Use of direct marketing to pep up sales is on the increase

MEDIA & MARKETING:IT WAS more a case of below the belt than below the line at the An Post Direct Marketing Awards in the Mansion House last week, when a post-awards discussion ended with punches being thrown and an ambulance being called, writes SIOBHÁN O'CONNELL

Not that any of the companies attending had much reason to be dissatisfied, as there was an award for nearly everyone in the audience.

Any company considering direct marketing to pep up sales could do worse than consult the awards website (www.anpostdmawards.com), where all the award-winning agencies are listed. An Post estimates that two-thirds of all companies use some form of direct marketing as part of their marketing mix.

Another name for addressed direct marketing is junk mail. However, advertisers and their DM agencies can no longer afford a scattergun approach. An Post claims that seven out of 10 direct mail recipients deem the content to be “relevant” to them.

The lengths to which DM agencies go to in order to coax recipients into action is illustrated by Verve Marketing’s work for Audi last December, when the German car brand was unveiling three new models.

The strategy saw the segmentation of the target market into three distinct categories, and a series of events tailored to each segment. The “Executive Forum” invited the business target market to an evening with Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Peter Jones to discuss innovation. The direct mail invite for this gathering was sent in a black envelope.

The invite for the lifestyle launch was made of lightweight aluminium and personalised with special inks. The drive-experience invite to test drive the new A5 on an off-road course was printed on tactile silk card, teasing the recipient to “get closer”. According to Verve, the three events were over-subscribed.

Standard Life wanted to promote their new pension product that enables people who have previously worked in the UK to bring their UK pension home to Ireland. The solution from agency Drawing Inc? A personalised, branded box sent to financial advisers containing a triple pack of Toblerone bars in an airport shopping wrapper, the idea being to emphasise the transportable nature of the pension offering.

When Universal Graphics wanted to target fleet managers for its large-format printing and signage services, agency RMG Target devised a direct mailer that was personalised to each individual contact. This meant that each presentation box contained a toy truck fully branded in the recipient’s company livery.

For this and other efforts, RMG Target was named Agency of the Year, while other gold award winners included The Hive, Acorn Marketing, Gyro, Cybercom, Publicis D, Tequila, Strategem and Javelin Direct.

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Actor Colm Meaney is the star of a new €1 million television advertising campaign for Halifax, which will debut in early June. It’s the first time Meaney has taken the advertising shilling, and the bank believes he can project a softer focus for the brand.

Under the guidance of new marketing director Mark Mohan, Halifax has abandoned the in-your-face advertising that featured break-dancing and fisticuffs in branches. “Our research showed that the public wants warmth and empathy and that’s true across all sectors, not just financial services,” said Mohan.

Filmed over three days in Ardmore Studios and around St Stephen’s Green last week, the hardest part was coming up with the script. Ad agencies KD Nine and Language devised 18 different scripts before Mohan was satisfied.

The final execution consists of two 40-second commercials. The first is an ad about an ad, and shows Meaney on set rehearsing his ad script with a Halifax staffer, played by Valerie O’Connor. She asks Meaney whether he is also in the ad for the Halifax current account, and proceeds to guide Colm on the most important bits to focus on and thus the conversation continues, with plugs for the interest payable on the bank’s current account

In the second spot, Meaney is seen out and about in Dublin city centre telling people what he likes about Halifax. Despite all the script rewrites, apparently some of Meaney’s improvisation made it into the final cut.

Meaney is best known for his appearances in the Star Trek TV spinoffs, and the hype surrounding the new Star Trek movie – in which Meaney does not appear – is a happy coincidence for Halifax. The bank decided on Meaney after engaging Lansdowne Market Research to test market the appeal of scores of celebrities. Meaney may be chuffed to know that he rated better with the public than Eric Cantona.

According to Mohan: “We are an international brand but we wanted this to be an ad about the Irish brand proposition. We felt that a quality, well-liked personality like Colm Meaney would really help us endorse that message.”

siobhan@businessplus.ie