As brands strive for direct interactions with audiences, generic ads increasingly lack cut-through. What consumers want is a creative, memorable experience: one that delivers a more personal relationship with a brand.
Working alongside Jaguar Land Rover and agency Spark44 (now Accenture Song), Edit embraced innovation. The award-winning Life at 45 Degrees campaign, targeted previous customers using in-market modelling to predict those likely to be looking to make a purchase. It then used Digital Direct Mail to deliver the journey, embedding radio technology inside premium print to connect prospects seamlessly to a New Defender expert – at the touch of a button.
It won the Best Use of Data at the Automotive Marketing & Communications Awards 2022 and Best Use of Tech at this year’s Campaign Tech awards, as well as numerous other accolades.
Here’s the story behind its success.
An award-winning example
From virtual reality experiences in the metaverse to experiential arenas at music festivals, how consumers interact with brands is becoming increasingly sophisticated. But while many brands deliver brilliant physical or digital campaigns, being able to innovate and bring those two worlds together is challenging. Yet it is increasingly necessary: consumers expect their digital engagement to translate to the real world, and for the real world to translate to digital experiences.
Life at 45 bridged this gap.
As any good campaign should, the audience was defined with precise data. After all, there’s no point having something clever and memorable at your fingertips if no one – or the wrong people – are engaging with it. The data allowed Edit and Jaguar Land Rover to select very precise targets, based on their purchasing history and previous interactions with the brand.
The team were able to identify anyone with a digital interaction for New Defender. Using a customised algorithm JLR could then determine whether they were in-market or not. This combined with affordability indicators as well as share of driveway, to identify those with a propensity to buy a New Defender as an additional car.
These customers didn’t have an active relationship with retailers and they were busy, time-poor individuals. So the campaign needed an easy, engaging way to capture their attention and prompt a response.
Marrying creative and tech
With the right audience targeted, the next task was putting these potential customers in touch with Land Rover specialists in a creative, engaging manner.
Since coming out of the pandemic, research from the Joint Industry Committee for Mail has shown that increased hybrid working has seen a significant upturn in the effectiveness of direct mail among higher income groups.
When you’re working from home, the thud of a stylish direct-mail pack landing on your doormat makes you pay attention. Combining this with a high-quality finish and innovative design drew recipients into the concept. The creative dramatised the 45-degree life of a New Defender driver through 45-degree angled images and design, as well as tactile finishes that replicated tread plates and dirt tracks.
The technology was an in-built radio transmitter, connecting the customer with a local dealership. The transmitter linked to an interactive button that mirrored the New Defender’s switchgear. By turning it 45 degrees, the pack ordered Jaguar Land Rover’s CRM system to send an SMS and email to the customer, telling them an expert would be in touch.
The Campaign judges were impressed: “Life at 45 has super smart execution linking direct mail with a real-time button to activate the consumer experience and personalised invites. It was a very well thought-through campaign across touchpoints and the full experience, with strong results.”
Edit and Land Rover already had form for this. Together they had created a direct mail pack which allowed customers to book a test drive for the Land Rover Evoque by pressing an engine stop-start button. That concept won Best Use of Data in CRM at the 2020 Campaign Tech awards, so Edit was confident Life at 45 would be fun, simple, and effective.
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“While the customer received an email and SMS, the tech simultaneously integrated with our lead management system to send the customer’s details to their local retailer, who then called back within 24 hours,” Gwyn Rodway, associate director of marketing technology at Edit.
“This happened in real-time in a GDPR-compliant manner that required no customer sign-up, pre-interaction process or Bluetooth, tethering, or WiFi connection. It created a joined-up and easy customer journey across channels, driving leads into retailers.”
Direct mail campaigns may ring environmental alarm bells, but Edit had this covered. Edit is one of the UK’s only B-Corp accredited agencies, so its print campaigns are delivered with sustainability at the forefront. For Life at 45, the pack included a return address for recycling and was created from sustainable paper sources.
Happy customers, happy clients
The smart creative and reliable technology, underpinned by clever use of data, led to impressive results for Edit and Land Rover.
With 5,000 packs sent out, Edit’s target was a 20% response rate. Instead, 50% responded, with over 2,500 leads generated. And the target of 100 sales? Obliterated by an astonishing 248 orders.
“We proved we could create an exciting and technologically advanced piece of direct mail,” says Rodway. “We ensured prospects had a simple and easy avenue for a response, using technology to enable an effortless journey.”
“They had some great results and a good strategy,” said the Awards’ judges. “It was very thoughtful on the angles on the pack and also the way to generate a lead. There was a nice use of technology to connect up a DM campaign to more of an omnichannel experience.”
Innovation that works for all
There is good news for brands keen to use this innovative approach to merging physical and digital concepts into one campaign. Edit has launched Signal, a digital direct mail product that uses the technology behind Life at 45. It allows customers to register an interest in a product at a touch, or a turn, of a button.
Available to any brand, without complex set-up or significant investment, Signal makes the most of those three magic ingredients: intelligent data, innovative technology and inspiring creative to deliver campaigns that really pay off.
The power of data
If you’d like to order a working sample of their Signal pack, visit their dedicated product page.
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