A direct mail that worked

I received a direct mail letter today. In an envelope. Delivered by the postman. Now, this isn’t that uncommon an event; getting junk mail is a price you expect to pay when you’ve been in the marketing industry as long as me. What was less common was that I both opened and acted on the letter, and that hasn’t happened in a long time.

This is what I received: a cheap plastic magnifying glass and a piece of paper carrying the letters www.lookabitcloser.com/alistairfrost.

The sender had spelt my name incorrectly, but that just told me they’d heard of me through word-of-mouth, not through a printed directory. I boldly entered the URL into IE9 and what I got was a series of simple, clean screens, with some very engaging copy:

…and a final screen featuring a counting clock showing how long I’d spent on their site:

The agency behind this? Fortune Favours the Brave (FFB) Partners of Glasshouse Street, London. Clever work, that just goes to show that a strong creative idea delivered through a traditional marketing route can work harmoniously with digital channels. And best of all, I received a call from FFB soon after I’d visited their site asking me how they could help further. The personalised URL had alerted them the moment I visited their site.

How could they improve? Show me you also understand the social web by making it easier for me to share this experience, not just by helping me e-mail colleagues but also by letting me connect your content to my networks on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. And make it easier for me to opt-in to future communications should I wish; you’ve given me a good first impression, don’t bale out so soon.

Nice work! How refreshing to receive a direct mail that works.