Royal Mail is trying to stir up seasonal goodwill in commerce with
its pre-Christmas campaign through Bates Dorland, which breaks
nationally this week.
The TV work, supported by outdoor advertising and direct marketing,
encourages businesses to send Christmas cards, a practice which, it
claims, should help cultivate better relationships between businesses
and their clients.
According to Royal Mail, research shows that 53 per cent of small and
medium-sized firms send Christmas cards to business contacts.
Charles Darley, director of business marketing at Royal Mail, said: ’We
want to drive home the message that businesses can benefit by sending
Christmas cards.’
He added: ’A memorable card will improve relationships with clients and
suppliers, and can even build new business.’
The campaign follows on from Royal Mail’s October TV burst, extolling
the virtues of thank-you letters in business. The new ad will run until
the end of the month.
The 20-second film, which appears on ITV, Channels 4 and 5 and satellite
TV, shows two female office workers pouring over a Christmas card sent
by a hunky electrician who had repaired the office electrical system the
previous month.
As they remember him, the Christmas tree lights in the background
flicker before the office is thrown into complete darkness.
This prompts one of the women to quip, ’Oh well, we’ve got an excuse to
call him now’ before collapsing into giggles. The tagline is: ’In
business everyone responds to a card.’
The ad was written by Suzie Warren and art directed by Georg Thesmann at
Dorlands, and directed by Steve Reeves at Brave Films. Media buying is
by MediaVest.
