The Brief

As one of China’s largest cities with 19 million people, Shanghai’s streets have grown tremendously to keep pace with fast-rising car ownership. In-car GPS satellite navigation (sat-nav) have become a useful tool. Garmin, one of the world’s biggest brands was very successful with early adopters. However it wanted to go beyond that group and reach the mass market without spending a lot of money on mainstream media. The key marketing objectives are: a) Create a direct response communication campaign for participating Garmin dealers in the shopping malls around the central city area b) Achieve an increase of 10% sales

Creative Execution

We targeted shopping mall car parks. Identifying cars without Garmin GPS devices, we placed the direct response leaflet onto the vehicles. This was relevant as the target was in the correct frame of mind – of getting into their car and driving. The communication showcased the benefit of our product – the ease of getting to your destination. This is extremely relevant to Shanghai drivers because roads change every day due to rapid development. To drive response, we offered a good discount of 20% (in China a 20% discount is shown as an “8”) during the promotion period.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

The creative solution had a direct response leaflet that was sealed with a tangled black ribbon with dotted white stripes. To open, the target pulled one end which unfurled the tangled knot into one long strip, resembling a smooth stretch of road. Printed on it was a message that says Garmin makes all journeys smooth and trouble free. Not only was it interactive, but it was highly educational as well. The action of untangling the road with Garmin made its point loud and clear.

Results

The total number of direct response leaflets distributed was more than 100,000. The coupon redemption rate was 20%. This was an improvement of 75% compared to previous efforts. The end result? There was an increase of 24% above targeted sales at participating Garmin outlets. Even with a small budget, not only did we sell more but we managed to penetrate a much wider target audience in one smooth go.