A new direct-response campaign by Xerox to promote its Document Centre multifunction system urges prospects to shift their offices “into overdrive” and directs them to a Web site where they can sign up for an immediate callback from a sales agent.
The “Vroom” campaign, which launched last month, features print ads in major business publications including Forbes, Business Week, ComputerWorld, CIO and PC Magazine, in addition to news magazines Time and U.S. News & World Report. The campaign is aimed at “millions” of prospective buyers, mostly in the mid- to large-size business market.
Customers have long associated Xerox with copying service, said Dave Ellis, vice president of marketing at Xerox, Stamford, CT. The Vroom campaign represented an effort to show them a product that provides scanning, faxing, printing and e-mail capabilities in addition to copying.
“My philosophy is to leverage your heritage,” said Dave Ellis, vice president of marketing at Xerox, Stamford, CT.
The campaign is scheduled to run through July.
The print ad features two calls to action — a toll-free number and a Web site. Those who go to the Web site find a third call to action, an invitation to have a sales agent call them.
Prospects who provide their information, including name and telephone number, are placed in a call queue to speak to sales agents at Xerox contact centers in Irving, TX, and St. John's, Newfoundland.
An autodialer automatically rings the prospect and connects the next available agent, who is alerted to the nature of the call and informed that the call is in response to the “vroom” campaign. Callbacks are completed within 30 to 60 seconds.
“The quicker we are to respond, the better,” Ellis said. “If the customer does you the privilege of a call, this is absolutely the most immediate way to take care of their needs.”
The print ad itself features a picture of a stickshift and the word “Vroom” displayed prominently above a small picture of the product and some text. The design was one of 12 considered by Xerox.
While the ad was not test marketed, it was the product of strategic and focus-group research, Ellis said. Xerox found that one word, “vroom,” best conveyed the message that the Document Centre product provides speed advantages, and expressed the themes of the campaign.
In addition to the “Vroom” campaign, Xerox is running a separate campaign for the Document Centre product targeting small business owners with a $99 a month lease offer. DR radio ads began airing April 29 for this campaign, and direct mail and print advertising in local newspapers will be added later.
Xerox declined to disclose the amount of money it had invested in the campaign. Early results of the campaign were unavailable, according to the company.
