Business-to-business marketers of high-tech equipment frequently struggle with how to liven up campaigns for specialized and often complex-sounding merchandise. For Polysciences Inc., Warrington, PA, the way to stand out from the crowd of ordinary technical messages came from an animated character named Doctor Dan.
The company manufactures laboratory products for scientific and industrial applications. One of its latest introductions is NoSweep, which anchors the wires in place in semiconductor chips immediately after the bonding process. This helps improve the reliability of the chips.
To introduce NoSweep to potential customers, Polysciences created its first direct mail campaign ever at a cost of $9,000. The effort aimed to generate leads by instructing those interested in learning more about NoSweep to visit a Web site where they could request information about the product. A secondary goal of the mail piece was to create awareness of NoSweep's ability to solve sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing problems.
Polysciences worked with BTB marketing company Schubert Communications, Downingtown, PA, to develop the campaign.
Various strategies were considered before Polysciences decided upon Doctor Dan. A straight product offer was eliminated because the target audience was unfamiliar with the company. The marketing team also considered highlighting the product's unique chemistry, but rejected this idea because potential buyers are from the electronics field and are not chemists.
The company decided to use a happy-looking animated character in a white lab coat who has disheveled yellow hair and eyes that stand out from behind thick-rimmed glasses. Doctor Dan was chosen for the ability to attract attention and stand out from the usual high-tech images used by competitors while projecting Polysciences as a skilled, customer-service-oriented vendor.
A postcard was chosen as the campaign's main vehicle because it is the most cost-efficient method for delivering a powerful, yet straightforward message, according to Schubert. The marketing agency also created a Web site, PSIinfo.com/51, to track results.
The front of the 6-by-9-inch postcard features Doctor Dan, who is holding a semiconductor chip in one hand and several tubes in the other. Copy at the top of the card reads: “End Wire Sweep Today With breakthrough NoSWEEP encapsulant technology.”
Below Doctor Dan's right elbow, the card reads: “Doctor Dan says: We worked with Kulicke & Soffa to develop an encapsulant that enables new complex packaging geometries while increasing reliability and yield.” An image of a NoSweep ring is also used.
The back of the card mentions details about NoSweep and directs recipients to PSIinfo.com/51 or an 800 number. Doctor Dan also appears on the Web site.
The piece mailed June 14 to 4,450 senior managers in production, quality control or engineering at semiconductor packaging companies. The mailing list came from a global semiconductor electronic trade publication. Since Polysciences has an office in Eppelheim, Germany, half of the postcards were mailed to international destinations. The total number of responses so far is 137.
