Damaged Envelope

Background

Small businesses don’t always have the disposable capital necessary quickly to replace vital office equipment like computers, servers and furniture. So in the event of a fire, flood or burglary, they need a cheque from their insurer before they can get back to work. Unfortunately, most office insurance products only cover the value of damaged contents; not enough to buy new equipment. So getting a replacement could mean the difference between staying in business and going out of business. The agency’s brief was to tell small businesses that Zurich Office Insurance replaces all damaged and stolen contents with new ones.

Idea

Prospects were sent a damaged envelope with the line: ‘if a piece of office equipment were damaged or stolen, what would you need?’ Inside was a second, brand new envelope with the answer to this question: ‘a replacement’. Inside this second envelope, a letter invited the reader to switch to Zurich to get a better level of cover.

Results

The mailing generated a 144% increase in gross written premiums compared to the previous activity in February 2007 - a 28% improvement on response rates.

Target audience

Small business owners

Volume/size of campaign

3,333 units

Our Thoughts

In ‘Cutting Edge Advertising’ Jim Aitchison expounds his theory that an ad is either a letter or a postcard. A letter is a long copy, reasoned argument. A postcard is what wins the Press Lions at Cannes. DM is the same. You can either send a detailed explanation as to why insuring with Zurich is a good idea or, as in this case, you can send a postcard. Yes, this idea is a letter but it obeys all the rules of postcard advertising. It works in an instant. Another candidate for ‘Best Use of Envelope’.