2013 Silver Best use of Door Drops

Client Independent Funeral Directors

How did the campaign make a difference? Funeral plans are not a subject most people like to talk openly about. This campaign overcame the challenge of promoting local independent funeral directors in a sensitive but engaging manner. An ROI of £9 per £1 spent proved that doordrops are key.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Working in partnership with independent funeral directors can prove challenging as they are individually run, with varying business models. They don't have large budgets to spend, so require a personal and cost-effective marketing solution. It was important to segment the audience and it was known that most of the core profile funeral-plan holders pay in full. However, previous DM activities had shown that highlighting affordability and promoting monthly instalments appeals to a different segment, often younger, even less affluent people. All plan holders were profiled according to their chosen method of payment. Applying this modelling to UK postal sectors highlighted areas of highest penetration for the most responsive audience types for each strand. Sector selection was based on a combination of indexing against target audience, proximity to branch and historical sales. Analysis of cost per lead across channels found Royal Mail most effective in delivering favourable response rates.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? The creative had to work harder than ever before, engaging the customer while retaining trust. Different creative templates were created for each of the segments. Each funeral director could choose from these templates, depending on the profile of their area and the type of plan they were promoting. This tailored approach provided peace of mind to the customer that their family would not have to pay, ensuring a personal funeral service where elements could be chosen by the individual to their exact wishes. The funeral directors were given a choice around the level of response incentive, again allowing them to best tailor their message to the profile of their local area. The customer had a choice of response mechanism: via a phone call, through requesting a brochure, or going in to visit their local office, the address of which was shown on the leaflet. By providing multiple options, this sensitive subject could be broached in the way most comfortable to the customer.

Results Results have convinced the funeral directors to change the way they see marketing activity and made them realise the value in profiling and sectors selections, which combined with the templated creative options has proven impact on the sales of funeral plans.