2011 Silver Business to consumer

Client Royal Mail

What is wonderful about this work? Our challenge was to convert a generation of digital natives to the most analogue media of all – stamps. Wallace & Gromit stamps were seen as our best hope and we teamed up with Aardman Digital to create a unique social campaign centred on sharing your very own character avatar. 3,000 Facebook ‘Likes’, a top Twitter trend, 138,000 characters created, and 70,000 people signed up – smashing our target by 420%.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Our task was to create a new generation of stamp collectors. Specifically, we had to sign up 16,500 for future stamp communications by email or post. With stamp enthusiasts an increasingly mature audience, our challenge was to convert a new generation of digital natives to one of the most analogue technologies of all. The Wallace & Gromit Christmas stamps were seen as our best opportunity. But, with only the tiniest of budgets, we needed a big, engaging, social idea that would spread itself. Our strategy was simple: Engage a younger, digital-savvy audience in the environment they’re most comfortable in. Show them that stamps can be relevant and interesting. Get them interested enough to hear more and share it with their friends.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? To leverage the popularity of the Wallace and Gromit stamps, we teamed up with Aardman Digital. Avatars were handmade from 3D CGI virtual modelling clay and could be almost infinitely personalised through skin tone, facial features, hair styles... This created a greater emotional connection and spurred our users to share. Users updated their Facebook profile photo, or turned their image into a real ‘Smilers®’ stamp. This social idea was supported by a site that allowed sharing to spread the word and attract sign-ups, with a continuously scrolling and updating gallery of fame. As an added hook we offered visitors a chance to win a real-life clay model of themselves –handcrafted at the Aardman studio. Art direction, copy and the general tone was in keeping with the well-loved Wallace & Gromit brand.

Results 138,000 people created a character. The campaign went so viral that we turned off paid banner ads a whole month early. The stamps were a no.7 Twitter trending topic on day one and we clocked up 3,000 ‘Likes’. Most importantly 69,411 people signed up for future communications – smashing our target of 16,500 by 420%. For the very first time, the most traditional of subject matters was brought to the attention of the web generation. And good old stamps became cool...

Team Rob Kavanagh, Jo Jenkins, Albert Seleznyov, Chris Georgiou, Howard Saunders, Jamie Whittle, Alex Schrembi, Nick Myers, Nick Adams, Will Harvey.

Other contributors Aardman Digital – 3D creator tool.