Sir Speedy/PIP
Situation
Holding company FSI’s printing and marketing services brands Sir Speedy and PIP were advertising primarily with targeted television. It wanted to give franchisees better local geotargeting capabilities.
Approach
FSI approached Vertis in the first quarter of 2009 to develop, in tandem with its in-house marketing team, a Web-based interface that allowed franchisees to access multiple months’ mailings, upload mailing lists and customize creative mail pieces according to targets. The agency and client have had a relationship since 2008.
“We wanted to take surgical approach to pursing marketing in local geographic areas,” said David Robidoux, VP of marketing at FSI. “Our first priority was building leads, and our second was to change the perception of the brands.”
Vertis sent dimensional mail pieces to prospective leads, each with both an online and offline response mechanism. Offline respondents could call a toll-free number, while online respondents filled out a short survey detailing their business needs and objectives. Prospects were entered into a sweepstakes to win an iPod Touch.
Results
Vertis‘ service had a 95% adoption rate among Sir Speedy and PIP brands franchisees, some of whom saw response rates of up to 4% from mailings. The campaign is ongoing.
-Kevin McKeefery
Rosetta
Approach
Last December, Rosetta created an e-mail card which drove viewers to a microsite and online game. Players with webcams could catch digital snowflakes on their tongue. A non-webcam version was also available. The agency pledged that if more than 1 million snowflakes were caught, it would create a snow day – complete with real snow – for underprivileged students in New Orleans. The card was sent to 8,000 people.
Results
The 1 million snowflake goal was met in less than a week. The New Orleans snow day took place last month.
-Mary Hurn
VistaPrint
Approach
VistaPrint, with Web agency Overdrive Interactive, created a VistaPrint Giveback Giveaway microsite to promote a sweepstakes. It was designed to raise awareness of the printer’s products and increase its social media presence. The contest was announced by a press release and on VistaPrint’s order page. People entered the contest through e-mail or Twitter. Daily prizes were awarded, with a MacBook Pro given away as a grand prize.
Results
In the first five hours of the contest, the posts reached more than 50,000 Twitter followers. VistaPrint received more than 10,000 e-mail entries, and it signed on 800 new Twitter followers and 2,000 Facebook fans.
-Carol Krol
PRIVATE VIEW
Anthony Di Biase
Executive creative director, Wunderman Southern California
Vertis has taken a tried-and-true approach to its communications for Sir Speedy and PIP that I hope serves them well. I thought the creative was, in a word, “safe.” It will probably work for them as expected. There isn’t anything wrong with it. There isn’t anything that really stands out as a great idea, either. Pushing the envelope with creative is indeed taking a risk. Managing risk instead of avoiding it is always an option.
Now and then something magical happens and we get the opportunity to witness truly brilliant work. With Rosetta Snow Day, Rosetta has managed to capture an example of pure childhood innocence and found a way for you to experience it in such an entertaining way that it’s almost impossible not to pass it on to all your friends. As if the joy of catching a snowflake on your tongue weren’t enough, they have paired it with a worthwhile charity. Upon visiting the site, the more prehensile your lingua, the more money you raise and the bigger the smile you end up with. I sincerely hope this is recognized by our industry as an inspirational benchmark.
Sometimes it all comes together online and sometimes not so much. The viral sweepstakes campaign for VistaPrint is an example of how you can build a better mousetrap and forget the cheese. The Web site www.vistaprintgiveaway.com has all the bells and whistles you need for a successful viral campaign, but it lacks the kind of creative that draws you in.
