Download Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting

Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Chapter 5.3
Door-drop marketing, now with
new improved targeting
This chapter includes:
J
What do we mean by door-drop marketing?
J
Door drop’s unique advantages
J
Public attitudes to door drops
J
Door drops and sampling
J
Door drops and redemption coupons
J
Door-drop targeting
J
The four methods of distribution
J
Door drops and creativity
J
How much will it cost?
J
Choosing your door-drop supplier
About this chapter
D
oor-drop marketing is now a viable medium for new customer acquisition
programmes after decades of being a short-term promotional tool. What
has made the difference is the improved targeting that results from
geodemographic and lifestyle area selections. Also, the realisation that customers
can be persuaded to identify themselves when responding to offers, even though
these may be redeemed in stores.
In communication terms, door-to-door has the extended reach of the national
press, the impact and immediacy of inserts, and the creative flexibility enjoyed by
direct mail - to say that anything can be home delivered, from a pin to an
elephant, would be only a slight exaggeration.
In this chapter, we explain door drops in general terms and invite you to consider
how the medium can best serve your needs.
Author/Consultant: Nick Wells
5.3 – 1
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Nick Wells
Nick Wells is CEO of CD
Marketing Services which
includes Circular
Distributors and Lifecycle
Marketing. CD Marketing
Services is owned by the
Royal Dutch Post Office which includes TNT and
has a revenue exceeding £7 billion. Nick is on the
Board of their international division European
Mail Networks. Nick is past chairman of The
Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP) and a Fellow of
the ISP; he has served on the Board of the Direct
Marketing Association (DMA), and its executive
committee.
Nick Wells
Managing Director
Circular Distributors Ltd
CD House, 1-3 Malvern Road
Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7QY
Tel: 01628 771232
Fax: 01628 770705
Chapter 5.3
Door drops, now with new
improved targeting
What do we mean by door drops?
D
oor-drop distribution is the business of delivering unaddressed material
to houses in defined geographical areas (usually based on postcode sectors
and micro sectors). It differs from mailed communications in that mail is
delivered to named persons at specific addresses.
Research by RSGB, commissioned by Royal Mail, suggests that unaddressed
items account for approximately one-third of what goes through Britain’s
letterboxes. While it is impossible to calculate the exact number of items
delivered, it is commonly estimated to be in excess of thirteen billion per year, of
which the majority is delivered by the three leading suppliers; Circular
Distributors (CD), Royal Mail Door-to-Door, and The Leaflet Company.
The chart below shows the growth of the medium from 2000 to 2004:
5.3 – 2
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Figure 5.3.1
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Door-drop marketing’s unique advantages
The fundamental strength of door-drop marketing is that a leaflet, brochure or
sample is delivered through the letterbox, thus offering direct communication to
the customer right into the home. It also offers creative freedom, because there
are virtually no restrictions as in press advertising - for example, in size, shape,
colour or design. With door drops there is no duplication of coverage, because
only one leaflet or sample per household is delivered, and it is possible to cover
as few or as many households as appropriate to meet the marketing objective.
Coverage of virtually every household in the UK is available and vitally, in an age
of increased media fragmentation, each household can be reached once only or
more often with absolutely controlled frequency.
Door drops are perhaps most powerful when combined with other media. They
are commonly used as a follow-through to a press or TV campaign and are at
their most effective when the advertising has been running for a couple of weeks.
Then, when a follow-up leaflet reflecting the image created by the advertising
arrives through the letterbox, there is instant recognition and the door-dropped
item can play its proper role of triggering purchase.
Public attitudes to door drops
Door-drop marketing has been subjected to a great deal of attitude research and
some of its findings may surprise you. Research by BMRB Omnibus Survey in
December 2003 suggests that most are very aware of the samples, coupons and
offers they receive through the letterbox, as this graph shows:
5.3 – 3
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Figure 5.3.2
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Key fact: door-drop leaflets and samples are second in saliency only to TV
advertising.
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Key fact: particularly high recall to supermarket, financial and charity
advertising through the letterbox.
5.3 – 4
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Figure 5.3.4
Immediate action - how best to describe what
consumers do with items received through the
letterbox
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Key fact: 79 per cent of people keep, pass on, read or glance at door drops the same as direct mail.
Figure 5.3.5
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Key fact: 38 per cent are kept for at least a few days and 13 per cent are kept
for a week or more.
5.3 – 5
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Table 5.3.1
Purchase or shopping action
Action ever taken as the result of media
Door drops
Direct mail
TV
Press
Visited a shop
27%
22%
26%
29%
Sent for information
20%
22%
11%
25%
Bought a product
15%
17%
20%
22%
Any of these
48%
47%
47%
60%
Source: BMRB Omnibus/synergism
Key fact: 48 per cent of consumers visited a shop, sent for information or
bought a product having received a door drop.
To summarise - “What is so good about door drops then?”
G
Useful
G
Stronger
G
Impactful
G
Retained
G
Effective
G
Responsive
G
Competitive
Who uses door drops?
The advent of more accurate targeting in door-drop marketing helps the marriage
with other media. For example, if a new shampoo/conditioner is launched with a
heavyweight women’s press campaign and a door-drop coupon drop to encourage
trial, then by using NRS, TGI or demographic targeting (e.g. 25 to 45-year-old
housewives with children), the distribution can be planned to match the
readership profile of the magazines used.
Door drops are particularly appropriate for delivering information for public
undertakings. It works for the privatised utilities, local authorities and the Central
Office of Information. Leaflets communicating changes of services or timetables,
or of policy, have all been distributed. Charities, motor insurers, household
insurers and book clubs have used door-to-door very successfully, thanks to the
effectiveness of targeting by postcode sector.
5.3 – 6
Door-drop marketing is now an established medium that plays a crucial role in
UK marketing. Most of the major grocery manufacturers and retailers use it as
part of their advertising and promotional strategies. It is also widely used by mailorder companies to recruit agents, and by financial service companies to sell
products and policies. Many use it consistently as part of their strategic long-term
brand-building programmes as well as for tactical applications, and it is
particularly heavily used for new product launches.
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Overall 84 of the top 100 spending advertisers in 2004 used door drops regularly,
endorsing the claim that door-drop marketing is a mainstream medium.
Door drops and direct marketing
Door drops were, until recently, associated in many people’s minds only with
massive distribution of sales promotion leaflets. These often incorporated moneyoff coupons but did not usually call for any other response. Today an increasing
number of manufacturers ask customers to insert their names and addresses on
coupons before redemption.
Asking consumers to include their names and addresses on redemption coupons
not only discourages misredemption at the checkout - the consumer is less likely
to misredeem if he has filled in correct address details - but can also begin to
form the basis of a customer database. Label collection schemes, cash-back offers
and many other forms of brand promotion necessarily require a name and
address. The more progressive manufacturers capture such information at the
handling house and keep it on file for future direct marketing activity. With the
advent of large consumer databases, responses to door-to-door promotions can
now be matched against existing databases.
Many retailers who use door drops ask for customers’ names and addresses. For
example, Beefeater has required those redeeming their vouchers to record their
names and addresses.
Mail-order catalogue companies use door-to-door to recruit new customers, and
financial institutions (life assurance companies, for instance) use door drops to
generate immediate response. The medium is now as appropriate for this kind of
marketing activity as the mail when either a reply coupon or phone response is
required.
More recently, car manufacturers, appliance retailers, DIY chains and electrical
retailers have used large-scale door-drop activity to generate footfall for their
stores. Have a look at door-to-door’s many advantages and applications and think
how many of them have possibilities for the alert direct marketer:
G
Low cost distribution of customer recruitment literature, including
samples and discount offers.
G
Unrestricted creativity - the escalation of cost with increased space, or
weight, as experienced in press advertising or direct mail respectively,
is much less significant with door drops. (But see section on costs at
the end of this chapter.)
G
Postcode sector targeting using geodemographic and lifestyle database
information.
G
High-speed coverage for most of the country with only a few simple
phone calls or emails.
G
Research/feedback facilities - a special benefit in the early stages of
building a customer database.
G
The missing link between image advertising and direct sales
stimulation – with no need to buy or own a list before you can begin.
5.3 – 7
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
G
Testing potential - as with inserts and direct mail, by using alternative
or batched leaflets and by comparing local, regional and national
results.
G
Unduplicated coverage of target market (an advantage not shared by
other unaddressed media, e.g. loose inserts, space ads or DRTV).
Clearly, door drops offer many interesting and unique opportunities for the direct
marketer prepared to investigate what has now become an established direct
response medium.
Gillette - a close shave
Circular Distributors’ two-day consumer ‘opt-in’ technique provided the
perfect vehicle for delivering a free sample of a Sensor Excel razor safely into
an appropriate household on behalf of Gillette. It was extremely important
that the razors went to as few existing Gillette users as possible and was
aimed specifically at the disposable market.
A bag, aimed to appeal to users of disposable razors, was delivered through
the letterbox on the first day. The householder was asked to fill in some
basic details and hang the bag back out on their doorknob on the second day
if they wished to receive their ‘free shaving pack’. The distributors then
returned to every household, collecting the bags for future use and posting
the free razor through the letterbox where requested.
The targeting involved working within chosen store catchments. A stunningly
high 42 per cent of households responded to this offer, and the two-day
sampling campaign added an estimated £30 million worth of incremental
retail sales for trade customers over three years. A great example of how
door drops can be used in a creative way to satisfy a complicated marketing
objective.
Door drops and sampling
Door-drop sampling has been a very popular medium for creating product trial
for many years. As long
ago as 1954, four million bars of Sunlight soap were delivered to UK households.
The activity worked so well that soon many major manufacturers were delivering
product samples through the letterboxes of Britain’s households and this
continues to this day.
The expression ‘trying is buying’ is never more relevant than placing real products
into the hands and homes of consumers and there is a wealth of evidence that
shows once consumers try a brand that subsequent purchase of a full-size
product follows on quickly.
Door-drop sampling can be divided into three methods:
5.3 – 8
G
Letterbox sampling
G
Personal call sampling
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
G
Two-day consumer ‘opt-in’ sampling
Letterbox sampling
This is simple and inexpensive. If an item can fit through a letterbox and the
product is legal, non-toxic and doesn’t contain nuts, door-drop marketing is a
good option. It is ideal for the delivery of a multitude of products from shampoo
to chocolate and toothpaste.
Presentation and packaging add value and attraction to samples. Many fmcg
manufacturers have used ‘replica’ letterbox sampling, including Lever Fabergé,
Procter & Gamble, Unilever Best Foods, Kellogg’s, Gillette and Kraft Jacob
Suchard. It is recommended that a coupon is included on the pack, so that once
the consumer has tried the product, the coupon is there to encourage purchase. A
name-gathering device can also be applied as part of a database-building scheme
for ongoing consumer dialogue.
Personal call sampling
Although more expensive this enables qualification of the consumer, i.e. only
suitable consumers need be offered the sample. Information can also be collected
via a sample doorstep call procedure carried out by interviewers. Personal call
sampling reduces wastage and has been used by companies such as Unilever to
build customer databases. The sample distributor often uses a hand-held
computer to data capture the required details. (The same technique is also used
in shopping precincts and other public places, when it is called field marketing.)
The method is particularly favoured if the product costs are high. Nestlé used
‘personal call’ to deliver Felix to cat owners and Winalot to dog owners as part of a
major Database-building operation in the UK that ran successfully for four years.
Sampling can be expensive, especially when the advertiser is generous, so
qualification of dog or cat ownership is important prior to placement. The upside
is that return on investment from a newly converted ‘loyalist’ can be very
profitable for the brand. In addition, doorstep interviews can also provide
answers to simple questions for future targeted direct marketing activity.
Two-stage consumer ‘opt-in’ sampling
With this activity, on day one a communication is delivered through the letterbox,
asking the householder if they would like to receive a free sample. Consumers are
requested to fill in certain details and leave the door-dropped communication (e.g.
bag or door hanger) on their doorknob by the following morning (day two), when
it is collected by the distributor. (See Gillette case history previously.) This
technique enables the householder to actually request a free sample and identify
themselves as the appropriate target market, eliminating wastage completely. It
also offers the opportunity for all interested householders to get involved without
having to be in during the day (unlike personal call). Information on the
householder can also be gathered in return. This has proven to be a compelling
and intriguing promotional technique that often yields very high response rate
and householders seem to love it.
The power of sampling ‘try me and buy me’
The performance of door-drop marketing is especially remarkable where samples
are letterboxed as the following research findings show:
5.3 – 9
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
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Source: RSGB/Synergism
Door drops and redemption coupons
Coupons delivered via door drops are a particularly powerful sales promotion
tool. According to NCH research, door-drop redemption levels average around 4.5
per cent, compared with only 1 per cent and 2 per cent respectively for coupons
featured in magazines and newspapers. The response rate on door-drop coupons
is bettered by in-pack and on-pack coupons and by direct mail, although this does
not take into account the high cost of postage and personalisation when delivering
by mail. Of all coupons delivered, just over 5 per cent are delivered by mail, 58
per cent by newspapers and magazines, and 37 per cent by door drops.
Door drop targeting
When door-drop distribution first became popular with national marketers, its
strength was as a low-cost non-discriminate means of reaching everyone, i.e. the
mass market. Later, with the development of socio-economic classifications, a
degree of targeting became possible. But in recent years targeting has become
highly developed and now rivals direct mail in its geographic selectivity. The
following geographic groupings are widely used in the distribution of door-drop
advertising, each of which can be overlaid on the recognised socio-economic
groups ABC1 and C2DE:
5.3 – 10
G
TV regions
G
Radio regions
G
County boundaries
G
Major urban areas/conurbations
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
G
Marketing areas, e.g. Nielsen sales territories
G
Catchment areas, e.g. around retail outlets
G
By postcode sector (average of 2,500 households)
G
By postcode micro sector (average of 700 households)
Targeting with the aid of sophisticated databases
More recently, door-drop marketing now employs sophisticated computer
techniques coupled to established consumer databases to target areas with the
highest penetration of likely prospects for a particular product, service or offer.
To do this, first an advertiser needs to establish a geodemographic profile of their
ideal prospect, using either research data or by profiling existing lists of known
customers and prospects. To achieve this all that is required is the full postcode
of the customer/prospect - names or addresses are not required.
The resulting data is then overlaid to create a detailed profile using one of the
following databases:
G
Mosaic
G
Financial Mosaic
G
ACORN
G
Electoral roll
G
Retail catchment areas
Finally, the best prospect postcode sectors are compared with the four possible
door-drop methods of accessing households e.g:
G
Solus door drop
G
Shared door drop
G
Door drop alongside local free newspaper
G
Door drop by the postman (Royal Mail)
The four methods of door dropping
Solus Plus - undivided attention for an advertising message
Solus Plus gives total flexibility. The advertiser can choose their own timing,
precise geographical area, postcode sectors and selection criteria. The message is
delivered in a non-competitive environment with up to two other items. In some
cases this is the only practical method to achieve coverage. For example, it is not
possible with shared methods to make personal calls and place product samples
in the hands of consumers, to qualify prospects on the doorstep, or to collect
information about householders. Generally Solus Plus is more expensive than
5.3 – 11
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
shared door drops. Nationally this service is offered by Circular Distributors and
Royal Mail.
Shared door drops - the low-cost option
Shared door drops offers the lowest cost method, because advertisers share with
up to four non-competing brands or products. Flexibility nevertheless exists to
choose by geographical area, postcode sector, TV region, socio-economic grouping
and specialist profiling and ranking methods etc. Shared door drops allow the
delivery of items weighing up to 100 grams, so this covers most items such as
product samples, booklets, leaflets and direct response items.
Local free newspaper door drops
Door-drop delivery with local free newspapers is a technique developed 20 years
ago. It is a method that has grown rapidly, mirroring the development of the free
newspaper business in the UK. 70% of UK households now receive at least one
weekly free newspaper, and the medium’s advertising revenue is now more than
that of the paid-for weeklies. As many as 18 million households can be door
dropped in this way.
The reliability of distribution by the reputable free newspaper publishers is
backed by VFD (verified free newspaper distribution) which was founded by ABC
(audit bureau of circulation) in 1981 to provide independent verification of
circulation figures. Latest research indicates that VFD papers have an average
certified distribution rate of 95 per cent. Unlike Solus Plus and shared door-drop
methods free newspaper deliveries are usually completed within a three-day
period. Most papers and accompanying door-drop items are delivered on a
Wednesday, Thursday or Friday so if speed of campaign is vital, free newspaper
door drops is the answer. Three companies dominate the national planning and
distribution service of door-drop items with local free newspapers: Circular
Distributors, The Leaflet Company and NLM (National Letterbox Marketing).
Royal Mail door drops
Delivery of unaddressed material is undertaken by the Royal Mail; items are
normally delivered by the postman at the same time that the normal post is
letterboxed. Royal Mail‘s door-drop service is the only UK service that can reach
every letterbox and this service is extensively used by direct response advertisers.
This product is more fully described in a later chapter of this Guide.
Door drops and creativity
Just as it is possible to cost-effectively deliver a wide variety of product samples
e.g. breakfast cereals, health and beauty samples, snack and beverage products,
so it is also practical to deliver a wide range of different promotional formats. The
format limitations imposed by newspapers and magazines do not apply to door
drops, nor do the weight, bulk and format limitations of direct mail apply. As
long as a promotional item can be fitted through a normal letterbox then
designers can create any type of novel, eye-catching shape. Indeed promotional
items in the actual shape of the product have become particularly popular with
many advertisers as this tactic ensures that when the product is seen on the
retailer’s shelf there is immediate recognition by the consumer - a vital function of
image advertising.
5.3 – 12
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
Figure 5.3.7
Leaflets and samples can be shaped like the products they represent.
There is also evidence to show that large door drop formats, provided that they
can be folded to go through the letterbox, are cost-effective in their response
payback. Catalogues and magazines, often quarterly, are a format increasingly
used by retailers who want to promote a wide range of merchandise in one vehicle
- something that cannot be done in a press ad or a TV commercial.
Magazines prove highly effective when used by retailers to drive traffic through
stores, encouraging loyalty among existing customers and promoting switching
among others. There is no reason why manufacturers should not follow this
example, as they have done in the US. The ‘house’ magazine is also a proven
vehicle for direct marketers who wish to stay in close touch with customers - and
this is further evidence of how different disciplines are drawing closer together
from a creative point of view.
What makes for effective door drops?
Over recent years CD has commissioned several pieces of research to establish
the creative factors that determine consumer response. According to the research,
when consumers receive a leaflet through the letterbox it is either thrown away,
retained or, in the case of information leaflets, put to one side for perusal at a
later time. During this sifting process, respondents weed out those items of little
or no interest, typical examples being deliveries that are made at high frequency
but promote items of low-frequency purchase, e.g. kitchens or double glazing, and
also confusing or over-complicated material that does not immediately and clearly
promote its value to consumers.
Money-off coupons, free samples, multifaceted offers and retailer booklets are
considered generally more interesting by consumers. The conclusion is that the
more immediate the reward and the less effort that is required to get it, the
greater is the interest and the greater the response.
Three factors combine to make a good door drop:
G
Impact
G
Relevance
G
Branding
5.3 – 13
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
As a result of the research, a number of creative guidelines were established for
door-to-door. These are set out below in a useful checklist in table 5.3.2. Keep it
handy - much of it applies to other forms of advertising such as inserts and even
some direct mail activity:
Table 5.3.2
G
The essential features of an effective door drop
Brand recognition and message or reward must be almost instantaneous.
G
Strong, simple visual clues (through the use of colour and shape) work best, and
can also appear quite impactful and interesting to consumers. This creativity has to
be either brand- or reward-related (or both).
G
Teasers generally serve to confuse and annoy rather than arouse curiosity.
Teasers that do work are related to a reward or attractive benefit. In other words,
they have to demonstrate relevant creativity.
G
Additional product information has to be communicated with simplicity and
relevance.
G
Consumers are not generally prepared to read detailed copy, but a product image
can still be communicated through mood, tone and style of the leaflet.
G
Information-style leaflets, e.g. booklets, should have a sense of size and quantity of
information, and a quality soft-sell approach.
How much will it cost?
The cost of door-drop distribution is dependent on six straightforward elements:
G
Size and weight of the item
G
Quantity of households to be door dropped
G
Areas to be covered
G
Door-drop method (e.g. Solus Plus, shared, with free newspaper or Royal
Mail)
G
Targeting system and data preparation
G
Supplier
Very broadly, shared costs from specialist door-drop companies can be as low as
£13.00 per thousand; Solus Plus £38.00 per thousand; and leaflets with free
newspapers about £14.00 per thousand. These costs are for simple items
weighing less than 10 grams. Heavier items are generally more expensive and
agreed by negotiation and are subject to sight of intended material.
As with every other supplier sphere, buying door drops on price alone can lead to
poor quality activity and poor results. Unless distributors, who are essentially a
casual labour force, are properly remunerated and managed there will be trouble.
It is therefore important to obtain client references and recommendations, for
example from a business colleague or an advertising or media agency.
When buying door-drop services it also pays to ensure the chosen supplier is a
member of the Direct Marketing Association; the DMA has a door-drop council
that represents the unaddressed sector of the market in terms of protection and
promotion. Members of the DMA must abide by the service level agreements that
5.3 – 14
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
are set by the door-drop council; this provides guarantees of quality and recourse
for advertisers in the case of a bad experience.
Choosing your door-to-door supplier
As mentioned earlier, there are three large nationwide suppliers of door-drop
services: Circular Distributors, The Leaflet Company and the Royal Mail. There
are, in addition, a large number of smaller national players plus regional and local
suppliers, all offering different levels and quality of service. Having arrived at your
shortlist of door-drop distributors, probing questions should be asked about the
operator’s field structure. It is important to check the number of field-based
managers within the coverage network and to ensure that they are wholly
employed by the company and bound by proper contracts of employment.
Specialists consider that full-time field managers are required for door-drop
validation, in the form of back-checks interviews with householders to be carried
out to ensure deliveries have been properly made, in the right areas at the right
times.
Details should be requested about back-checking procedures, because this is a
vital discipline and a reflection of the company’s policy on field control and
organisational standards. It is also important to ensure that back-checks are
carried out independently of the subcontractor doing the distribution.
Door drops and overseas markets
Pan-European distributions can be mounted through ELMA (the European
Letterbox Marketing Association). Different countries in Europe offer differing
levels of penetration, price and sophistication. It is worth noting that the UK is
more advanced in terms of its targeting abilities than most other countries.
Business-to-business?
Straightforward door-drop distribution is not usually effective for business
purposes, and services in this area are limited. However, personal calls involving
literature delivery with research feedback are available from organisations
specialising in part-time field sales and demonstrator teams. Also the Royal Mail
offer a service with their door-drop service that allows advertisers to include door
dropping to business addresses when residential coverage is booked at the same
time.
Case study
And finally, an unusual, imaginative and profitable example of the use of doordrop marketing:
Associated Co-op Creameries
This DMA Royal Mail Grand Prix winner proved the maxim that often the best
work comes from the simplest concept. Associated Co-op Creameries (ACC) had a
problem in that doorstep milk delivery was a shrinking market and was becoming
5.3 – 15
Chapter 5.3 : Door-drop marketing, now with new improved targeting
a concept forgotten by many consumers. Potential customers needed to be
reminded about the convenience of having Co-op milk delivered to their home.
The solution was found in ACC’s backyard and led to one of the year’s most
evocative pieces of direct marketing. ACC and its agency partners Andrews
Aldridge used a message in an empty bottle to communicate with a potential
customer in the way they would communicate with a milkman. The apparently
handwritten note, signed by a Co-op milkman, wished them ‘good morning’ and
offered a free pint of milk if they took up the service.
The Co-op’s milk bottle delighted the judges on many fronts. It had creative
simplicity in using an instantly recognisable medium. Results were impressive
too, with a 26 per cent increase on rounds that employed the door drop and a
cost per response of less than 49 pence per new customer. The milk bottle has,
not surprisingly, become a key weapon in ACC’s acquisition armoury.
But perhaps the ACC campaign’s biggest selling point for the judges was its
effectiveness compared with other media. TV advertising of delivered milk, for
instance, had clearly failed to stem the market’s decline. As one judge summed
up: “The milk bottle as a door drop achieved success where conventional
advertising failed. It’s a brilliant argument for why direct marketing is a better
medium than any other.”
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