Swear Jar
Fuji Xerox Document Supplies Division
Issue 10 | March 2009
Agency
MercerBell
Creative Team
David Bell - Creative Director; Wellison D’Assuncao - Art Director; Rowena Mary - Copywriter
Production Team
Paul Henderson - Production Manager ; Emma Tilley - Production Manager
Other Credits
Rob Harris - Account Management; Chris Hinman - Client
Date
May 2008
Background
Xerox needed to sell their premium paper for colour printing to small to medium sized print businesses. The challenge was that while Colotech was developed to be more reliable, it is more expensive than most competitor papers. Printers were naturally motivated by low market prices and deals. Another problem was the print industry is largely based around personal relationships, which Fuji Xerox didn't have with the target audience. Skewed 70/30 male to female, the target group was likely to have an existing and long-standing relationship with another paper supplier. The task, then, was to persuade these people not just to switch but to switch to a more expensive product.
Idea
The creative tapped into the insight that it's bl##dy frustrating when a paper jam happens, regardless of the size of run. Stopping a job midway through the print-run to get printer tech support is a pain in the @ss. Colotech paper is scientifically formulated to reduce jams, thereby saving time and money. The target audience is not unused to colourful language and recognised the swear jar as an amusing reminder of what can happen with paper jams.
Results
The mailing targeted 833 organisations. Of these, 315 were non-customers and 518 lapsed customers (more than six months). The mailing to non-customers achieved a 29% conversion rate (92 accounts), exceeding the target by more than six times. It generated $78,923 of income within a six-month period, exceeding targets by 80%. The ROI was $69,000 - four times the target.
Our Thoughts
Well, f**k me! What a good story! Steve Harrison, formerly of Harrison Troughton Wunderman, is currently writing a book about how you too can be a millionaire writer of DM. His Number One rule is, define the problem and then offer a solution. This piece is a classic of the genre. It dramatises the problem in a way so empathetic to its target audience, they can’t help but find the solution eminently reasonable. Choosing Colortech will have seemed rational when, actually, it was a purely emotional response - this is funny, these people know me.