The headline relates to dark, miserable winter nights and offers solace in warm, hearty food. It also tells me (small type inside a speech bubble) that it contains money-off vouchers worth £5. Inside are a couple of tasty recipes, the money-off coupons and a small push for Sainsbury's credit card. It's fine, but the credit card push and even the coupons seem a bit 'tagged on'. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the illustrated characters. I know they've been around for a while and serve as a device to carry certain messages, but crude illustration on photography is a clash of styles.
Next, a one-piece Christmas mailer for House of Fraser (4) - an invitation to a 20-per-cent-off event with a push to entice existing customers to switch to the store's new MasterCard. It's neither creative nor particularly well designed, but the offer is probably good enough to receive a sufficient response.
The email for M&S (5), sent to existing account holders, is clean, well structured and consistent with the online M&S brand. That said, there is no real idea and it isn't very single-minded. There is almost an entire website's content in this email, which dilutes the message and targeting.
The mailing for Tesco Wine Club (3) is a good, traditional mail pack: a letter with a voucher attached, a brochure and an additional offer flyer. There's an offer not just on every page in the brochure, but on every piece of paper in the pack.
The brochure has useful copy on the wines and their regions. I can also see what I'm getting, how much I'll save and how to get it. My main problem, however, is that the art direction looks 20 years old.
Targeting fashion-conscious young women, The Carphone Warehouse (2) tries to switch customers from pre-pay to pay-monthly with some relevant phone and tariff offers. I'm not the target audience, but I can see the appeal. It lets you match the phone's designs to your particular style - party animal, culture vulture, etc. It's relevant and simple and would be the pick of the day if it weren't for a delightful mailing for John Lewis (6).
This one's outer headline says 'Deliciously John Lewis' over a close-up, overhead photo of a cake covered in icing. The letter is well written and the offer is relevant (a free reuseable bag and the chance to win a £1,000 shopping spree). The photography style and headlines make connections with the basement foodhall and store offerings on other floors. It's a simple, well-executed idea that works. I'm off to check out the new foodhall.
Shaun Moran, Creative director at LIDA
Send samples of work in any medium, along with a print-quality scan to: Sarah Johnson, senior reporter, Marketing Direct, 174 Hammersmith Road, London W6 7JP
1. SAINSBURY'S
Objective: To deliver personalised coupons and inspire the customer to
'Try something new' in the winter months
Target audience: Current Nectar card holders
Client: Sainsbury's
Agency: TMW
Art director: George Bell
Copywriter: Tom Harman
Designer: Richard Shepherd
Medium: Direct mail
2. THE CARPHONE WAREHOUSE
Objective: To target fashion-conscious young women with relevant offers
to encourage them, as existing pre-pay customers, to take a pay-monthly
contract deal
Target audience: Fashion-conscious females who have bought a pre-pay
phone. Customers who have bought a fashion handset in the past four to
18 months. Client The Carphone Warehouse Agency WDMP Art director Laura
Bridgford
Copywriter: Laura Goodwin
Medium: Direct mail
3. TESCO WINE CLUB
Objective: To educate and enthuse customers about Tesco wines in order
to grow loyalty to Tesco and drive incremental spend Target audience
550,000 Wine Club members who purchase wine in-store or at Tesco.com
Client: Tesco
Agency: EHS Brann
Creative director: Nigel Clifton
Medium: Direct mail
4. HOUSE OF FRASER
Objective: To relaunch the Recognition Reward Programme and generate
openings of credit card accounts
Target audience: Current storecard holders and all shoppers at House of
Fraser
Client: House of Fraser
Agency: Stephens Francis Whitson
Art director: Simon Panton
Copywriter: Terence Bly
Media: Posters, POS, direct mail
5. MARKS & SPENCER
Objective: To boost sales and increase awareness of online shopping, in
particular M&S's 'Holiday' offer. To drive traffic to the Plan A website
Target audience: Existing female customers
Client: M&S
Agency: LBi
Creative: Tom Sheahan
Copywriter: Internal contractor
Medium: Email
6. JOHN LEWIS
Objective: To raise awareness of the launch of the new food hall at the
newly refurbished Oxford Street branch. To drive customers in-store,
where they can collect a free shopping bag and enter a prize draw to win
a £1,000 shopping spree
Target audience: Current and prospective John Lewis customers
Client: John Lewis
Agency: Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw
Art director: Jamie Tierney
Copywriter: James Vigar
Media: Direct mail and door-drops