Eviction Notices
SC Johnson
Issue 5 | July 2008
Agency
Draftfcb Johannesburg
Creative Team
Lauren Shewitz - Copywriter;Vidette Kay - Art Director;Catherine Thomson - Creative Director;Brett Morris - Executive Creative Director
Production Team
Grant Wood - Production
Other Credits
Jackie Van Zyl - Client Service;Karien Van Niekerk - Illustrator
Date
March 2007
Background
Raid insecticide had been dropping in sales and top of mind awareness. As Raid's competitors generally choose to advertise on television and print, and with budgets being limited, Draftfcb Johannesburg needed to come up with an innovative solution to reach the target demographic in the right place, their home.
Idea
The client had an existing database that made a direct mail campaign the perfect, cost-effective solution. Miniature envelopes were sent out addressed to the pests of the home - cockroaches, mosquitoes, spiders and ants. Due to the envelope's unusual size, the mailer was intriguing and immediately stood out in the mailbox. Placed inside each envelope was an eviction notice to inform pests that their presence would no longer be tolerated. The Raid logo was displayed with the payoff line, 'Kill Bugs Dead'.
Results
The insecticide category is dominated by television and print. The campaign offered an opportunity to reach customers in a new way, which heightened its impact. A test distribution drop to measure the effectiveness was carried out and followed up with ad hoc visits to homes that had received the mailer. The response was very positive. One woman said the timing was perfect - she received the eviction notice as a column of ants was marching through her kitchen. Another had put the little mailer up on her fridge. Based on this positive feedback, the client is keen to do another round.
Target Audience
Housewives / househusbands
Size
As this was a test distribution drop in order to measure effectiveness, 50 eviction notices were mailed to a test database within the target audience group.
Our Thoughts
This is another campaign beginning to get a bit long in the tooth but still winning awards. It was unusual at Cannes, where it won Gold, in being traditional direct mail – but with a twist. Each letter is teeny-weeny. And each is genuinely funny. As the big household care companies like P&G, Lever Bros and Reckitt Benckiser begin to peer at direct marketing with new interest, campaigns like this show there are different ways of building brands than just TV.