Create a matchback-ready appeal in Direct Mail

Use this article when…

• You are building a Direct Mail Select export and want it to appear in Direct Mail and Matchback Reporting.
• You need ROI reporting by package code and audience segment.
• You want to run an A/B test (control vs. treatment) and see results by variant.

Applies to and prerequisites

Steps

1. Open Direct Mail, then start (or open) the appeal you want to export.

2. Complete Information step

   • Set Appeal Name.
   • Set Drop Date (used in Matchback reporting). 
   • Enter your Appeal Code pattern. 
   • Choose your segmentation Axes (X, Y, Z). 
   Default segment axes (if you use the defaults)

   • X axis: Lifetime gift count (0, 1, 2–4, 5–9, 10–24, 25+) 
   • Y axis: Last gift amount ($0, $1–24, $25–49, $50–99, etc.) 
   • Z axis: Months since last gift (0–6, 6–12, 12–24, 24–36, etc.) 

3. Complete Audience and define your Targets/Seeds/Exclusions.

   Build your mailing audience using:

   • Seeds (always included)
   • Targets (main recipients)
   • Exclusions (suppressed from targets) 

   Selection rules to review

   • One record per household
   • Primary address only
   • Deceased records excluded
   • Address de-duplication (prioritized by highest giving or most recent gift) 

4. Complete Packages step

   • Add package names and package codes.
   • Enter cost per piece and postage details.
   • (Optional) Set a distinct appeal code per package. 
   Run an A/B test (control vs. treatment)

   1. On a package, toggle Split for A/B Test. 
   2. Plan one variable to test (for example, appeal code or package code).

   Avid splits recipients 50/50 in a deterministic way (the same recipient gets the same variant for the same mailing). 

5. In Selection, assign packages to segments.

   1. Select a package by clicking its colored card at the top.
   2. Click or drag cells in the cube to assign that package to those segments.
   3. Review counts and coverage (colored cells show assigned packages). 

   You see package assignments reflected in the cube with updated counts per segment. 

6. In Review, enable Matchback and generate your export.

   1. Select an Export File Layout (required before Generate is enabled). 
   2. Review totals, packages, and segment assignments.
   3. Select the Matchback Reporting checkbox: Include the exported data in Direct Mail and Matchback reporting. 
   4. Click Generate. 

   Tip 
   The info icon explains that Matchback uses the exported accounts and the appeal codes associated with packages for reporting. 

   If you do not select the checkbox, your mailing still exports, but it will not appear in Matchback reporting and you cannot track response rate or ROI in Avid. 

What you’ll see

• Avid generates your mailing file and (if Matchback is enabled) a reporting file. 
• You receive an email notification with a download link.
• As gifts are posted, open Direct Mail and Matchback Reporting to review response rate, revenue, ROI, and performance by package/segment/A-B test. 

Next steps and related workflows

• Send the mailing file to your mail vendor and confirm they print appeal codes correctly. 
• Review results in Direct Mail and Matchback Reporting once gifts are posted. 

Notes and common pitfalls

• Use consistent appeal codes and include a campaign identifier so results compare cleanly across mailings. 
• Confirm the drop date and update it before exporting if the schedule changes. 
• Avoid tiny segments. Small segments can skew response rate and ROI calculations. 
• Validate cost per piece for accurate ROI.