Brand: DNX
Objectives: New business lead generation
Target audience: Marketing managers and directors at large businesses in the Guildford, Surrey, area
Solution: DNX wanted to target businesses based nearby and to use its geographical location to its advantage. With phones, emails and web conferences, it’s easier than ever for agencies and their clients to keep in touch regardless of where they’re based, but nothing beats being able to pop down the road and meet face-to-face whenever necessary, it said. The agency also said it “wanted to inform large businesses in the Guildford area that there was a really good B2B agency practically on their doorstep.”
Description & specifications: The key to this mailing was in the personalisation. Each prospect was hand-delivered a box, the lid of which said “91/4 miles isn’t very far”. The distance was personalised according to how far away the recipient’s office is from the agency.
Inside the box, there was an eight page leaflet which said on the cover, “And your perfect marketing agency is even closer.” The leaflet was attached to the leg of a fluffy crow glove puppet (which “makes really nice squawking sounds when you operate the beak”).
In the introductory copy in the leaflet, DNX explains that “as the crow flies” it is actually only nine miles and 28 yards away from them (this is replaced this with the precise distance, depending on the location of the recipient’s office). The leaflet then contains details of five of the agency’s recent campaigns.
Two master versions of the leaflet were created; one for B2B companies and one for B2C companies and the campaigns featured were varied accordingly. Given the small volumes involved, everything was done in-house. The leaflet finishes with an invitation to contact DNX.
Timescale: The crows were despatched in June 2009.
Results: At the time B2B Marketing went to press, the agency had sent out 16 crows. These had generated three phone calls and one meeting, which represents a 25 per cent response rate. A second campaign is currently being hatched.
Creative comment
By Lewis Rowe, creative director, United Image
The hand delivery of the piece is a nice touch, and enhances the neighbourly tone of the piece.
I receive a white shoebox printed with an intriguing message. Inside, we are surprised to be greeted by a toy crow puppet, with a square booklet attached to its leg. My attention is certainly caught by the originality, and I do not hesitate to flick through the respectable case studies.
DNX have succeeded in making me aware of a credible design agency on my doorstep. However, to me, a straight DM campaign, although personalised, though not to include the recipients’ name in this case, is a bit old school now
Why not showcase the agency’s talents by providing a multi-touch campaign, including other elements of the mix such as email or PURLs (personalised URLs)?
Such additions could help explain the quirky “as the crow flies” idea, which is not explicit in the copy, meaning the desired impact of the puppet is diluted. Indeed the copy fails to convey the benefit of the locality that is the motivation for this DM.
So I wonder if the three calls generated that didn’t become leads were asking, “Why did you send us a crow in a shoe box?” Though, that said, if DNX have generated one solid opportunity that becomes a project, then surely this campaign must be viewed as a success.
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Royal Mail’s comment
By Mike West, media development manager
“Are you local?” is not a question typically asked by many marketing agencies, particularly when prospecting for new business.
Often just for the pleasure of gaining new work, marketing agencies will happily travel any distance. How refreshing for a company to focus on looking for new business in a more targeted way, by seeking out prospect businesses in its geographic proximity. Even the delivery of this pack underlines the benefits this can afford when working with an agency based nearby.
However the pack also conveys the great work DNX can do, simply beyond being the closest agency nearby in Guildford, as it also takes the opportunity to showcase case studies of client work for brands like Weight Watchers, Timberland and Unilever.
When focusing on being practically on prospects’ doorsteps, delivery is everything. DNX went to the length of hand-delivering the pack to underline just how close they are. This is also reflected in the creative, which is personalised based on how far each prospect is located from DNX’s head office, as well as an additional personalisation by business in the call to action.
This personal touch, combined with a quirky free gift and impressive response rates for a campaign involving relatively small volumes makes this a well-constructed pack.
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