Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Raid "Eviction Notices"

Based on discussions with the client, Raid insecticide had been dropping in sales and in terms of top of mind awareness. As competitors generally choose to advertise on television and print, and with them not having sufficient budget to do the same, they came up with the perfect and cost effective solution to reach their target market in the right place, their home. Their client has an existing database which made a direct mailer campaign the perfect cost effective solution to reach the relevant people in the very place that they are affected by insects. They sent out miniature envelopes that were addressed to the pests of the home, the cockroaches, mosquitoes, spiders and ants. Due to the envelope’s unnatural size, they were intriguing and immediately stood out. Inside them, were eviction notices that informed the pest that their presence would no longer be tolerated. The Raid logo was displayed with the pay off line, Kills Bugs Dead. The insecticide category is dominated by television and print. Their campaign offers an opportunity to reach consumers in a new way, which heightens the impact. They ran a test distribution drop to measure the effectiveness and followed up with ad hoc visits to homes that had received the mailer. The response was great. The idea thought to be very smart. One housewife said our timing was perfect – she received the eviction notice as a column of ants was marching through her kitchen. Another housewife had also put the little mailer up on her fridge. Based on these positive results, the client is keen to do another round.

Agency: FCB JHB, South Africa.