Via Staedtler

Background

Staedtler was established in 1835 in Nuremburg, Germany. It is one of the oldest stationery brands in the world and is the only company to manufacture their pens and pencils locally in Australia. Everyone knows Staedtler and remembers using one of their black and red pencils or blue erasers at some point. Over recent years, marketing activity has focussed almost entirely on the trade audience in support of the sales team. However, in 2005 Staedtler briefed HOST to define a brand idea for Staedtler and to develop a consumer communications campaign to run in 2006. HOST’s challenge was to stimulate consumer demand for Staedtler by assuming the category leader role and making brand choice more important.

Idea

Pens and pencils are a part of everyone’s life, yet people rarely make a conscious decision about what they write with and are even less likely to buy their own pens. They simply use whatever is to hand in the office or at home. Pens are perceived to be either low interest, disposable commodities or irrelevant status symbols for diplomats and politicians. However, research revealed that despite the assumed dominance of typing and texting, handwriting still plays a massive role. The notes and scribbles of everyday life communicate some of the strongest emotions in our daily lives. The written word, however informal, is personal, powerful and insightful.

HOST’s strategy was to rouse this latent interest in the value of everyday writing and writing instruments by positioning Staedtler as the ‘Champion of Everyday Writing’. Print advertisements were created that exposed, celebrated and inspired the form of everyday communication that is handwriting. The website address www.takenote.com was subtly seeded on the press ads and through the placement of unbranded, handwritten notes in public places. In an attempt to subvert everyday handwriting’s biggest threat, the ubiquitous keyboard, visitors to the site can write their own message, have it put it in a handwritten envelope which is then delivered at the click of a button. The recipient’s only clue to the origin of the note is the handwritten website address at the bottom. Driven by curiosity they will log on and the snowball continues.

How does this happen? All messages written by users are submitted to a database housed within the website. These notes are then filtered manually before a database containing the notes and recipient addresses are sent to a mailhouse. The mailhouse staff then handwrite the note and addresses on the envelopes and lodge them for posting.

Results

There had been 35,356 visits to the website as at 5 July with an average time spent on the site of more than six minutes. 20,584 notes had been submitted at a conversion rate of 58.2%. Almost 7,000 actual notes had been posted to users. The campaign has also received extensive local and overseas media interest and the sales force have been able to leverage a number of sales inquiries generated through the website.

Target Audience

Pens and pencils are of course relevant to everyone but the main target audience is brand conscious, middle-income office workers in Sydney and Melbourne. The intention is that they will in turn influence the buying behaviour of whoever is responsible for stationery purchase in the office as well as consider brand choice in their own purchase decisions.

Size

Three full page and six half page press ads, website.

Our Thoughts

Interesting for us to see how a traditional ‘above-the-line’ agency like BBH is turning to DM techniques to create stronger bonds between its brands and their consumers. But then, there is nothing traditional about BBH, one of the most admirable agencies in the world. This personalised CD-ROM takes warm prospects around the car, shows them footage of test drives, does everything possible to tickle their fancy. And if their fancy is a whale on wheels, the CD-ROM makes it very easy for them to let Audi know.