HAUS OF VERSANT

TitleHAUS OF VERSANT
BrandFUJI XEROX NEW ZEALAND
Product / ServiceVERSANT 2100 DIGITAL PRINTER
CategoryA02. Dimensional Mailings
EntrantREPUBLIK COMMUNICATIONS Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Entrant Company REPUBLIK COMMUNICATIONS Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Advertising Agency REPUBLIK COMMUNICATIONS Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

The Brief

To launch the Fuji Xerox Versant 2100 digital printer in a ground-breaking way, we created an immersive direct marketing experience that could demonstrate its cutting edge technology like never before. We took the print category out of the drab, functional office product environment and transformed it into the glamorous world of high fashion. This campaign pushed the boundaries of traditional direct marketing, and culminated in a runway event showcasing garments printed solely on the new device. This campaign was so effective that sales of the 2100 in New Zealand out-performed every other product launch in the Asia Pacific Region. We delivered an ROI of $77:1 - 240% of our client’s sales targets on launch - with NZ sales accounting for 34% of the entire Asia Pacific Region although, by population, we make up a miniscule 0.27% of the region.

Creative Execution

We created ‘The Haus of Versant’ - an immersive DM campaign that introduced a fictitious French designer named Alfonso Versant. • The mail-out featured a tailor-made box, containing a tongue-in-cheek ‘look-book’ filled with Versant’s musings and philosophies; a personalised invitation to his Fashion Collection de Papier runway show; and lanyard - all printed using the Versant 2100 on an array of substrates. • To RSVP recipients went to a personal URL to register. • We worked with the students of a local fashion school to create garments based around the Versant character and the pages we’d created for the look-book. The students used the Versant 2100 to produce outfits that models would then exhibit on a catwalk as the main event on launch night. • Event attendees could vote for their favorite ensemble. Students with the winning look were awarded scholarships from Fuji Xerox and mentoring from local fashion designers.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Our audience was divided into two groups: Primary. Existing customers; owners and managers of small-to-medium sized print houses - to replace their existing competitor models, or purchase to complement their existing products. Secondary. New leads; operators of enterprises who require short runs of high quality, colour prints. E.g: schools, real estate companies and government depts. Female skew. For the first time, we had our most female-skewed audience ever. A list of 350 was created to achieve a launch event attendance of 150.

Results

This has been a resounding success; significantly higher than previous launches. • The mail-out received an impressive response rate of 47%. • The event was so impactful that 5 machines were sold on launch night. • We sold 49 units within three months, more than doubling the target of 20 units and ROI of $32:1, achieving an ROI $77:1. • During launch-month Fuji Xerox New Zealand accounted for an incredible 61% of all Versant 2100 sales in the Asian Pacific region. • For the 3-month launch phase, NZ sales accounted for 34% of the Asia Pacific region although, by population we only account for 0.27% of the region. • From leads gathered at the launch, the Versant 2100 outsold every other country in Asia Pacific. And sales have continued to climb. At five months the ROI had risen to a phenomenal NZ$105:1 - 328% of the target.