A pleasant surprise showed up a few days ago in my mailbox: the October edition of one of my favorite magazines, Monocle.  I wasn’t expecting to see this issue because I mistakenly allowed my subscription to lapse. 

A second surprise awaited me when I opened up the shipping wrapper (Monocle ships in a protective packet):

As you can see, a paper flap was tucked in to the cover.  Here’s what this paper flap said when opened:

When it comes to caring about all the little things that add up to a superior experience, this little flap is extremely telling of the care that has been poured in to the Monocle brand.

First, its language and form are consistent with the brand voice used across rest of the publication.  Who wrote it?  Likely a member of the editorial staff.  The tone and the layout read just like anything else branded "Monocle".  Most magazines forget their voice when it comes to this, the most personal of communications they ever have with a subscriber.  In this situation, why would you speak to anyone in anything other than the editor’s very best voice?

Second, the content is not sales content.  It is relationship content.  They’re speaking to me as an adult.  No weird offers, no tricky language.  No shouting.  No desperation.  Unlike many magazines, which start bugging you to renew months before the end of the subscription with exaggerated offers and wacky incentives, this statement is gracious, factual, pleasant, business-like, and polite.  Just the same as everything else at Monocle — which is the point of having a brand in the first place.

Everything matters.