Perpetual Card
Rapp Collins, New Zealand
Issue 7 | July 2008
Agency
Rapp Collins and Tribal DDB, New Zealand
Creative Team
Kim Pick - Head of Copy;Katie Benge - Senior Designer;Matt Wurm - Senior Developer / Analyst (Tribal DDB);Wayne Pick - Executive Creative Director
Production Team
Marcel de Ruiter - Production Manager
Other Credits
Robert Limb - Managing Director;Lance Walker - Managing Director;Greg Forsyth - Managing Partner (Tribal DDB);Angela Legge - Group Account Director (Tribal DDB)
Date
December 2007
Background
As a leading New Zealand direct agency, Rapp Collins didn’t like the antiquated label 'junk mail', nor did it want to create junk, especially when it came to Christmas cards. Christmas each year sees the world’s rubbish output spike massively with millions of tonnes of cards destined for landfill. One billion Christmas cards (17 for every man, woman and child) in the UK alone. 1.9 billion cards in the US. The agency wanted to demonstrate to clients, business partners and friends that it could still send a traditional Christmas greeting in a sustainable way.
Idea
Insights showed that people did not re-use cards because they 'feel embarrassed' or 'it seems cheap'. So the agency created a world-first: a trackable card proudly intended for re-use - not just at Christmas, but any occasion.
Created using felt and 100% recycled card, the Perpetual Card looked like a regular greeting card, but featured a detachable cover design and a pocketful of Velcro-backed graphics to change out for any occasion. Inside, an erasable ‘whiteboard’ space could be wiped clean for new messages. After sending, recipients could still keep track of it, following its global adventures via the website www.perpetualcard.com.
Results
Perpetual Cards have now crossed the desks of not just clients and business partners, but environmentalists like Al Gore, Prince Charles, singer Jack Johnson and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke. People immediately responded (the Prime Minister’s office wrote to say how much Helen welcomed her 'beautiful' and 'unique' card) and began registering online to track their cards. The agency Christmas card is still continuing to circulate the globe, carrying greetings and wishes between loved ones.
Target Audience
Clients, business partners and friends of Rapp Collins.
Size
A limited edition of 300 cards
Our Thoughts
Sustainability is becoming something if an issue for our business with the sheer volumes of unsolicited mail attracting understandably hostile comment from environmentalists. This idea from Wayne Pick and his team down-under shows that at least one agency is thinking about it. While this isn’t a long-term solution it does prompt the question: how can we send people stuff they want? And can use? And what do we do when that’s the only stuff we are allowed to send?