THE AIR FILTER SCARF

TitleTHE AIR FILTER SCARF
BrandULTRAMARE
Product/ServiceULMA
Category B03. Use of Ambient Media: Small Scale
Entrant MILK Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Idea Creation MILK Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Anders Malm Milk Copywriter
Kristofer Salsborn Milk Art director
Gunnar Skarland Milk Art director
Björn Lind Milk Operations Manager
Anna Reynold Milk Account Supervisor
Niklas Olovsson Milk Art Director

The Campaign

To showcase the health benefits of Ultramares' air filters we produced a portable air filter that protects you from the flu. And we launched it during the peak of swedish flu season, a.k.a. Vabruari. Normally a period with a national average of 800 000 reported sick days. Using an existing conversation in media and society on avoiding the flu we managed to educate swedes on the benefits of air filters and protect them from the flu. Ultramare makes filters from a synthetic material and not itchy, scratchy glass fibre. Therefore Ultramare also stand out in regards of their competition who solely produce filters in glass fibre. Something that we also wanted to showcase.

Creative Execution

The aim for the campaign was twofold. 1) Woo potential clients. 2) Raise awareness of the effect air filters have on your health. We launched the Air Filter Scarf during the Swedish flu season. Starting late January and ending in the middle of March. The placement and implementation was in one part postal as this was a direct campaign targeted towards selected potential clients. But as we let word of the scarf get out in public the campaign took on a life of its own and the orders, for both the scarf and other air filters, came flying in.

Results

The response rate on the postal unit was 30 % and a remarkable 92 % receiving the scarf had noticed our invitation to meetings with the sales reps. Ultramares' sales increased 17 % compared to previous year. The change in behaviour consisted in people thinking and actually talking about air filters while realizing the effect air filters have on your health.

The scarf was made as a postal direct campaign to promote the effect air filters can have on your health. The campaign was targeted to potential clients that the air filter company Ultramare wanted to talk to. The scarf was sent to them in a luxurious box, along with information on how to book a meeting with a sales rep. But as word spread about the scarf, magazines all over the world started writing about it. The result being that Ultramare had to work overtime to meet the unexpected demand.

The target audience consisted of potential and desirable clients as identified by Ultramare. As well as the general public. The scarf was sent to potential clients in a luxurios box containing the scarf and a personalized letter from a sales rep offering a free consultation on air quality. If the client didn't respond the sales rep followed up with a call to book a consultation. A boring product, like air filters, needs to be presented in a fun way. The unconventional, helpful and fun approach caught people off guard and made the sales reps cold calls a lot warmer. People responsible for buying air filters are surrounded by influencers such as friends, family etc. By making something unexpected and fun we could hi-jack a health conversation and become the top of mind air filter company in Sweden.