Courts rewards one favourite national pastime with two

You may think that getting Singaporeans to shop isn't a difficult task. After all, don't we happily claim that shopping is one of our favourite national pastimes? There is, however, a big difference between enticing people to shop and actually converting that footfall into real dollars spent.

The need to turn window shoppers into buyers is very real for retailers. Courts had gained an advantage by developing Ready Finance, a credit facility which offered members pre-approved credit of up to eight times their salary to spend.

To date, its tens of thousands of Courts Ready Finance members had amassed millions
of dollars in pre-approved credit. The spending potential was huge; the big task was now how we could get them to utilise all that unspent credit.

The challenge presented to DDB by Courts was to accomplish this and thus generate higher sales. As this target audience comprised both active and inactive members, an incentive other than fantastic offers would clearly be required; something pegged to better value, which is Courts' core promise, as well as something that would appeal to Singaporeans' famed reputation as superb value seekers.

Besides being a recruitment drive seeking new sign-ups for Ready Finance, the campaign would serve, through direct response, to encourage active Ready Finance members -- those who've already made purchases on RF -- to use the unused portion of their credit limit as well as to encourage inactive RF members -- those who've signed up but not made purchases yet -- to start making those buys.

Offering incentives such as this exclusively to Courts Ready Finance members is an ongoing practice, part of a bigger loyalty programme. And since this perk did not need to be conveyed to non-members, direct mail was the most obvious means of communication.

To our target audience then, we put forward the big ‘carrot': Courts Ready Finance members could shop their way to Bangkok or Hong Kong, not coincidentally two well-known shopping havens.

The mailer also addressed common customer concerns in an FAQ format -- questions such as "What do I get for signing up?", "Do I get a better price as an RF member?" and "Is it different from the banks' credit cards?" were featured along with the appropriate answers.

The execution embraced two of our favourite pastimes in one package: travelling and shopping. With the added allure of exclusive offers on products, it was a marketing proposition that every Courts Ready Finance member could relate to (the only thing missing was a sumptuous feast -- perhaps we'll save that for the next campaign).

To keep our communication focused and hardworking, our direct mail piece to Courts Ready Finance members was designed to instantly communicate the idea of travelling; so it mimicked a suitcase. Exclusive deals were presented as the contents of this suitcase.

A larger campaign comprising press ads in The Straits Times, Berita Harian and Lianhe Zaobao, radio commercials and testimonial-type TV commercials along with roadshows and in-store executions incorporating hanging mobiles, store entrance banners and shelf-takers was also kicked off to further the product message.

But for Courts, the eye-catching direct mail piece proved both simple and effective. At a total cost of just $50,000, it generated over $2 million in purchases made by members. Needless to say, Courts Ready Finance members weren't the only ones flying high.

THE MAIL

Objective

To create a DM that would offer both active and inactive Courts Ready Finance members a reason to spend.

Approach

To communicate the ‘carrot' quickly, clearly and effectively by representing it visually.

Results

Sales by members rose dramatically, reaping $40 in sales for every $1 in cost. 

Neil Johnson is Executive Creative Director at DDB Singapore