BKV - Overland Park, Kansas

In recent years, BKV client B. E. Smith—a healthcare executive recruitment and consulting firm—had observed that healthcare organizations were increasingly hiring key leaders on a temporary, interim basis. To capitalize on this trend, the company offers the largest database of skilled interim leaders in the industry. However, reaching C-suite executives responsible for hiring decisions was challenging.

B. E. Smith charged BKV with generating leads from this hard-to-reach audience. In response, the team created a series of three personalized direct mail packages positioning B. E. Smith’s CEO Doug Smith as an industry “thought leader” and early adopter of interim leadership services.

• Each package contained a personalized letter from Doug Smith encouraging the recipient to call him to discuss B. E. Smith’s “unique approach to healthcare leadership.”

• The first two packages included tri-fold self-mailers, with the letter on one side and targeted messages from the company’s advertising on the other. The offer was a free download of B. E. Smith’s latest white paper, driving recipients to a personalized landing page that tracked results.

• The third mailing included a personalized letter and a white paper about interim leadership (ghostwritten by a BKV writer under Doug’s byline). This package employed “Real Pen” technology for a powerful, personalized punch: the printing process used ballpoint pen in an authentic, handwritten style to address the package, underline copy throughout the letter, and in the signature. A Post-it note with a personalized message from Doug using the “Real Pen” method was attached to each letter.