernickel signs his name to a letter introducing no less than 46 items for purchase, plus another 3 free gift items to sweeten the deal.

The Haband mailing piece is itself unusual in today’s environment.   With so many products you may have expected a catalog.

Instead, it is a low-color, 6 x 10 envelope stuffed with 47 individual sell sheets, plus letter and reply envelope.

The two-sided, 4-color sell sheets each contain the entire deal, embroidered with enthusiastic sell copy, and anchored with individual order form.  They are printed on the lightest coated paper stock available.

While you may question the flimsy medium, Haband gets the 47-piece job done in just under 3.3 ounces, thereby capturing the lowest possible postage rate.  By the square inch, each product has a digest-sized page of display.  Pretty smart.

Duke’s letter is verbose, jumbled, effervescent, and personable.  It is traditional, and lacks the slickness of general agency creative.  The copy is laced with 28 “you’s and your’s” in addition to 8 personal references by name.  More significant however are 7 “me’s, I’s and my’s” illustrating Duke Habernickel’s personal investment in the relationship.

For some, the effect may be unctuous, but if you are a Haband customer, you are Duke’s customer, and comfortable with it.  The personal touch is expected and welcomed.

The roots of customer loyalty are founded in matching customer expectations, tone and manner.  Whoever, and wherever those 5,000,000 buyers may be, they will not be discounted as strangers at Haband.

 

Thanks for reading! I believe this is the first Haband piece I have ever received.  I must ask serious questions about what demographic group I have now joined.