Visionary Marketing Solutions From Around the World

INCITEV1.04

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Take a moment to run your hands across the cover of this magazine and notice the aroma it releases. Hungry? More often than we expect, the decision to buy is triggered by the emotional right side of the brain. It’s only after a decision is made that the left side of the brain steps forward, justifying the choice through facts, figures and other rationalizations – like that it’s been a couple of hours since lunch, so now’s the perfect time for a snack.

In this issue of INCITE, advertising guru Patrick Collister* takes us through a whole-brain approach, using a study conducted by the Royal Mail. For the left side of the brain, figures and statistics cite why direct mail is a smart, effective marketing investment that generates results. And for the right side, examples support these figures, showcasing how direct mail is a powerfully persuasive medium.

The 20 case studies in this issue show how the substance of the rational and the style of the emotional come together in a way that simply can’t be achieved by mass or online media alone. A single letter to Brad Pitt becomes a news story, capturing the minds of millions of people and raising awareness of a life-threatening disease. A gap in a chocolate bar creates a way for people to close the gap between one another. And individuals are challenged to test their strength by tearing a letter in half, only to find they aren’t as strong as they thought they were.

From its touch-activated scented cover to the case studies contained within, this issue shows you ways to engage and communicate with customers more deeply than you may have ever considered. With direct mail, you can present the substance of your message in a style that can persuade unlike any other medium.

Style & Substance

* Views expressed by Patrick Collister are his own and do not reflect those of Canada Post and of Canada Post employees.

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In 1981 Roger Sperry won the Nobel Prize for identifying that the two hemispheres of the brain appear to have different characteristics to each other.

Loosely, the left hemisphere is where lists, language and logic are at home. The right hemisphere is more intuitive, holistic and subjective. It’s the creative side.

Neurologists dismiss left-brain/right-brain theory, but I see evidence to support it every day. Not least in the client/creative dichotomy.

Using the Royal Mail’s Mail Media Centre Direct Mail Effectiveness 2011 report1, here are some great numbers paired with clever ideas to satisfy both sides of the brain.

Mail is an effective way of talking to new prospects

Matter for the left brain:An Ebiquity 2012 study has shown a global opening rate of 82% for prospect direct mail. The opening rate was even higher when mail related to personal banking or pharmaceuticals (respectively, 90 and 96%). In comparison, a 2010 DMA study reported that only 11% of acquisition emails were likely to be opened.

inspiration for the right brain:Due to an inability to meet the demands for electricity, a series of rolling blackouts were introduced in parts of South Africa. The day after the first blackout, householders received a mailing from ABSA Bank stating ”Don’t get left in the dark in the future” and offering a loan to buy a generator. The left-brainers will appreciate the exceptional ROI ratio of this campaign: 1:4,175 – the campaign cost CAN$6,000 but generated an income of over CAN$25M. Brilliant.

Direct Mail is getting More effective

Matter for the left brain:Prospect direct mail opening rates have increased from 88 to 91% between 2006 and 2010.2

inspiration for the right brain:If it’s intriguing, direct mail will get opened. Take this home security equipment mailing created for Court Security by agency Harrison Troughton Wunderman, London. The idea was that people feel violated when they know a stranger has been going through their personal belongings. So the letter arrived already opened. Clever.

Direct Mail has seen its roi rise steaDily over the last three years, thanks to iMproveD targeting

Matter for the left brain:“Improved targeting and usage is benefiting the channel [direct mail]. Accurate data on target audiences is almost instantly available. Personalization of the creative is becoming relatively easier too. The combination of these factors leads to a more effective media channel.”Paul Sturgeon, OMD BrandScience

inspiration for the right brain:What you can do with data these days is amazing. CreatorMail put together a six-page mailer for Al Fresco Holidays with target-oriented images. Each mailer showed at least one photo of a holiday destination that has been checked out on their website by the recipient. Virtually every mailing was unique to the customer. Again, the left-brainers will be thrilled knowing that there were more than 300 additional bookings compared to the previous year.

The effectiveness of direct mail: A whole-brain approach.

patrick collister,editor of Directory magazine

Mail is welcoMeD, especially when it is relevant anD rewarDing

Matter for the left brain:

Base: Nearly 2,000 adults, United Kingdom

inspiration for the right brain:Here’s a phone bill that lands on your doormat cut in half, making the message clear. Get it? Of course you do! Fabulous work from Tequila Auckland for Woosh.

More inspiration for the right brain:Would you welcome mail from a company who wants to reward your loyalty? Unfortunately it’s rare, so full marks to More Th>n with this Winter Treats pack. When the weather forecasts called for a severe winter in Britain, they mailed out an ice scraper, a mini-torch and an anti-mist cloth with a note saying thank you for being customers.

Direct Mail appeals to the senses

Matter for the left brain:47% of consumers are more likely to open mail if it has a scent.

inspiration for the right brain:Well, it worked for Škoda, a car manufacturer in the Czech Rebublic. This Chocolate Fudge air freshener mailing was part of an integrated campaign from AIS.

Find out more great ideas using the flexible advantage of direct mail in this issue (see pages 7, 21, 29 and 39).

Direct Mail works

Matter for the left brain:For one leading hotel brand, direct mail outperformed all other channels in driving new bookings. The client spent over CAN$3.6M on advertising with the following media mix: • 57% direct mail• 24% press• 12% search• 7% advertorials

Direct mail activity delivered the strongest return of over CAN$4.57 for each dollar invested. Its performance has proven considerably stronger than the client’s search and press activity, which returned CAN$3.27 and CAN$1.66, respectively.

inspiration for the right brain:On average, most campaigns aim for a 2% response rate. But aim for 100% response, and you would have to do something you’ve never done before.

For instance, when DHL launched in Spain, they delivered carrier pigeons to the dispatch managers of 50 of the country’s largest companies. The letter said: “We are new to Spain and would love to meet to discuss your needs and how we might match them. We believe in all forms of delivery, including carrier pigeons. These birds are trained to fly straight back to us. To let us know you would like a meeting, simply release your pigeon. If you don’t want to meet, we understand pigeon pie is nice.”

More matter for the left brain:Seriously, is a 100% response rate genuinely possible? Well, the Canada Post BounceMe campaign reached an 83% response rate within two days… Read the story in INCITE v1.02.

the moral of this story is simple.A great right-brain solution will almost always please left-brained folks by leading to better numbers. Creativity works. It really does. You might even say it’s a no-brainer.

1 Mail Media Centre. Direct Mail Effectiveness. Royal Mail, December 2011.2 Ebiquity. 2010 Report.

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australiaParkinson’s Victoria 1

BelgiumStop Darmkanker 3BBDO and Microsoft 5Print Power 7

BrazilProcter & Gamble 9

canadaFido 11 Stop The Drop 13 Plan Canada 15

franceMondelez International 17

germanyJWT 19Kingdom of Sports 21American Express 23

indiaBirla Sun Life Insurance 25

new ZealandNew Zealand Advertising Standards Authority 27

QatarIBM 29

swedenPosten 31

switzerlandBMW 33

United arab emiratesFP7/DXB 35

United kingdomLürzer’s International Archive 37British Airways 39

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agencyDDB Group Melbourne

clientParkinson’s Victoria

productFundraising

titleA Personal Message from Jennifer

countryAustralia

BackgroundParkinson’s Victoria (PV) funds research into Parkinson’s disease, providing support to the 80,000 Australians who suffer from it. However, the charity receives limited government support and relies heavily on private donations. Like all charities, PV’s challenge is to turn an irregular trickle of donations into a steady flow.

Rather than attempt a mass-market communication and compete with all the charities out there, this campaign targeted only 20 of Australia’s most influential business leaders to encourage them to donate to PV on an ongoing basis. To touch them, the message had to be as personal as possible.

ideaEach of the targeted leaders received a simple piece of paper folded around a DVD. From the video, they saw Jennifer struggling on a journey – a journey made just for them as she walked up to their office to deliver the package: the making of the film they are watching.

Jennifer’s plea made its case simply by showing how hard it was for her to go out and ask for help. The medium was the message.

resultsLaunched in July 2012, the campaign rapidly led to fantastic results, and the full, cumulative results will keep building over the long term. So far, the campaign has received generous cash donations and opened the door for ongoing discussions with a number of potential corporate donors.

insightWhile most mail tends to get delivered by Canada Post, not all mail arrives at your door with the delivery agent.

This award-winning idea from Australia is a great example of that. Jennifer’s journey was painful. It was meant to be. Because from the moment the recipient realized that he was watching Jennifer’s efforts to bring him the DVD, the emotional impact was there to last.

Personalization is not just the ability to print people’s names on a mailing. It is about making the communication as relevant as possible to the receiver. The DVD became hugely personal the moment the CEO recognized the building and the reception area of his office.

Hand-delivered to only 20 influent leaders, the DVD and the personal delivery led to tens of thousands of dollars being donated.

creative teaMexecutive creative DirectorGrant Rutherford

creative and art Directors/copywritersGlen DicksonRuben Cirugeda

Digital creative DirectorSteven Skrekovski

proDUctionhead of BroadcastSimon Thomas

production houseFiction

otheraccount ManagersTess DoughtyRichie Taaffe

agency10

clientStop Darmkanker

productCharity

titleDear Brad Pitt

countryBelgium

BackgroundAmong the six top killer cancers, colon cancer ranks fourth. In 2012 only, it killed 694,000 people around the world.

People over the age of 50 have a 1-in-20 chance of developing colon cancer. It takes about 10 years for it to grow but, if detected early, there is a 95% cure rate.A cheap and easy test for the disease exists, but hardly anyone in Belgium knows about it.

ideaIn May 2013, Angelina Jolie underwent a double mastectomy because she carried a faulty gene which made breast cancer a likelihood.

She put discussion about cancer on every front page and news channel in the world. Perhaps her husband could do the same for colon cancer.

A letter enclosing a colon cancer test kit was sent to Brad Pitt. To ensure he’d be reached somehow, the letter was also sent to his management company, his agent, at his French castle and to various press organizations in order to create buzz. It was also put online at www.dearbradpitt.com.

resultsThe story spread rapidly through social media and made it to the TV news. However, there was no response from Brad Pitt. So a Thunderclap campaign was created. (Thunderclap is a way people can share a message in an online sort of flashmob way with all their followers and friends at a specific time, on a specific day.)

The message reached 1.25 million people. There was support from celebrities, politicians, and organizations from around the world including a group of Italian soccer stars.

Traditional media followed the story and a radio station in Belgium tried calling Brad Pitt. A message came from his management team that Brad was busy until mid-February… More blogs and websites took up the story. So far, it has reached around 5.4 million people, some of whom may have their lives saved by taking a simple test. And it all started with a letter.

insightAsking Brad Pitt to stick something in his poo takes a lot of guts, and it takes even more when linked to his wife’s actions earlier in the year (that created such worldwide awareness of breast cancer prevention). Yet, when you consider that Brad turned 50 – when the real risk of colon cancer starts and a simple test can detect colon cancer at a treatable stage – you seize the fundamentals of the opportunity.

It would appear that the lack of budget was what led to such an ingenious idea of simply writing to Pitt and then letting the world read the letter.

Turning to Thunderclap, which won an Innovation Lion at Cannes in 2013, was an inspirational use of a new platform to push the message out across Belgium and beyond.

creative teaMcreative DirectorsOlaf MeulemanJeroen Goossens

creativesStephanie Van TicheltCharis Verrept

proDUctionweb DevelopmentAllard Bosch

otherpublic relations officerAnn Peeters

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agencyBBDO Belgium

clientBBDO and Microsoft

productBBDO Connect

titleMarketing Books Invitations

countryBelgium

BackgroundBBDO and Microsoft wanted to make marketers aware of the need to catch up with the digital revolution and new technologies which were already fully embraced by their customers. They wanted marketers to come to BBDO Connect, a series of three seminars designed to educate and inspire marketers with the possibilities.

ideaThe idea started with the insight that if marketers were not using new technologies, it was because their outdated marketing handbooks did not discuss them. So what was the point of keeping those old books if they were so useless?

2,000 pages of old marketing textbooks were ripped out and each was overprinted with an invitation to innovation. Each mailing comprised two pages from a forgotten book, making it clear there were new technologies and new ideas to be discovered at the BBDO Connect event.

resultsNo fewer than 311 of Belgium’s leading marketers registered for BBDO Connect – a 30% increase in response compared to other BBDO seminar email invitations. Now let's hope those marketers integrate more technology in their future campaigns.

insightIt’s because we still hold a symbolic value to books that the random destruction of them is shocking. To shred a book as BBDO did seems not just uncivilized but an attack on knowledge itself. And that is what makes this a powerful piece of communication. Because, when you pause to think, it’s nonsense to imagine that all books are valuable.

The old rules of marketing have been completely superseded and it is true to say that most consumers are further ahead of the curve than the marketers trying to talk to them. This is quite a complicated story to tell, but this invitation does it with deceptive simplicity.

creative teaMcreative DirectorsHenny van GerwenSebastien De Valck

art DirectorKlaartje Galle

copywritersRégine SmetzLeen Baeten

proDUction

printerJozias Boone

other

account Managers, BBDoDaniel SchotsSarah Van Praag

account Manager, MicrosoftTim Nagels

Old marketing textbooks do not discuss the role of new technologies in communications.

2,000 pages were torn out of outdated marketing books.

The invitation to the event was printed on the ripped-out pages.

Invitations were mailed to 1,000 leading marketers in Belgium. 311 marketers came to the seminars to learn how to harness the power of new technologies.

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agencyOgilvy RedWorks, Brussels

clientPrint Power

productDirect Mail

titleTouched By DM

countryBelgium

BackgroundPrint Power is a pan-European organization dedicated to promoting print media in Europe. Facing the growing competition from digital, it wanted to show marketing and agency professionals that direct mail still had an important role to play in integrated campaigns.

Appealing to the senses had been shown to boost response rates. And no other media can do it as well as direct mail. Research from BRAND sense and neurologist Martin Lindstrom concluded that triggering more than three senses in any communication could increase effectiveness by 70%. Again, direct mail is the media making sense of it all.

ideaTouched By DM was the central thought to make the point that only print can trigger all five senses. In this instance, the mailing focused on touch with each component (paper, blackboard card, Moleskine) adding a distinctive sensory element.

The envelope, which was a folded-up poster, contained a personalized letter, a blackboard card covered with chalk dust, a reply card and a reply envelope.

Recipients were asked to wipe away the chalk on the black card, then place their chalky hand on a sticky sheet.

They mailed this back to Print Power, where their handprint was scanned and printed onto the cover of their very own Moleskine notebook, personalized with their name as well.

resultsThe direct mail package was sent to more than 2,200 brand managers, budget holders and media buyers across Europe with budgets in excess of a quarter of a million. The response rate of the mailing is astounding: nine countries scored between 10 and 25%. A return rate of 1% for this kind of mailing would have been considered satisfying. The mailing was greatly discussed online, as was the making-of video.

insightTo be honest, at first sight the barriers to participation in this idea seemed too high. The recipient is asked to tear a protective strip off one piece of paper, apply chalk, place a hand on it, put the chalk print in an envelope, wash hands, send the package back. And for what? A notebook?

As it turned out, the barriers were not too high at all. Proof that it is not easy to second-guess what your target may or may not do! Proof also that print can be every bit as interactive as online.

Finally, proof that mail is evolving into a premium medium, the sharpest tool in the marketer’s box, capable of reaching tightly defined target audiences and getting them to do stuff. Like putting chalk on their hands.

creative teaMexecutive creative DirectorSam De Win

art DirectorBrigitte Bourgeois

copywriterNathalie Strybos

proDUctionstudio ManagerAnne De Bruyn

print production ManagerRudy Van Hoey

printingGuido Maes, Dioss, Tubbax

otherclient service DirectorBrigitte De Paepe

Recipients were invited to rub their hand on the black card to reveal the message beneath. Then they were asked to place their chalky hand on a sheet of sticky paper, which would capture their handprint.

They were mailed back a Moleskine notebook personalized both with their name and their print.

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agencyPublicis Brazil

clientProcter & Gamble

productOral-B Pro-Health Whitening

titleWhitening Post-it® Notes

countryBrazil

BackgroundThe goal was to reinforce the main benefit of Oral-B Pro-Health Whitening with dentists, using a low-cost communication material that wouldn’t vanish among the dozens of gifts and product samplings dentists receive daily.

ideaThe dentists who integrated P&G’s mailing were sent a pack with four Post-it pads. At first glance, the Post-it notes looked like the typical yellow ones. But as the dentist used the pad, the Post-it colour progressively became lighter (that is, whiter), clearly showing the product benefit.

resultsWith a creative solution that was both low-cost and highly useful for everyday activities, this further strengthened the connection between P&G and dentists, increasing the share of mind with the Oral-B brand’s most important audience. An initially small direct marketing action, it ended up impacting over 100,000 dentists throughout Brazil.

insightA 3D mailing is when you send someone something through the mail. It could be the ubiquitous free gift, the cheap pen, for instance, or it could be something more involving and more extravagant. The trick is to make sure that what you send will be useful. Nine out of ten enclosures end up in the trash because they are irrelevant or boring.

That’s what makes this simple mailing so effective. Because the Post-it notes would have stayed on the dentist’s desk for many months, it became a daily reminder of Oral-B’s message. But added to that was the gentle wit of the paper getting whiter and whiter, making the message memorable, not just because it is being endlessly repeated but because it is ingenious.

creative teaMcreative DirectorsHugo RodriguesTony Goes

art DirectorSidney Araújo

copywriterRodrigo Strozenberg

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agencyFCB Montréal

clientFido

productFido

titleFido 15th Anniversary

countryCanada

BackgroundFido is a Canadian personal communications service provider that celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2011. For the occasion, they wanted to reach out to the customers who had been with them from the very beginning with a personalized communication that would both recognize their loyalty and support the brand promise “You’ll love your Fido.”

ideaTo thank their most loyal customers, Fido went back to sending an anniversary card the old-fashioned way. By mail. To make it as festive as possible, it was printed on glossy paper and placed inside a transparent envelope.

The idea was to use the inflated dog balloons so often seen at children’s parties. The idea was relevant to Fido, of course, but was also designed to be fun.

As well as the balloon and a link to the online video tutorial on how to make their own balloon dog, these customers were treated to 50 FidoDOLLARS, the currency of Fido’s loyalty program (FidoREWARDS). They could use these to get a discount on a new phone or other Fido services.

resultsThe only measurement tool used was the Fidomobile YouTube channel, as it was the only means of collecting tangible data:• 1,336 YouTube hits as of August 2014• To see the video, simply enter “Fido 15 anniversary” at

Youtube.ca

insightMost of the creativity in direct marketing goes into acquisition packs, trying to get new customers and new sales. So it’s heartening to see a brand looking to its most loyal customers and talking to them in a way they would surely enjoy and appreciate. Loyalty programs do not have to be dull. And the incentives don’t all have to be points or rewards. Just having fun can be enough.

This idea supports an image of Fido as younger and more colourful than some of its competitors and would almost certainly have helped its core target group to feel even more of an affinity with the brand.

creative teaMcreative DirectorsMartin BernierAnne-Marie Blouin

art DirectorMartin Bernier

copywriterNina Mourin

proDUctionproduction DirectorPaul Archambault

Digital artistSébastien Robillard

otheraccount ManagersCorinne SevignyIsabelle GrazianiElliot-Olivier Pellerin

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agencyjohn st., Toronto

clientStop The Drop

productEnvironmental Charity

titleStop The Drop

countryCanada

BackgroundClimate change, dredging and erosion are causing the Great Lakes to disappear before the eyes of the people who live beside them. In 2013, Lake Huron’s water levels hit a record low.

ideaStop The Drop was created to provoke government action on the issue. Their first task was to galvanize the people who cared most about Lake Huron. The problem was that the lakeside community’s remote location and largely unplugged lifestyle made them hard to reach with traditional media.

So a cry for help from the lake itself was created. Thousands of letters were printed using clear ink that soaked all the way through the paper; normally an imperfect technique, it perfectly created the look of water trapped on the page. Then the letters were rolled and packed into glass bottles. These were then distributed along the shoreline of the lake.

resultsThe messages in the bottles generated over 20,000 petition signatures and gave a lake without a voice a way it could be heard.

insightThis mailing nicely demonstrates that mail doesn’t necessarily have to be a letter in an envelope delivered to your door. It can be a message in a bottle left on a beach. That’s what makes this idea so powerful. It’s so evocative of all those old stories of shipwrecks and castaways, when the only hope of rescue was to write a note and set it afloat on the sea.

It’s not just relevant to the problem it’s trying to solve, it’s also beautifully apt.

creative teaMexecutive creative DirectorsAngus TuckerStephen Jurisic

art DirectorHannah Smit

copywriterKeri Zierler

proDUctionproducerAlisa Pellizzari

assistant producerMadison Papple

videographerJosh WhiteNicole Dorsey

editorNicole SisonSchool Editing

printing houseFlash Reproductions

otheraccount supervisorsBen ProutSarah Chan

account coordinatorSean Whelan

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agencyRapp Canada

clientPlan Canada

productChild Sponsorship

titleBreak-a-lope

countryCanada

BackgroundPlan Canada is part of a global organization dedicated to supporting social justice for children. It works in 69 countries around the world including 50 developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. There was a requirement to create awareness and raise funds.

ideaThe task was to demonstrate that Plan Canada was bringing hope of two very different sorts to people. First, a sense of hope of a better life for those children trapped in poverty. Second, a sense of hope within poverty as a whole, a sense that there are real grounds for believing in a better world for all.

Based on the German campaign created for Plan International, a direct mail package was produced to encourage Canadian donors to feel they had it within their hands to break the bonds of poverty simply by opening the envelope. It was designed with a series of perforations, which allowed it to be broken in half.

Inside the “break-a-lope” was a letter concentrating on girl sponsorship, telling the story of previously sponsored Lena and enclosing a friendship bracelet.

resultsThe mailing generated an 8% increase in child sponsorships compared to smaller one-time gifts from the previous year’s mailing. The break-a-lope outperformed the control’s response rate by 23% and officially ousted the German mailing idea, which until then had been the control.

insightThere is enormous scope for innovation in direct mail. This is an example of someone trying to do something new with the envelope, or the break-a-lope as they call it. It was entirely relevant to the idea, making potential donors feel they could literally as well as metaphorically be hands-on, as it were.

Envelopes can be die-cut to pretty much any shape. They can have more than one window. They can be gloriously colourful. They can be posters in their own right.

The envelope is in itself a creative opportunity and here the agency has turned it to good account.

creative teaM associate creative DirectorMary Lynn Lalonde

creative group leaderItalo Siciliano

copywritersCarmen TothMary Lynn Lalonde

proDUctionproduction ManagerJennifer McConville

production companyThe FSA Group

othersenior account executiveCathy Jarochowski

account DirectorLori Steiner

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agencyBuzzman

clientMondelez International

productMilka Chocolate Bars

titleMilka Last Square

countryFrance

BackgroundIn 2013, Mondelez asked Buzzman to find a new way to express the brand's message “Dare to be tender.”

Rather than just talk about tenderness, Buzzman wondered if they could get people to be tender, using the chocolate itself as media.

ideaA square of chocolate was removed from over 10 million Milka chocolate bars distributed first in France, then in Germany. Now anyone who bought a Milka bar had a choice. They could either claim back that last square themselves or they could be tender and send it to someone they were fond of with a personalized and suitably tender message. All they needed to do was go to LeDernierCarre.fr and type in the code printed on the inside of the product wrapper. Then they wrote their message and left it to Milka to mail the last chunk for them.

Milka had to change its entire manufacturing process to make chocolate bars with one square missing but the results justified the decision.

resultsThe campaign collected results never seen before. More than 500,000 visits were made to the website with an average time spent of 2.25 minutes per visit and more than 95,000 sharings on social networks. 220,000 squares of Milka chocolate were mailed. The videos were watched three million times. 700 articles were written about the campaign in over 117 countries, potentially reaching 70 million people and leading to CAN$1.9M in earned media.

insightWhat a wonderfully innovative way of using mail. The digital revolution has led to an increasing amount of fulfilment mail. You go to Amazon, buy the book and then they mail it to you. This idea seems to tap into that general understanding of how online shopping works to do something genuinely sweet.

First of all, it’s funny in itself that the item being redeemed, one square of chocolate, is of only marginal intrinsic value. The postage will have cost a lot more than the chocolate. However, it’s the emotional value of that last small square mailed to a loved one which resonates massively.

This is mail at the very heart of an integrated brand campaign and worthy of the Gold Lion it won at Cannes in the Direct category. As well as the story being told in 700 articles around the world, it seeped out into social media as both senders and receivers of the last square commented, shared and blogged about it.

If brands are serious about wanting to establish real relationships with their core customers – their brand ambassadors – then mail is how to do it.

creative teaMcreative DirectorGeorges Mohammed-Chérif

art DirectorsClément SéchetDaniel Evans

copywriterMiguel Durão

proDUctionhead of productionVanessa Barbel

tv producerElodie Poupeau

production assistantYoann Morin

film DirectorZoe Fisher

film productionGOOD PH

head of Digital productionLaurent Marcus

Digital producerFrançois Cavallin

Digital production companyAnonymous

othergeneral ManagerThomas Granger

account ManagersJulien LevilainAntoine FerrariLoïc Coelho

strategic plannerRenaud Berthe

10 million bars of Milka were produced with one square missing. Or they could write a tender message to someone they knew.

Printed on the wrapper was a code. Milka then mailed the last square to that person along with the loving message.

Shoppers could either have the missing square mailed back to them. 220,000 squares of chocolate were mailed in France and Germany.

agencyJWT Group Germany

clientJWT

productBusiness Development

titleBurning for Business

countryGermany

BackgroundThe advertising market in Germany is dominated by local independent agencies that have only recently caught on to the importance of shopper marketing. The challenge was to get clients to realize that JWT has been doing retail communications for years and is more creative than they think.

ideaThe agency took its Gold Lions and its recent Gold Effie and melted them down, turning the metal into shopping-cart coins. They mailed the coins to prospective clients telling the two stories – one, of the making of the coin, which was supported by a website with a film of the melt-down; two, of the coin itself and the value it represents.

resultsIn the first mailing of 50 coins, there was a 70% response via telephone calls and emails. Six credentials presentations have taken place and four projects briefed. The second mailing will go out later in 2014.

insightWhen agencies market themselves, the irony is that even though they would rather produce TV campaigns and YouTube videos for their clients, they invariably rely on direct mail themselves.

Why? Because it offers more accurate targeting and it’s more cost-efficient. This mailing is brave in many ways. Firstly, it’s an agency consciously saying awards are not important. This would have opened them up to mockery from the creative community in Germany (“They could only make 100 coins. If we melted our awards, we’d have thousands” …). But it’s brave also in that it has a high degree of polish to it. In other words, it took as much time, trouble and money as a campaign in any other media.

It also reveals that the increasing importance of shopper marketing to clients has not been lost on the agency’s management.

creative teaMchief creative officerTill Hohmann

art DirectorRegina Groffy

head of artPaul Watmough

copywritersVictor BarrenecheaMichael Muck

creative technologistNick Marshall

Designer/typographerJuarez Rodrigues

DesignerAinara Del Valle Perez-Solero

Digital DesignerLars Kopp

proDUctionproduction ManagerMartin Berger

finalizerSandra Schreier

retoucherMarco Perdigones

video editorAlbert Volta

video DopLennart Eggers

Bronze founderMichael Wittkamp

printing and assemblyThilo Westphal, Contrast-Druck

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Potential clients in the retail sector were mailed a pack.

The mailing told the story of how JWT Germany had melted down all their Cannes Lions and even their most recent Gold Effie award.

Enclosed was a coin for a supermarket trolley, made from the agency’s awards and symbolizing the agency’s understanding of the retail environment.

There was a link to a website where recipients could watch videos of the incineration.

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agencyKolle Rebbe GmbH

clientKingdom of Sports

productFitness Program

titleThe Power Paper

countryGermany

BackgroundAccording to a study from the German Ministry of Health, 58% of Germans are overweight. Kingdom of Sports, one of Germany’s biggest gyms, saw there was a great opportunity for growth. But they needed to find a way to motivate their target audience to start exercising.

ideaThe mailing was printed on paper made from a special paper-polyester mix, which is impossible to rip or tear. The letter turned out to be stronger than the reader and in itself provided an incentive to start going to the gym.

The copy challenged the recipients to tear the letter in half and win free membership to the gym for a year. If they couldn’t tear the letter (and they couldn’t) they were offered free membership for a month.

resultsThere was a 23% increase in new members at Kingdom of Sports compared to the same time the previous year.

insightThe word interactive is generally supposed to mean some sort of online engagement. But, in this case, mail was the original interactive medium. It got people to test their strength and there was embarrassed laughter when recipients discovered they were too weak to perform what should have been a simple exercise.

Mail can get people to do things like no other medium can. Intelligent and involving with impressive results.

creative teaMexecutive creative DirectorSascha Hanke

group creative DirectorsJens TheilChristian Kroll

creative DirectorsSandra GelewskiAles PolcarConstantin Sossidi

art DirectorHannah Ziegler

copywriterBenjamin Waldt

graphic DesignersKrystina JakobAlexej Kirk

proDUctionproducerMartin Lühe

printing houseTHINKPRINT GmbH

otheraccount ManagerNina Schack

The letter was printed on a special paper-polyester weave.

It looked and felt like every other letter. But the reader was challenged to try ripping it in half.

It was impossible to tear. In order to become stronger, recipients were offered a year’s or a month’s free membership at the gym.

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agencyRMG Connect Germany

clientAmerican Express

productPlatinum Card

titleNovel Mailing

countryGermany

BackgroundThe brief was to write to existing American Express Gold Card owners and convince them they should upgrade to Platinum. The main benefit of the new card was the fantastic Lifestyle Service Amex provides these customers.

ideaThe creative execution was to do the opposite of most financial services mailings, which are usually about facts and figures, and to engage emotionally. By keeping the mailing incredibly simple, American Express used deliberate understatement to underline its status as one of the world’s great brands. The idea was to tell a story in a letter, an incredible but true story. In a hotel, far away from home, a businesswoman was reading a novel. As the story reached its climax, disaster! The woman discovered the last page had been torn out of the book.

How did it end? There was only one way to find out. She called the American Express Lifestyle Service, and within a few hours she took delivery of the missing page. That was the story of the service. And of the mailing, which included the final page.

resultsA happy ending: a 13% response rate. Similar mailings in the past had, at best, response rates of only 5%, meaning that this campaign reached a response rate more than 150% higher than usual. Incredible. But true.

insightAs a marketer, you usually get what you pay for. If you only spend a little, don’t expect large results. Usually.

This brilliantly simple idea from RMG proves the lie to that sweeping generalization. It didn’t cost a lot to show top Amex customers the advantages of being Platinum card holders.

This idea would have been the result of the creative team’s curiosity, asking endless questions about what you really got as a Platinum member until eventually they unearthed this nugget of a true story, the customer who got Amex to provide her with a happy ending.

creative teaMManaging Director and creative DirectorWolfgang Zimmerer

senior art DirectorsAngela BrinkmannSimone Werdel

senior copywriterChristian Klee

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agencyM&C Saatchi Mumbai

clientBirla Sun Life Insurance

productProtection Solutions

titleThe Letter as Fragile as Life

countryIndia

BackgroundBirla Sun Life Insurance wanted to talk to existing customers (who had perhaps already taken policies with them for other reasons like tax saving and investment) and open their minds to seriously consider a true life protection product and increase their insurance portfolio.

ideaAt the core of the advertising idea lay a powerful truth that life is fragile. TV advertising drove home the message that one should not depend on fate to protect one's dreams, but rather should invest in a term policy to ensure the family's future financial well-being. Direct mail was used for existing customers to support the theme.

To dramatize the idea of the fragility of life, the letter was printed on the most fragile tissue paper.

The fact that the sheet had to be cradled rather than held in the hands brought a drama to the communication which supported the core idea.

resultsThe direct mail was sent to 20,000 existing customers who held at least one endowment or tax saving policy, at a mailing cost of around $6,000. A total of 623 conversions were generated. Over three million dollars of premium revenues were generated (at an average of $270 in annual premium per customer over the next 20 years).

insightThis is one of those simple ideas which was probably not at all simple to produce. To print a letter on paper as incredibly thin as this cannot have been easy. It looks so obvious as a solution to the brief. And that’s what the very best creative ideas do. They look obvious.

My bet is the creative team thought about sending glass by mail among a dozen of other ideas before finally landing on the idea of making the medium the message.

creative teaMexecutive creative DirectorDeepak Agarwal

creative group headGwendoline Pereira

creative Director/art DirectorSuneel Katarnavare

proDUctionproduction ManagerPrashant Raje

otheraccount ManagerDeep Barai

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agencyBarnes, Catmur & Friends

clientNew Zealand Advertising Standards Authority

productAdvertising Standards Authority

titleDepartment of Advertising Standards and Regulations

countryNew Zealand

BackgroundThe Advertising Standards Authority is the regulatory body in New Zealand which investigates complaints about offensive or misleading advertising. Many people in advertising rarely deal with the ASA and tend to think the organization is small-minded and petty in its dealings with them.

Because the ASA relies on industry support for funding, they wanted a campaign to counteract negative perceptions of what they do.

ideaA completely fictitious Department of Advertising Standards and Regulations was created as an example of what the state’s alternative to the ASA would be like. Letters were sent to 150 leading agency figures listing supposed infringements of one of their ads and directing them to dasr.org.nz.

At the website were 10 examples of well-known New Zealand ads and a list of ridiculous complaints about them. For instance, the ad was too long, traffic rules had been infringed, the music used was annoying, and so on. The examples were funny because they were so irrational. But, were the advertising industry not be allowed to regulate itself, those examples would only be too likely.

If, on the website, anyone went to appeal the complaints, they were frustrated by a moving button. Only then did a pop-up screen appear, informing the viewer that it was a hoax: the ASA might not be perfect, but it was better than the alternative.

resultsThe website attracted 2,162 unique visitors from 21 countries in two days. In total, more people visited the site than the number of people who actually work in advertising in New Zealand.

The average time spent on the site was 2:16. 83 emails were sent to the heads of advertising agencies and to their respective clients with 916 unique opens in two days.

insightBeing an industry watchdog is a thankless task, but it’s also incredibly important. In France in the eighties, Marek Kanievska shot an amazingly risqué commercial for Kronenbourg, which led almost immediately to legislation and restrictions.

This direct mail campaign is a classic in that God is in the detail. It’s only when you read the letters and appreciate how the recipients would have been completely taken in by them that you begin to appreciate the skill with which the campaign was put together.

We like to judge ads in a second or two. You know almost immediately if a print ad is good or not. Same with a TV commercial. With mail, you have to give it time. So do explore this idea, please, because it’s not just funny, it’s important.

creative teaMexecutive creative DirectorsPaul CatmurDaniel Barnes

art DirectorBrad Stratton

copywritersJesse StevensMatt Weavers

proDUctionhead of DigitalGreg Elisara

otheraccount ManagerNicholas Gallagher

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agencyOgilvy & Mather, Bangalore

clientIBM

productIBM

titleIBM Opens in Qatar

countryQatar

BackgroundIBM was finding it increasingly difficult to get people to attend its seminars and conventions. Fewer people wanted to attend these events and spend time away from office or home. The objective was to create an invite with a difference, one that would entice the audience and encourage participation.

ideaThe creative idea was to create intrigue. What invitees got was a black box that contained a pouch of sand. They were instructed to pour the sand onto the enclosed plain white card and then read the message that appeared on it. Here’s how it worked: when poured and dusted off, the sand got stuck to invisible gum on the white card, and revealed the message “IBM Opens in Qatar.”

A passive invite rarely gets any attention. So the creative team developed an interactive one. Since the event was IBM’s launch in Qatar, it also had to be relevant to the city. As a result, they created an invite that involved sand – an intrinsic part of the desert city of Qatar, which also holds great emotional value for the citizens.

The fact that the message was created with sand suggested that IBM had effortlessly blended with Qatar’s ethos. It created curiosity, involved the recipient and was memorable.

results

The invite was very successful and had high recall. 340 invitations were mailed out and 135 respondents attended – a healthy response of 40%.

insightMail is still incredibly important in B2B, where TV is prohibitively expensive and press advertising is a relatively blunt instrument. It is how to reach your target audience along the whole journey from first acquaintance to brand ambassador in one go.

While this may only be an invitation to an event, it is the means by which IBM is growing awareness and recognition in a new territory.

Besides the message it contained, the pack suggested that IBM is intelligent, playful but, just as important, respectful of the country it wants to do business with.

creative teaMchief creative officerPiyush Pandey

executive creative DirectorAjanta Barker

creative DirectorsGautam DevArun KT

creative controller and art DirectorSiju RS

copywritersGautam DevBhumika Udernani

photographerSujith Bose

proDUctionstudio and print production services DirectorManu Reddy

production ManagerNaganandhan Rao

othervice-president, client servicesSaji Mathews

Director, client servicesNita Grandhi

account executivesPallavi DuttaKaran Malhotra

A black box with the message: “Qatar is about to get another landmark.”

When opened, we see a satin pouch and a white card with instructions on it.

...to reveal a plain white card with a picture of the Qatar skyline at the bottom.

After dusting the card clean, the sand that remains stuck to the invisible gum reads, “IBM OPENS IN QATAR.”

The cover of the card is peeled open as instructed...

The sand is taken out of the pouch and poured over the card.

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agencyÅkestam Holst

clientPosten

productThe Swedish Post

titleWinning Postcards

countrySweden

BackgroundThe Guldägget (Golden Egg) is Sweden’s largest and most prestigious advertising competition. As the principal sponsor of the Direct category, Posten, the Swedish Post, wanted to show the creative possibilities of mail as a medium.

ideaMost creative people enjoy being in the spotlight, so the winners at the Guldägget gala were all photographed holding their awards without knowing the true purpose of this photo session.

The photos were printed as postcards and mailed overnight to the winners’ parents. On the back of the postcard was a message from Posten reading “We hope you are as proud as we are impressed.”

resultsThe postcards were highly appreciated by both the winners and their parents. Many of the winners then showed their cards on their Facebook page, thus helping to generate even more buzz in the Swedish advertising community.

insightHow do you get agency creatives to think about mail the same way they think about TV, print or digital advertising? It’s a problem that is plaguing postal services around the world including Canada Post!

Apart from the fact that better ideas will invariably lead to better results, better mail will always be noticed in the mailbox. So everybody wins when creatives take interest in it.

The big insight here is that behind every star creative there is a proud Mom and Dad. Each of these postcards made a massive emotional impact, which in turn led to a surge of online conversation among creatives about the medium and its power.

creative teaMcreative DirectorsAndreas UlleniusMartin Cedergren

art DirectorLars Holthe

copywriterHanna Björk

proDUctionaccount executiveGöran Åkestam

account DirectorJacob Stjärne

account ManagerMaria Ljung

otherplannersLars FribergHenrik Adenskog

Winners at the Guldägget award show had their photos taken in the winners’ lounge.

Overnight, the shots were turned into postcards and sent to the winners’ parents.

Next day there were some very proud Moms and Dads.

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agencyServiceplan Suisse

clientBMW

productCar series M4, M235i, X5, i3

titleSoundtree

countrySwitzerland

BackgroundBMW in Switzerland had a history of innovative Christmas cards which put a smile on the faces of their customers and partners. This time, however, the idea had to cover four different ranges (X5, i3, M4 and M235i series), so it had to be based on a feature all the cars had in common.

ideaSince every BMW has performance at its heart, the idea was to dramatize the engine under the hood.

The engine sounds of the four cars were recorded. When played through a seismograph, the sound waves of the revving motors resembled a Christmas tree. Upon receiving their Christmas card, BMW owners could go to the website, select a BMW, start the engine and rev it. Then they could capture their own unique soundtree and share it in social media.

They could also order their own greeting cards depicting their soundtree. VIPs were mailed three-dimensional models of their soundtrees to keep.

results

Between December 16, 2013 and January 8, 2014, the microsite received 12,500 visits, and 9,000 three-dimensional soundtrees were created and mailed out.

insightThe creative leap here was in recognizing that the sound waves of a screaming engine could look like a Christmas tree and from that thought all else followed.

There’s a buzzword in marketing at the moment – nonline. What it means is an idea which is neither online nor offline but both, an idea which would not exist without the two being used together. If so, then this is nonline at its best. It started out as a Christmas card, which then directed people online, where it became a virtual experience before it went back to being physical again. By the time the soundtree sculpture arrived in the mail, one would have had a pretty lengthy engagement with the brand. And a Christmas card, which arrived in early December, would have had its life extended out into February or March.

creative teaMchief executive creative officerAlexander Schill

executive creative DirectorsMarkus MaczeySacha Moser

creative DirectorsChristian SommerAxinja WernerCornelia Blasy-Steiner

art DirectorJulia Bochanneck

copywritersUlrike SchumannCarina DischVolker Heine

proDUctioncreative producerFlorian Panier

otheraccount supervisorsChristian BärtschiKlara ZürcherRoxana HudsonMarina Gnann

BMW engines being started up and revved were recorded.

The sounds were captured on a seismograph and put on the front of BMW’s Christmas cards.

A URL directed recipients to a microsite, where they could select a car, rev its engine and create their own personal soundtree.

Three-dimensional soundtrees were made from the recordings and displayed in dealerships.

Some 9,000 soundtrees were mailed to important customers.

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agencyFP7/DXB

clientFP7/DXB

productRecruitment Drive (Self-Promotion)

titlePoaching Phone

countryUnited Arab Emirates

BackgroundFP7/DXB wanted to expand its creative department, but hiring talent in the region was time-consuming and headhunters were expensive. There had to be another way to recruit top talent.

ideaLike all other industries, the advertising business has its fair share of self-help literature. What FP7/DXB did was to dummy up three faux books about career advancement: Getting Into A Top Agency Is Easier Than You Think, Creating Campaigns For The Coolest Brands and It’s Not What You Know But Who You Know.

A mobile phone was concealed within the pages of each book. It was programmed with only one contact – the Executive Creative Director’s direct phone number. Books were sent to the creative stars he most wanted to hire.

results

Within a week, the Executive Creative Director had received the calls he was hoping for and a month later the creative department had four new additions: a world-class art director, a talented design director, and a young Lions winning team.

The story was featured in design blogs, creative magazines and industry websites around the world, which led to approaches by creatives far beyond the region wanting to join the agency.

The agency claimed it saved 98% of the projected recruitment cost, which would have amounted to CAN$89,220 by hiring a headhunter. Producing the limited-edition books cost slightly less than CAN$1,800. The phones were given by Sony, a client of the agency. The global ROI in a month or so was tremendous: the agency saw its creative applications from around the world increase by 400%; it had more than 200,000 shares or mentions on industry sites, blogs and social media; and it got over $100,000 in earned media. To top it all, the campaign story was the third most shared idea on Adweek magazine, in the first week of March 2014.

insightThe Executive Creative Director at FP7/DXB is a noted winner of digital awards. So why isn’t he doing something clever online to bolster his creative department? I guess because instead of answering a brief for once, this was one he had to write himself. In confronting the problem, how do you get top people into an agency? He simply had to become media neutral. And the solution to his problem turned out to be personal mail.

Not only is mail a brilliant way of talking to people who are hard to reach; if it is clever and engaging, which this is, then it enhances the brand. Suddenly, FP7/DXB feels spunky and creative. Let us hope the new recruits will think well of mail as a medium – since it provided them with their jobs.

creative teaM

executive creative DirectorPaul Banham

creative DirectorsHusen BabaAli Mokdad

art DirectorsPaul BanhamHusen BabaAli MokdadJoseph Alipio

copywritersPaul BanhamAli Mokdad

head of DesignRyan AtkinsonErol Salcinovic

Junior DesignerLaila Mokdad

proDUctionproducerKhalid Hamza

video editorAshraf Muhammad Unnay

photographerAdam Browning Hill

post-production DirectorJacques Mulder, Muddville

Spoof self-help books were sent to top creatives in the United Arab Emirates.

Inside the books (this one a homage to Paul Arden’s It’s Not How Good You Are But How Good You Want To Be) was concealed a mobile phone.

The phone was programmed to ring just one number: Paul Banham’s, the Executive Creative Director at FP7/DXB.

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agencyLeo Burnett London

clientLürzer’s International Archive

productLürzer’s International Archive

titleUntouchable Covers

countryUnited Kingdom

BackgroundPublished every two months, Lürzer’s International Archive contains the very best advertising, photography and design. All creatives love it… a bit too much. Instead of subscribing themselves, they often take it from someone else. Sometimes referred to as The World’s Most Stolen Magazine, Lürzer’s wanted to raise awareness about what makes it so “steal-able” – and raise subscriptions at the same time.

ideaThe solution was Untouchable Covers, free anti-theft fake covers for every new subscriber, to turn their copy of Lürzer’s into a magazine so unpleasant, controversial or dull that no one would want to pick it up, let alone steal it.

Fake wraparounds were made of fictional publications such as Account Man Monthly, Spreadsheet Enthusiast and Bucket Collector. These fake titles looked genuine but were strange enough to warrant a second look and then funny enough to reward repeat views.

results The covers were featured in almost every major advertising publication worldwide including Ad Age, Creativity Online, Creative Review, Design Week, Adweek, Campaign, as well as hundreds of blogs. It went viral over non-advertising websites too, including more than one million views on Reddit.

In just a few weeks, the campaign achieved 424 new subscriptions (up 500% from the previous period) and over CAN$85,000 worth of new sales. The ROI reached a ratio of 10:1. Over 50,000 unique clicks were registered to the Lürzer’s Untouchable Covers subscriptions page, and retention of lapsing subscribers rose from 72% to 88%. “Our most successful and beautiful campaign ever,” stated Michael Weinzettl, editor of Lürzer’s International Archive.

insightThis idea rose from an inside joke. But, when you think about it, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s probably the reason behind the campaign’s success. If you know your target audience is creative people in ad agencies, then play to the gallery! The team behind this must have had huge fun writing Account Man Monthly with its lead article “Why a logo can always be bigger.”

The mailing led to $85,000 of new sales, so it wasn’t just creative teams enjoying a laugh but the people at Lürzer’s as well.

creative teaM executive creative DirectorJustin Tindall

creative DirectorsJohn JessupGary Munns

head of artLance Crozier

art Directors and copywritersBen GoughMark Denton

proDUctionphotographerFern Berresford

DesignersMark Denton and Kate Henderson, Coy! Communications

typographerKate Henderson

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agencyOgilvyOne London

clientBritish Airways

productBritish Airways First-class Cabin

titleDetails

countryUnited Kingdom

BackgroundCentral to the design philosophy behind British Airways’ new first-class cabin was a return to understated British elegance. The airline spent around five years developing a carefully considered product, one conceived by a team of experts that had dedication to quality, craftsmanship and, above all, attention to detail at its core.

ideaThe Details portfolio was sent to 500 of British Airways’ most valuable customers. Mimicking the level of detail found within the cabin, every element of the pack was carefully honed and crafted. Each spread contained minute copy blended into the photography. Customers needed to use the magnifying glass hooked within the portfolio cover to reveal the inspiration behind specific design elements. Weaving the details into the photos and inviting customers to discover each element of craftsmanship was as if the book took the readers on a journey, not just through the new cabin, but through the meticulous design process itself.

resultsThis mailing was designed for customer retention rather than sales; there was no real response mechanism built in to measure results. However, in the four months following the mailing, British Airways registered 1,294 bookings from this small group of clients, nearly three bookings per person.

insightIt’s fascinating to speculate on the actual results of this campaign. If you took a London-New York first-class flight ticket at an approximate cost of CAN$20,000, and multiple bookings per person as the campaign seems to have generated, you’d come up with millions and millions of dollars in sales. By Jove, I’d say this is quite a successful campaign! When you look at what a real business can drum up out of thin air with a well-planned and beautifully executed piece of direct mail, you have to shake your head in bemusement and ask why more large organizations don’t use it.

creative teaMexecutive creative DirectorsEmma de la FosseCharlie Wilson

art Director and DesignerTom Mann

copywritersPeter MabbottTooky De Vall

proDUctionproducerJohn Thompson

otherBusiness DirectorAndrew Boggs

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