White Pages Telephone Directory: "YELLOW ART AWARDS" Direct marketing by Aim Proximity

Category: Dimensional Mailing
Advertiser: YELLOW PAGES
Product/Service: WHITE PAGES TELEPHONE DIRECTORY
Agency: AIM PROXIMITY
Date of First Appearance: Sep 9 2009 12:00AM
Entrant Company: AIM PROXIMITY, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Art Director: Matt Hampton (Aim Proximity)
Production Manager: Toni Christian (Paragon)
Designer: Barry Cummings (Aim Proximity)
Account Manager: Nicole Keddie (Aim Proximity)
Creative Director: Dave King (Aim Proximity)
Typographer: Matt Hampton (Aim Proximity)
Copywriter: Mike Kelly (Aim Proximity)
Media placement: Direct Mail - Mail - 18 August 2009

Describe the brief/objective of the direct campaign.
The Yellow Pages Group Art Awards has been running for 19 years. It is best associated with the image on the cover of each region’s White Pages. Traditionally it has attracted amateur entries and is not seen as a prestigious event for the art world. Yellow wanted to rejuvenate the competition and measure this by the number of entries and the quality of the work. We wanted to attract students at New Zealand’s top art schools who were just starting out and could most benefit from both the $20,000 prize and the exposure of featuring on the front cover.

Explain why the creative execution was relevant to the product or service.
Any artist with an eye for detail appreciated the hard work that went into creating our direct mail piece. Each pack was individually and painstakingly constructed by hand. We undertook a global search for miniature models of the artists at work to create the elaborate art studio, complete with miniature nudes and wall posters of the campaign creative. The fact that this scene was placed inside an actual White Pages book couldn’t communicate our sponsorship any more clearly.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective with reference to the projected response rates and desired outcome.
Narrowing in on the target market we identified the best way to reach young Kiwi artists would be to target art teachers themselves. These tutors have the relationship with a new generation of artists – their students. We sent out a unique direct mail piece to art tutors at New Zealand schools. Cut out from an actual White Pages book, we displayed a miniature scene with artists, sculptors and models creating their own work. Nested inside the pack were entry forms and posters for the tutors to distribute to their students.

Describe the results in as much detail as possible with particular reference to the RESPONSE of the target audience including deliverability statistics, response rates, click throughs, sales cost per response, relationships built and overall return on investment.
The positive feedback and fantastic recall we received proved we’d not only achieved cut-through but also engagement and talkability. In fact, many schools had placed the DM pack at the school’s reception for students to see. The target was to increase entries by 10% and improve quality. Entries were up 30% on last year (550 total) and about 25% came from young people/students (previously almost nil). Most importantly, judges felt the work was more contemporary and of a higher quality.