How to open doors with big businesses sustainably (& win awards)
It isn’t easy to get your brand noticed by large businesses. Senior B2B decision-makers are extremely time poor. And are bombarded with so much information that it’s tough to stand out in their inbox.
How can you get them to take notice when they’re unresponsive to your sales team’s best efforts? And how on earth do you do it sustainably?
We’ve got the answer. And we just won two Grand Prix awards for it.
Start with a solid strategy
Royal Mail wanted to tell 10 large retailers that they are the greenest delivery provider, because they produce half the CO2 per parcel than other carriers, largely due to their 85,000 trusted posties delivering on foot. But they were struggling to open the doors, so they asked us to help.
Whatever activity we created had to be disruptive. It had to cut-through. It couldn’t just be blocked by the PA… and never actually reach the recipient. And, because of the subject matter, it definitely couldn’t be wasteful.
So we came up with a nifty 1-to-1 Account Based Marketing (ABM) direct mail piece. And we did a significant amount of desk research to identify who the exact recipient should be in every target business.
Be disruptive
We developed hyper-personalised ‘boxes within boxes’. The outer box was so big (60cm3!) that it couldn’t possibly be ignored – and it represented the equivalent volume of CO2 produced in a typical delivery. When opened, inside was a smaller box that floated to the top – half the size to represent the 50% less CO2 per parcel produced by Royal Mail.
The boxes used each target brand’s imagery, colours and tone of voice. Burberry’s checks and luxurious taglines. Disney’s quirky characters. Messaging highlighted similarities between their Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) strategies and Royal Mail’s own. And the other things they had in common, like British heritage or a role in the community.
Each box had a custom QR code so we knew exactly who had scanned it (perfect for sales follow up!). And it led to a custom landing page also in their branding, featuring video interviews with each brand’s shoppers, saying how important they thought green deliveries were.
The boxes were then hand delivered by a dancing postie – another nod to lighter than air on-foot deliveries. Plus, let’s face it, a dancing postie in your reception is also pretty tough to ignore!
Go green
“Green direct mail?!” we hear you cry, “But that’s impossible!” It’s actually more feasible than you think.
The boxes were made with eco-friendly inks and materials. We used a printer that offsets carbon with the World Land Trust. And the inner box was even reversible and reusable.
We focused on targeting only two decision-makers in each brand, and our research meant we knew where they were based and when they would be in the office – minimising waste. Zero unnecessary printing.
Plus the boxes were full of nothing but air, ensuring weight wouldn’t impact emissions.
Reap the rewards
Since delivery, Royal Mail have had meaningful contact with 100% of the brands and been invited to tender by 3. Nespresso has already entered into a trial for capsule recycling as a direct result.
The estimated sales pipeline offers an ROI of a whopping 420 times the ABM cost! And, if it all came to fruition, millions of kilos of CO2 emissions could be prevented.
Great results for our clients make us very happy indeed. But we’re also delighted to have won the Grand Prix at the DMA Awards and B2B Marketing Awards with it. Why has this work resonated with judges? And what can you take away from it?
- It’s a solid strategy, grounded in insight and research. It’s always worthwhile doing the legwork up front, because the best work in the world is pointless if the wrong person sees it.
- It’s got creativity and cut-through in spades. It pays to be memorable, and with truly 1-to-1 ABM it’s worth taking risks (like hyper-personalisation and co-branding) because so few people will receive it.
- Two empty boxes generated 420x potential ROI. Make sales follow up easy by tracking who interacted and when (QR codes give real-time engagement and timely follow up opportunities). And engage sales from the very beginning so they are an integral part of the process.
If you need to open the doors of hard to reach prospects and inspire them to act, feel free to contact us for advice and ideas. Just brace yourself for some out-of-the-box thinking if you do.
