Wallace & Gromit Stamps

Background

The challenge was to get a new generation of digital natives interested in stamps through Royal Mail’s special Wallace & Gromit-themed Christmas stamps.

The objective was to get 16,500 people to sign up for future stamp communications by email or post.

The problem was the agency were not afforded thje luxury of a big budget. So what was required was an idea that would spread itself.

Idea

Royal Mail teamed up with Aardman Digital to create sharable Wallace & Gromit stamp avatars.  Users could put their image on Facebook, or turn it into a real stamp book (perfect for Christmas cards).   The social idea was supported by a social site that allowed social sharing to spread the word and attract sign-ups. As an added hook visitors to the site were offered a chance to win a real life plasticine model of themselves made in the famous Wallace & Gromit style.

Results

Wallace and Gromit not only made stamps become social but something of a phenomenon. On Day 1 of the campaign alone, with the help of PR, the stamps had become the No.7 ‘trending topic’ of the day on Twitter.

138,000 people created an Aardman-style character of themselves at the website.  So successful was the earned media, Royal Mail turned off paid-for media (banner ads) a month early.  69,411 people signed up for future stamps communications smashing the target of 16,500 by 420%.

In addition the campaign clocked up 3,000 likes on Facebook in just a few weeks.

Our Thoughts

My apologies that this campaign wasn’t in the last issue of Directory. But even though Christmas is six months behind us, it’s still worth showing because of the way that Postal Offices everywhere have embraced digital. At first they would have seen digital as the Big Enemy and it’s true that email has hurt mail badly. That said, direct and digital can, and do, work together beautifully. Royal Mail here and BPost (on pages xx – xx) use digital channels to drive punters to mail just as Mercedes (on pages xx – xx) has used mail to drive transport managers to a website.

Your communications can become richer, deeper and more rewarding when you use the two in tandem.

Cracking stuff.