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EC Gate's Nutcracker: A Case Study

by: Admin on Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 Time: 2:49 PM

Sometimes it pays to go a little nuts with the creative in direct marketing campaigns. But if you really want to get the attention of prospective buyers, sending a little nut may be the way to go.

At least that's an approach that seems to be working for Lynne Kilpatrick, vice-president of marketing and communications for EC-Gate, an application service provider (ASP) based in Toronto and Amsterdam. Established in 1997, the company connects buyers and suppliers around the globe through customized, online marketplaces. 

Recently, Kilpatrick helped launch a unique direct mail campaign designed to turn the heads of top decision-makers in targeted industries.

B-to-B marketplace is a tough nut to crack

"The basic problem in (marketing to) business-to-business is that it's a very crowded marketplace full of unknown brands, so it's quite difficult to get people's attention," she said. "Because there are so many companies the same size as ours fighting for a voice, we needed to find something imaginative and innovative that would capture someone's attention."

Prior to launching its first direct mail campaign, Kilpatrick said, EC-Gate got most of its leads from trade shows, targeted print advertising in a few B2B publications, and from an offer on its Web site where visitors can sign up to receive an online newsletter.

"The trade shows are hit-and-miss (in part because) you have no control over who attends," she said, adding that the growing glut of relevant trade publications also makes it hard to stand out in the marketplace. "That's why we purchased a mailing list from a list broker and went the direct mail route."

Another reason for using direct mail, Kilpatrick said, was that she questioned the wisdom of appropriating major funds for mass advertising - an approach many competitors utilize. "There's too much noise and too many companies are spending a lot of money trying to build brand awareness right now. And that's just not the right objective for companies our size. You just can't afford to do it. You want to generate sales leads. And as the business grows, brand awareness will follow.

"We're directing all of our marketing dollars towards building revenue," she added. "We don't really care if the world knows our brand, we'd rather have the business -- as long as our clients know our brand -- that's all we care about!"

EC-Gate takes a crack at first-ever DM campaign

For the initial wave of its direct campaign, EC-Gate targeted food services, a vertical industry in which the company has experience and knowledge. The trick was to: 

• Design an eye-popping mail piece, and 
• Get it in front of the right people, namely the CEOs, COOs or other top decision-makers of the larger, mid-sized Fortune 1000 companies it was targeting. 

"We didn't think a brochure in an envelope with a letter would get their attention," said Kilpatrick. "We wanted something more intrusive and attention-getting; something they'd be curious about and open." At the same time, EC-Gate wanted to get across an extremely important message, one that would generate sales leads rather than simply increase brand awareness.

"We wanted them to know that the process of bringing their product or service to the online marketplace doesn't have to be this complex, drawn-out ordeal," she said. "Another message was ‘Don't be afraid or intimidated by this stuff or believe all the baffle-gaff you've read about it.' All we're doing is taking your existing processes and putting them on an internet-based solution that isn't that complicated or expensive."

Kilpatrick explained that by outsourcing to EC-Gate, companies can launch unique e-commerce sites securely and quickly (typically 3-6 months), without the risk or cost of investing in the technological infrastructure. Further, EC-Gate provides applications to meet any business requirement, from settlement and procurement to payment, inventory management, logistics and even auctions.

What's a walnut got to do with it?

Using a walnut and a nutcracker as its centerpiece, the two-part, dimensional mailer graphically illustrated why problem-solving doesn't have to be complicated. The mid-December mailing also tied in well with the holidays - though it could work year-round.

Shortly before Christmas, 200 executives received EC-Gate's "holiday walnut," wrapped in blue tissue paper and nestled in a small box (approximately two inches square) with a teaser card asking, "What does this have to do with your business? You'll find out very soon."

A couple of days later, they received a second, specially designed box measuring 8.5 x 11 inches by one inch. Inside was a snugly-inset, stainless steel nutcracker, along with a cover letter, a technical blueprint for an extremely sophisticated-looking nut-cracking contraption and a brochure explaining who EC-Gate is, what it does and how it could help their business.

Kilpatrick explained that the walnut represents a prospect's e-business problem and the nutcracker is EC-Gate's solution - straightforward and highly effective. "We wanted to show that you don't need to over-engineer things to the point where the solution is time-consuming and unnecessarily costly," she said of the blueprint. 

Kilpatrick credits her company's Toronto-based ad agency, Lowe RMP, with the nutcracker campaign. "They came up with a variety of good creative concepts, but the nutcracker is the one we loved, so we went with it," she said. "It grabs people's attention and gets our message across really well."

Just how well is hard to tell at this point, due to EC-Gate's approximate 3-month selling cycle. "Part of what we'll find out as we go along is if the lists are targeted enough, and if our message is getting to the right people at the right companies," said Kilpatrick. "If the (data) isn't working fabulously for us, we'll adjust, either by finding better lists or tweaking the information until we get it right. We'll be keeping a close eye on that."

However, based on positive initial response from recipients, Kilpatrick said EC-Gate has big expectations for its little nut and has mailed 200 additional pieces in mid-January. "It's certainly opening doors for us," she said, adding that a print ad has already been created to complement the mailer.

"Before this campaign, (our prospects) were less likely to talk to us because they might not have heard of us. But with this, once they know it's 'those guys who sent me the nut,' we're hoping they'll be more receptive to taking our phone calls. The message is solid and the creative is engaging, so as long as it works for us, we'll introduce it to other vertical industries."

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by Elizabeth W. Pearce

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