July 2010– Schultz & Williams Direct received two Gold Marketing Awards for Excellence and Innovation (MAXIs) from the Direct Marketing Association of Washington, D.C. (DMAW) in its annual competition for the best nonprofit direct response campaigns.

Schultz & Williams Direct (S&W Direct) earned one MAXI in the Nonprofit Renewal category for our work on The Planetary Society’s Advanced Renewal campaign and another MAXI in the Workhorse category for our continued success with the Cincinnati Zoo’s membership acquisition campaigns over the past several years.

The Planetary Society’s package was an Advanced Renewal offer sent to current members prior to a planned membership dues increase. The campaign offered members the opportunity to renew at the “old” rates one final time, and generated an overwhelming response – more than 25% of the Society’s members renewed, including two people who renewed for the next 30 years!

In our 14 year partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo, S&W Direct has strategically tested membership acquisition packages with expensive paper stock and full-color design that tied directly to the Zoo’s marketing campaigns against a simple control package. Year after year, the simple “control” is the most successful at acquiring new members. In spring 2009, the campaign featuring the control package was a blockbuster generating nearly $1 million in earned revenue.

These two Gold prizes are welcome additions to the numerous prestigious awards presented to S&W Direct and bring our total MAXIs to eight received in the past five years!

The DMAW MAXI Awards ceremony was held Monday, July 26, 2010 at the Gaylord National Hotel & Conference Center in National Harbor, MD as part of DMAW’s annual Bridge Conference for marketing and fundraising professionals.

Founded in 1987, Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today S&W works with nonprofits throughout the United States and continues to exemplify its legacy as one of the first firms in the country to combine the principles of development, management and marketing into our consulting services—an approach that proves successful for nearly every client challenge.