Duplo International
Duplo International is one of the World’s leading suppliers of print finishing equipment. The company vision statement declares that our goal is to enable our customers to turn paper into great communication’. The action of turning printed paper into a product is where the true value of print is realised, and this is where Duplo products enable their customers to do so in the most effective and profitable way possible.
Business objectives and how the Alpha Saddle relates to this
Duplo is constantly looking at the demands of its customers to produce innovative products that will allow them to expand their businesses and profits.
With huge innovations in the print finishing market, Duplo have taken huge steps to improve their method of communicating their products functions and output applications. This was first experienced with the development of the DC-645 sample pack. A product Duplo previously had difficulty explaining its function. Since the release of the pack, sales have risen over 100 per cent, including sales to new unchartered markets, such as graphic designers.
Bookletmaking has been Duplo’s flagship product area for over 50 years, with the widest range of systems available from a single supplier. This has allowed Duplo customers to grow their business with Duplo, following a co-operative upgrade path. Duplo’s modular design has also enabled this growth over time.
As well as continually looking for new and innovative functions to improve existing products, the evolution of bookletmaking has allowed Duplo to create their largest, most innovative bookletmaker to date, the Alpha Saddle.
Campaign objectives
Communicating the function and productivity of a bookletmaker is not an easy task. To overcome this issue, Duplo’s objective was to create a prestige sample pack containing five unique booklets, all finished on the Alpha Saddle.
The next objective was to communicate the unique selling points of the Alpha Saddle through these booklets. To do this, the use of typography enabled each booklet to describe its function, size, or production. Using silver inks, Duplo hoped to translate the superior quality of their products, giving a consistent and elegant look to the booklet collection.
The sample box was also accompanied by two exclusive VIP invitations, designed to match the elegant look and feel of samples with the ultimate objective of attracting the company directors to visiting the Duplo stand at IPEX for their own private demonstration.
The target audience
To maximise the effectiveness, Duplo set a plan to attack two separate markets. The first was simple, existing customers with high-speed bookletmaker, the Duplo System 5000. Many of these customers had been Duplo customers for a number of years, having already taken many steps through the Duplo upgrade path, although were left with no-where to go, until now.
One of the leading print publications, PrintWeek issues an annual list of the UK’s top 100 printers, all of whom had potential to require the Alpha Saddle.
Media used
The obvious use of printed media was the sample pack, however it was in the delivery that Duplo made the real impact. Turning up unannounced at printers more often than not results in being turned away, however, when dressed in a dinner jacket, not a single person was turned away in the 120 visits.
Accompanying the pack were the VIP invitations which linked the recipient to the Alpha Saddle microsite www.alphasaddle.com, where they are able to book the date and time of their private VIP demonstration.
To capture any potential customers not reached during the Alpha delivery days, a series of three back-cover adverts were placed in PrintWeek in the lead up to IPEX.
To maximise PR, not only was news of the launch of the product featured in all UK print publications, including this Star Product’ feature in PrintWeek, however, journalists from the five top print publications were asked to meet at five delivery addresses across the UK for with no idea what they were to be reporting. This activity resulted in a number of news stories hitting the press, as well as a number of online publications including PrintWeek.com (http://www.printweek.com/business/news/997691/Duplo-suited-booted-hand-V…) and PrintSpeak.co.uk where a video of a live delivery was recorded and published (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llv9Dr04Uxk&feature=related).
Project timescale
Design and production of the sample packs began in January 2010, with the deliveries made on 20th and 21st April 2010. Advertising commenced, the same week, with the first cover issue landing on 23rd April.
IPEX 2010 took place at the NEC, Birmingham between 18th and 25th March.
Results
The success of the Alpha Saddle sample delivery days was realised at IPEX when Duplo sales staff sold 5 systems totalling over £700,000 in revenue. This alone, was greater than Duplo’s original sales target for the show across its entire product range.
As well as the financial results, over 60 demonstrations took place during the show, with a number of prospects currently in negotiations, as well as more than 25 new leads to follow up from the show.
Internally, the morale of the Duplo staff involved was also shown to have been at an all time high. Members of staff from all divisions were put into teams with each other, giving many office-based team members the chance to get to know the staff on the front-line.
Client testimonial
“We were surprised to say the least to see our Duplo sales rep arrive at the door dressed for a cocktail party, however it was something we will not forget and has highlighted to us the number of customers who are asking for A4 landscape booklets. We have been customers of Duplo for over 10 years and continue to be impressed with the quality of their products and service and also by the innovative ways they market them to us.” Gary Marchant, Lyhurst Press
