2012 Gold Best use of direct mail

Client Kern & Sohn

How did the campaign make a difference? This experiment used a travelling gnome to prove a little-known theory about Earth's gravity. Beyond business results - a 21% sales uplift - the story reached more than 350 million people in 150 countries, propelling Kern to the top of Google rankings. The experiment became a TED talk and was even added to several national curricula.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Kern makes some of the planet's most precise scales. It wanted to build its reputation and revenue in the global laboratory and education sector, but there are millions of these institutions and no credible data on who buys science equipment. Plus, Kern's marketing budget was lightweight. The strategy was a global experiment, with the aim of creating a globally newsworthy campaign without the usual costs. This would help boost Kern's search rankings, which are critical to success; around 20% of Kern's sales result from online search. The media plan included the direct mail ‘gnome kit’, an email invitation, the gnome's Twitter account, the gnome's Tumblr account and seeding the story with key influencers.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? This was the world's first mass-participation gravity experiment, one that reveals an amazing, little-known phenomenon. Earth's gravity actually varies, with fluctuations that wouldn't register on typical scales – but do so on Kern scales. Carefully-selected Kern customers and scientists around the world were invited to play a starring role. They receive a kit with scales and a special test weight: a chip-proof garden gnome. Participants weigh the gnome, record the results on the website, take photographic evidence, then send him on. Each world-famous institution the gnome visits is a highly credible endorsement for Kern, from the South Pole to CERN. He’s even set to experience weightlessness in NASA's ‘Vomit Comet’. As he travels, he drives traffic to the site and explains the science through his very own Tumblr and Twitter accounts.

Results Within two days of his reaching the South Pole, the story was Twitter top news, reaching more than 355 million people in 152 countries, having been shared by blogs such as New Scientist, NASA, Huffington Post, Reader's Digest, National Geographic and the BBC, as well as appearing on TV. After two weeks, 16,386 websites had linked to GnomeExperiment.com, resulting in an 11% sales uplift and 1,042% ROI. After a month there was a 21% sales uplift across the entire Kern range. All of this was achieved on a production budget of £24,000 and without spending a penny on traditional media space.

Team Charlie Wilson - Executive Creative Director, Emma de la Fosse - Executive Creative Director, James Nester - Creative Director, Graham Jenks - Creative Director, Graham Jenks - Art Director, James Nester - Copywriter,Aphrodite Paxinou - Digital Producer

Other contributors Nick Hearne - Art Director & Social Creative, U-Dox, Blair Metcalfe - Pr Lead, Ogilvy Pr, Piet Johnson - Photographer, Piet Johnson Photography