THE MAGIC OF MAIL

TitleTHE MAGIC OF MAIL
BrandROYAL MAIL MARKETREACH
Product/ServicePROGRAMMATIC MAIL
Category A10. B2B
Entrant LIDA London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation LIDA London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production LIDA London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Mark Dickens LIDA Art Director
Dan Wright LIDA Copy Writer

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Re-targeting people based on their online browsing behaviour is a tried and tested tactic. Trouble is, with so many brands at it, standing out is hard. And as a result, consumers are experiencing burnout, with a noticeable decline in effectiveness. But what if you could take re-targeting into the real world? A tangible piece of relevant communication with real impact. Programmatic Mail does just that. Sounds slow? A bit difficult? That’s what our target audience thought. So we had to launch this new media technology and bust myths about the channel.

Background

Programmatic Mail is new to the UK. Most marketers won’t have used it and some might not even have heard of it. Those that have think it’s difficult and costly to implement. Plus there’s that tricky reputation issue of Mail being slow, costly and outdated to overcome. We needed to show them that Mail is relevant in the digital age. That it can be fast. And that the impact you create and the return you enjoy is worth the investment. On top of that we needed to sell a new channel, show how simply it could plug into advertisers’ campaigns and convince that it was the missing piece of their communications strategies or purchase journeys. All in all, quite the challenge.

Describe the creative idea

How do you make something that looks complicated and difficult to implement, feel easy to understand and simple to throw into your marketing mix? Our solution came in the form of a mail pack that plugs directly into a recipient’s computer. Interest peaked, we got them online. Once there, using the concept of a card trick we were able to show them that Mail is agile, personal and responsive. The ultimate one to one medium. So we had fun and created a game. By playing, they were shown the power of Programmatic Mail by receiving a mailing within 48 hours of interacting with us online, revealing the card trick result. Now we really had them interested, to finish the story we created a simple animation explaining Programmatic Mail and showing how easy it is to use. With a powerful case study to back it up, it became a compelling story.

Describe the strategy

Programmatic Mail rewrites the rules on a well-known advertising method but everyone is always nervous to be the first, especially when you’re asking for upfront investment. Plus many of our audience are digital-first thinkers who wouldn’t naturally consider Mail. We needed to convince them that mail is relevant. Reassure them it’s an investment worth making. And that it’s easier than they realise. Our animated guide explained the product, simplified the process and made a complex subject seem simple. It came with a written take-away guide and a case study showing how UK fashion retailer JD Williams used Programmatic Mail to improve basket abandon conversions by 16%. It also needed a little dusting of magic - an online experience that would allow marketers to experience the speed and impact of mail. Only by doing this would we dispel the misconception that Mail is stuck in the past.

Describe the execution

On the surface, Programmatic Mail looks daunting and complex. Simply explaining the what’s, why’s and how it works risked sounding dry and tricky to understand. We needed to find a credible way to convey our message and put our money where our mouth is. Our animated guide to Programmatic Mail explained the product, simplified the process and made a complex subject seem simple. It came with a written take-away guide and a case study showing how UK fashion retailer JD Williams used Programmatic Mail to improve basket abandon conversions by 16%. But what it needed was a little dusting of magic - an online experience that would allow marketers to experience the speed and impact of the medium themselves. Only by doing this would we dispel the misconception of Mail as slow and stuck in the past.

List the results

670 total marketing responses vs 300 target (up %123%) Approx. 55% of responses came from guide downloads and 29% the demo 183 marketing sales leads vs 50 target (up 266%) 27% CTR from response to sales lead