2012 Bronze Best use of door drops

Client British Sky Broadcasting

How did the campaign make a difference? Sports communication can alienate some audiences during door drops, so a segmented approach was developed to sustain sales during Sky’s above the line sports promotion. Response proved that door drops could still drive sales contribution during a premium-priced sports promotion.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Historical sales showed a declining trend for door drop responders during the launch of the Sky Sports football season. Sky Sports has historically been communicated as a fully integrated campaign, with door drop’s lower responses offset by higher conversion-to-sales. To increase response levels, a dual strategy allowed a continuation of the value proposition to be included alongside the above the line sports messaging. Research revealed that sports viewing is a considered purchase, often taken before the start of the football season, with 80% of door drops being read by the female decision-maker. Segmentation and profiling was undertaken to develop a predictive model, including all historical media response, seasonal movement and a clear understanding of the current customer base by product. The outcome allowed overall value to be linked to each customer group. The Barclays Premier League is Sky Sports’ biggest offering; a focus on regionally-promoted teams could capture their excitement. Two of the three promoted teams were included for the regional approach.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? The strategy identified three key target groups and appropriate messaging, allowing for impact, relevance and engagement: 1. Sports viewers (value and sports); 2. Family households (value) and 3. Regional areas (sports). The ‘sports’ group received a dual message to ensure choice and no alienation. The sports imagery and communication followed the integrated campaign, leading with the introduction of SkyGo (the freedom to view sports from a device other than the main TV). Communication to ‘family’ homes focused on a broader entertainment message. Leveraging engagement from the integrated fairy tales-themed campaigns, the emperor's new clothes messaging preceded sports messaging. The ‘regional’ creative for Norwich and Swansea focused on their journeys to reach the league with a scarf creative using team logos, colours, imagery and language.

Results The doordrop delivered a stunning result for a pure sports campaign. Response outperformed its target by 20%, with each tailored segment also exceeding their targets.

Team Belinda Worrell, Emily Metcalfe, Tshaka Campbell, Leah Hendin

Other contributor Sapient Nitro – Creative