Campaign Objective

Doordrop media is a crucial part of the local, regional and national media mix for Specsavers opticians. The use of multi-page door drops, produced in-house, supports brand engagement at a local, store-specific level in conjunction with national media and drives sales.

In addition to their optometry service, they are also the UK’s leading high-street audiologist, however, awareness of this Specsavers service was poor. To counter this position the retailer sought to understand more about its audience to increase its presence.

When creating the campaign and using research there was an understanding that the communication would also need to break down some of the target audiences' resistance to accepting hearing problems and wearing an aid, normalising it as an issue.

Focus groups were used to develop the communication style, to ensure that while hearing issues is both a sensitive and serious subject, humour could be established to disarm consumers and relax them into talking about hearing concerns.

Campaign Schedule and Data

Using historical audience data an intelligent insight approach was used maximised impact on the recipients and the performance of the printed channel. The customer data was modelled and regional customer profiles were to boost relevance on receipt with the target prospects.

Data from JICMAIL was used to cross-reference the data on how likely core target audiences were to be targeted with medical doordrop media, against the frequency of interaction (i.e. mail engagement. Interesting mail exposure data emerged that the target groups showed above-average interaction rates for mail receipt, solidifying the channel selection. Read more on the use of JICMAIL data, for this campaign here. 

The Creative Solution

Hearing loss can be a traumatic time for sufferers, so the message needed to quickly engage with the consumer and be relatable, allowing them to open up and consider the need and benefits.

A four-page multi-page leaflet informed prospects of Specsavers’ expert service.

The content drew on learnings from ongoing focus groups. Hearing problems were synonymous with lost youth - even though many participants felt young. This youthful humour - fitting with the retailer’s tone of voice - was established as a route to engage prospects.

The door drop took consumers on a journey to a call to action: risqué humour (plants misheard as pants); striking images; engaging family by discussing everyday problems with levity; and a “no one will ever know” approach explaining how technology has made aids smaller.

The Campaign Results 

The campaign reached 3.8 million households over a seven-week period and delivered 1,727 calls; a 32% increase from the previous year's results (2018).

The doordrop campaign results were ranked positively with Specsavers above the running TV and out of home campaigns. 

The use of the unaddressed printed door drop media channel helped to normalise hearing health, and also built long-term consideration of the service. The creative treatment had evolved from the previous campaign leaflet of eight pages to four pages, cutting print costs and still improving brand consideration by 15% and purchase intent by 10%.

The stunning campaign results were reflected in the DMA 2019 Bronze Award Win

The DMA Award Entry Campaign Team

David Bedwin, Group Account Director, Whistl - Garry Woodward, Account Manager, Whistl - Pip Queripel, Head of Marketing (Audiology), Specsavers - Dave Legge, Senior Marketing Manager, Specsavers