Ski-wear and ski-service

Background

After a brief snowy interval at the end of October, Switzerland continued to enjoy pleasantly mild temperatures. Sadly there was no snow in sight, which, if you were in the winter sports business, was not exactly good for trade.

Something proactive needed to be done to increase traffic to the stores and stimulate sales of ski services and new equipment.

Idea

Existing and selected potential customers were sent a letter encouraging them to pay a visit to Pitsch Sport. However, the letter was actually printed on wax paper. This meant that after reading it, customers could simply screw it into a ball and use it to wax their skis. If it so happened that the skis became slower after waxing – contrary to expectations – then Pitsch Sport guaranteed a ski service on the house.

Results

Despite the mild weather, the ski season went well at Pitsch Sport in Gossau. On the first weekend after the mailing, there was a 200% increase in store traffic. But that’s not all: even with no snow in lower-lying areas, sales had been boosted by 15% in three weeks.

Our Thoughts

I’ve always maintained that with 3D mailings it’s important to send people something useful, which they will want to keep. In recent weeks I have been mailed a balloon, a bottle of aspirin and a shopping bag too small to be practical. All have ended up in the bin. I have seldom come across a mailing in which the letter itself was of real, hands-on value, as with this idea. If you were a skier, this letter would have been fun, a shared reminder of how frustrating the weather was being and it would have been relevant. Relevant, timely and amusing. If you have all three, your results are always going to be dramatic.