Direct Mail Case Study-Jul'07

Using direct mailers to finish the marketing race on top

In order to recognise the tremendous potential of Formula One for advertisers to reach their target consumers and to facilitate sponsorship sales, 400 direct mailer pieces were sent out in the region to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong as well as Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The campaign was launched in April 2007 and was targeted at end clients, marketers and media agencies .We wanted to showcase the extensive coverage with shoulder programmes along with the ‘live' broadcast of each race: Qualifying, ‘Live', Highlights, Season Review, Race Day, and Chequered Flag.

Direct mail was an ideal channel because it provided an opportunity for creative execution to achieve maximum impact and top of mind recall. 

ESPN STAR Sports worked with our creative agency, Saatchi & Saatchi to produce a direct mailer campaign. The creative solution leveraged heavily off the main communication message which was ‘Circuit guide to finishing the marketing race'.

The direct mailer took the form of an actual bottle of premium champagne which is a beverage closely associated with Formula One. The champagne was packaged in a black, non-branded carrier, with a teaser ‘A little something to celebrate your victory in the marketing race'. 

This direct mailer came with a booklet title ‘Circuit guide to finishing the marketing race on top', containing six winning factors to help your brand finish first. The six factors were:

• Start the race by reaching a focused target group of young affluent males who are passionate about F1.

• Every second counts, F1 allows you to reach over 80 million loyal engaged viewers in Asia who are glued to STAR Sports content at every turn.

• F1 helps you stay on track with strong out-of-home viewing.  13% of upscale male PMEBs ‘always' watch F1 out-of-home while another 61% 'sometimes' watch F1 out of home.

• F1 raises your overall brand image.  More than 84% of upscale male PMEBs find brands associated with F1 to be contemporary, premium and international.  There's no clearer signal.

• Get closer to the finish with a variety of innovative ways for your brand to be seen on F1.

• Complete the last lap ahead of the pack through continuous and highly visible association of F1 with your brand.

This campaign was to ensure top of mind recall when the target audience is making a decision to sell their clients' brand. The direct mailer was well received, becoming a talking point amongst our 400 recipients and garnered a 2% response rate.

The Mail:

Objective:

To highlight the host of advertising opportunities with Formula One on ESPN STAR Sports.

APPROACH:

A premium champagne bottle wrapped in a black, non-branded carrier sent with a booklet containing six winning factors for marketing success.

Results:

The direct mailer was well received with a response rate of 2%.

Paras Sharma

Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications

ESPN Star Sports