Highlight Color Brings in the Dollars

While color is a powerhouse in any type of marketing, you don’t always have to use four-color process to improve your response rates. In fact, the State of California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) shows that strategically placed highlight color can result in huge bottom line benefits, too.

The California FTB produces more than 14 million personal income tax returns each year. It used to send out standard tax notices, but it found that many taxpayers found them confusing. Taxpayers didn’t know what they needed to do, how much to pay, or where to send the payment.  The result was slow payments and expensive volumes of calls to FTB’s call centers.

The FTB decided to do something different. It added highlight color to its contact letters and personalized its messaging to explain exactly what action each taxpayer needed to take. Key information was displayed in blue, guiding recipients through the document and giving them specific instructions.

The result? Faster payments and fewer mistakes. This translated into millions in additional interest income and, at an average cost of $15 per call to the call center, significant savings from reduced call center contacts.

The takeaway? Color boosts your profitability, not just in your graphics, but in your messaging, too. Let us help you make strategic decisions about how to use color to make you money and save you money, too! 

Jeff Lampert

Director of Marketing & Business Development

The first one gets the oyster the second gets the shell. – Andrew Carnegie