Log Fire

Background

Matterbox is an innovative idea supported by Royal Mail. People sign up to get a box full of nice, even useful, things delivered to them on a Saturday morning. It’s a way for brands to get into the hands of people to turn them into fans. While summer is a popular time for spirits, autumn is less so and Diageo wanted to put Matterbox to the test with a giveaway that would inspire people to enjoy a spirit and mixer in the comfort of their own home of an evening, instead of their favourite bottle of red wine.

Idea

There’s nothing like cosying up with a warming tipple in front of a roaring log fire. Except not every home has a hearth with logs piled high ready to kindle into action. So what Diageo put into the Matterbox mailing was a DVD which turns any TV into a lovely log fire, flames and all – all backed up by a host of drink suggestions for those cold autumnal evenings. There was also a competition, with a splendid cash prize – more than enough to set the winners up with a genuine log fire all of their own.

Volume/size of campaign

32,500 mailings

Our Thoughts

I’d better come clean. When I first saw the Matterbox idea a couple of years ago I liked Tim Milne’s idea but was sceptical. So here’s further proof I am an idiot. Firstly, people are signing up in large quantities to have goodie-boxes delivered and secondly brands are signing up as well, seeing that ‘indoor advertising’ may have a lot to commend it. Here’s a post taken at random from a blog:

‘The latest Matterbox arrived this morning. This time round I’m loving – roaring fire DVD from Diageo, DVD cleaner from Lovefilm, comedy CD from BBC Audio and chocolate from Cadbury.

I’m loving the roaring fire idea too. In a local pub, the landlord has obtained one of the DVDs and now has flickering flames up on the wall when there isn’t any footie on Sky. "