Creative Effectiveness in Door Drops: October 2023

Written by Neal Dodd, Managing Director at The Letterbox Consultancy, and member of the Door Drop Hub of the Print Council.

Paradise Wildlife Park is not far from where I live. It has grown significantly over the past twenty years. It now boasts an impressive range of animals, exhibitions, events and activities, extending its reach across the South East of England.

This smart-looking leaflet dropped through my door earlier this year, and I think a few things would be helpful to mention – some good, some not so good.

Let’s start with the good…

I love the creative. It’s just my opinion, but I think it fits very well with the offering and stands out from the crowd.

I recall seeing OOH ads for the same thing, with the same creative, which reinforces my view that this is doing a great job of standing out and being memorable.

The copy is clear and concise, with consistent messaging and fonts. The logo is front and centre, and with such a well-known brand – certainly locally – this will help engagement.

We don’t know how this was planned and targeted. Still, logically, as an evening event, it makes sense that they’re focusing reach on local homes within a short travel time from the site.

What’s not so good?

I understand budget is precious, but this is a one-sided A5 leaflet, and the ‘back’ of the leaflet is blank. Cheaper to produce, but by how much?

I think it’s a waste of valuable space that could have been used to their advantage.

Considering that the leaflet could have landed on either side when it came through the door, it’s not a great start if the resident finds it face down… the effort to stand out is somewhat diminished.

Added to this, the leaflet is lacking in detail about what is actually on offer here.

Is it just that the park is open later in the day, or is there more to it than that? Presumably, it’s not aimed at young families, so perhaps there are bars open and maybe music? There could have been room for opening times, offers etc. – generally, reasons to visit.

It’s quite difficult to understand what the benefit/offer to me is here, which, when you consider all the available space on the other side of the leaflet, is a shame.

This leaflet has probably been designed using a poster as a template.

It’s an area of discussion when considering a door drop campaign; what is the cost/benefit ratio of spending money on the leaflet?

When reviewing overall returns vs. campaign costs, we’ve seen examples of expensive die-cut leaflets that easily beat standard A5 2pp leaflets.

But it’s not always the answer; you can often achieve your aims while keeping production costs low.

As ever, it depends on the campaign and your objectives, but you should look to discuss it with your door-drop provider right at the beginning of the planning process.

In summary, this leaflet is a nice design and ticks a lot of boxes for what I think makes a great creative piece, but I also believe it could have gone further by using all of the available space to push home the key benefits to the consumer.

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Take a look at other Creative Effectiveness in Door Drops articles here.