Helping Hand
Issue 17 | December 2010
Creative Team
Creative Director: Dave Scott; Associate Creative Director: Kate Lightfoot; Copywriter: Kate Lightfoot; Art Director: Dave Scott
Production Team
Production Manager: Brendan Hanrahan
Other Credits
Finished Artist: Michael Thomas; Designer: Ellie Schroeder
Date
January 2010
Background
AMP was having a hard time getting tradespeople to think about their pensions.
Most of them were preoccupied with the day-to-day running of their businesses and didn’t have the time to worry about something as far-off as retirement.
AMP wanted to overcome the apathy and give recipients a real reason to get in touch with a financial advisor.
Idea
Constructing a DIY retirement plan is like any DIY job: you’ll never do it as well as a professional. And there is every chance you could make a botch of it.
The insight, then, was that tradespeople and financial advisers have something in common: they both offer professional advice.
When it came to the execution, a traditional letter in an envelope seemed rather delicate and conventional for the target audience. So, they were mailed the left hand of a pair of made-tough work gloves.
If the recipient did drop in to see their AMP financial planner, not only did they get good advice they also got the matching right hand glove.
Results
The objective was to increase the number of qualified leads for AMP financial planners. Specifically, they wanted 5% of their audience to respond to this piece and set up an appointment with their financial planner. With only 600 mailers being sent, this would generate 30 appointments and 30 opportunities for AMP to sell FLSE.
The Glove was a great success. The piece generated a 7.16% response significantly surpassing their objective of 5% and delivering 43 new prospects to AMP financial planners.
Our Thoughts
Who says an envelope has to be white and oblong? I love creative people when they challenge the rules. On the next page you’ll see that Post Danmark sent a little red suitcase through the mail and here the postman had a glove to deliver. In a side-by-side comparison between an envelope and a mitt, which one looks the most interesting? If you say ‘the plain white envelope’ you are obviously a direct marketer in a bank. If you say ‘the glove’ then you are a normal human being.
We heard that one of creative director Dave Scott’s objectives for the year was to get a campaign into Directory. You’ve cracked it, Dave. Next year make it two!