Hard Letter

Background

Mercedes-Benz vans are regarded in the trade as the best vans around but are slightly more expensive than many others and nobody seems to know why. As buying a van is ultimately a business decision it was imperative that the agency should present rational arguments in a straight-talking yet engaging way. The aim of the hard letter was to prove that with a Vito, you get what you pay for.

Idea

Knowing how busy small business owners could be, Rapier decided to get straight to the point. They mounted a letter onto sturdy cardboard to make it stronger than all other letters, in the same way that the Vito is better built than all other vans. By making a letter as solid as the Vito they presented its primary benefit in a way that was immediately obvious and couldn’t be argued with.

Results

24% of all respondents believed that the pack had a positive impact on their opinion of Mercedes-Benz. 48% of respondents would now actively consider a Vito as a result of the mailing.

Target Audience

Small business owners with one to five vans. Probably owner drivers running a business from home or a small premises.

Size

The mailing went to 30,000 people - 10,000 customers, 10,000 prospects and 10,000 cold list.

Our Thoughts

I liked this. Would have liked it more if it had been on a piece of the sheet metal they use to build the cars with. I know, I know. Expensive, impractical etc.