You had me at hello

Background

Marketing directors are inundated with the standard “we are a great creative agency” approach.

Strategem wanted to differentiate themselves not just through adopting a more self-deprecating tone of voice but through demonstrating its understanding of integrated media.

The objectives were to target 15 specific new business prospects and get 10 meetings from which 5 projects would emerge.

Idea

To show how the agency genuinely values its relationships with its clients, they took the famous scene from the movie “Gerry McGuire” in which Tom Cruise declares his love to Renee Zellweger, and re-filmed it.

Using green screen technology, agency MD Keith Lee in a wig, made an impassioned speech to Renee Zellweger, as if she was a marketer. He tells her that Strategem has just been nominated as ‘Agency of the Year’ but that the accolade means nothing without being able to share it with their clients.

The two-minute film was mailed out on DVD. In an echo of Zellweger’s famous line, the envelope asked: ‘Do we have you at hello?’

There was no other branding – until the endframe of the movie.

Results

Converted 15 DM mail outs into 13 meetings (86% v 66% target) and 13 meetings were converted into 7 briefs (40% over target) leading to 35.4 times gross return on investment over 6 months.

Our Thoughts

I saw this when I was a judge of the AnPost Irish direct marketing awards and I liked it so much I called up the agency to get hold of it for Directory. For people who sell creativity, most agencies are woefully uninspired when they try to sell themselves. This tells you the people have a sense of humour; they understand how to create intrigue; and they know that no one medium can work on its own any longer.