“New,” “fresh,” and “cutting edge” approaches to your direct mail will almost always result in lower performance. Marketing departments, board members, and sometimes even fundraisers will want to move away from what they perceive as “old” or “stale” direct mail.
The problem with this logic is that you are not the average donor. Neither are your marketing people. Don’t assume that what your or others think will improve your direct mail actually will. Test it first with your actual donors to find out.
Remember, you aren’t mailing just to let the donors know how hip and cool your marketing can be. You’re raising money for your cause. So do what raises the most money.