Direct Mail Campaign

C-level campaign draws 4% response rate – double the industry average – and wins several creative awards Download Case Study >

Interface Systems, Inc. had created Legacy-to-Internet technology (L2I) — a breakthrough that allowed older, “legacy” mainframe computers to communicate seamlessly with the Internet. Yet the company’s targets for this new technology — CEOs, COOs, CIOs and CFOs at top firms in the U.S. and the U.K. — were difficult to reach with traditional direct marketing. At this level, most mail is screened by the target’s secretarial staff. Glossy literature seldom gets through. So Interface Systems contacted AgencyAxis for marketing that could go beyond the corporate gatekeepers — just as their own L2I technology broke down barriers between mainframes and the Internet.

To get the message into the hands of senior executives, AgencyAxis decided to contrast the high-tech, 21st-century L2I solution with old-fashioned technology — like the mainframes the targets were using to run their businesses. AgencyAxis then created a series of high-impact dimensional mailings designed to bypass secretarial screens. The first mailing included a manual telegraph key and the message, “Are your legacy applications fluent in Internet code?” Next, the targets received a tin-can phone (two tin cans connected with a piece of string) and the question, “Can your legacy applications speak to the Internet any better than this?” The final mailing contained an Internet “language course” — complete with flashcards — and the message, “How to speak Internet in just 10 days.”

Each mailing contained a sales letter and an offer for a free online Internet demo of the product. In addition to this series of dimensional mailings, AgencyAxis also produced a series of flat mailings to extend the program’s momentum. This marketing program earned L2I a response rate of over 4% — about double the industry average for direct mail response. The program also earned AgencyAxis several creative awards in regional, national and international competitions. Our multi-component marketing program for L2I helped Interface Systems break down barriers of communication with its customers. The program is just one example of how AgencyAxis’s creative, results-driven approach translates into sales success.
l

Summary

High impact direct mail gets through the office gatekeepers to reach C-level executives.

Results

The mailing series prompted a response from 4% of senior executives and won several regional, national and international awards.