Direct Mail Case Study Aug'07

DM's that rattle in action 

How do you make marketing professionals and advertising executives sit up and take notice of Direct Mail? Send a DM to them but be aware that they don't want another ‘brochure' in their mail box, like the rest of those run-of-the-mill types which can only convince anyone that DM is boring and not worth your time opening or reading it.  After all, DM is seen merely as the poorer cousin of print, TV and radio advertising, which they often simply throw into their marketing mix more as a means to support their campaign.

That was the challenge thrown to us by SingPost - to promote DM as the marketing channel of choice and to showcase its key benefits, in particular as the most viable and cost-effective option to fit one's purse. 

As its appointed creative agency, we came up with the SingPost ‘Purse Rattle' DM that embodies this message.  It is an eye-catching and effective demonstration of how DM, when executed well, can in fact create powerful buzz and interest with the target audience, and at the same time, educate the marketing community on the wide range of DM solutions that SingPost provides.

Our target group is made up of mainly savvy marketing managers and jaded advertising executives who do not really need any lessons in DM. Hence in coming up with the creative idea, we went back to the basics of DM, focusing on the very nature of DM which involves almost all the five senses of sight, sound, scent, taste and touch. In short, we knew that the creative must have an interactive element. The idea of the "Purse-Rattle" DM was thus conceived.

By creating a handy-sized and cute purse and adding sound effects to it by way of simulating the sound of coins jingling within the purse, we were sure that this unique DM would spark off curiosity from the get-go. The clever mechanics of the purse design even allowed it to be opened and within it was a small insert summarising the benefits of SingPost's one-stop DM solutions.

The biggest challenge for us was working out the mechanical production aspects of the "Purse Rattle". More than 10 mockups were produced for testing. When working with the printer, we also had to try out different materials and production methods to ensure that the end product would turn out as what we envisioned.

A total of 8,000 "Purse Rattle" DMs were mailed out and SingPost has since received numerous queries from its customers on its DM services as well as compliments on this DM - more than 400 queries and responses which is a 5% response rate.

More than anything else, this was an awareness building campaign to lift the image of DM and to showcase DM's advantage in being able to truly stand out from the crowd. With this DM, SingPost has now taken on a leadership position in owning and setting the trend for creative DM!

OBJECTIVE

To make marketing professionals "fall in love" with DM all over again and encourage them to use SingPost one-stop DM solutions for their next marketing campaign.

APPROACH

A high-impact DM creative piece involving the senses of sight, sound and touch to clearly demonstrate the benefits of DM as a powerful and cost effective marketing channel.

RESULT

8000 DMs were sent out and we received more than 400 queries and responses, a 5% response rate.

Hong Ly Ling

Business Manager

Design At Work Pte Ltd