Email marketing · Randomized field experiment manipulating name matching in email communications.
Name Similarity Encourages Generosity: A Field Experiment in Email Personalization
Marketing Science · 2020
Summary
Full surname matching increased opens, clicks, donations and total money; shared initial also increased generosity.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Use to shape a locally controlled channel or message test; account for audience, timing and attribution limits before reallocating budget.
Reported result
What the study found
Full surname matching increased opens, clicks, donations and total money; shared initial also increased generosity.
Research question
What the authors investigated
Does individualized name matching improve email response and giving?
Design
Randomized field experiment manipulating name matching in email communications.
Sample and setting
DonorsChoose.org; N=30,297 potential donors; surname, initial, gender, ethnicity and country-of-origin matching.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Charitable giving and teacher/donor name matching may not transfer to commercial SaaS conversion; abstract gives no broader external-validity claim.
Research sources
Publisher abstract reports N, randomized field experiment, manipulations and behavioral outcomes. Direct publisher-page retrieval was recorded on 2026-10-09; this profile uses the publisher abstract/metadata and does not claim independent review of unavailable full text.