When it comes to grabbing the attention of “C-level” executives in an industry that demands environmentally sustainable practices—think big and make it personal. That’s the approach Tennant took in a direct mail campaign that needed to break through gate keepers and get opened. It was an approach that paid off.

The mission was simple: Tennant, a world leader in designing and manufacturing “solutions that help create a cleaner, healthier world”, wanted to expand sales to large retailers like Wal-Mart and Building Service Contractors (BSCs), the people who clean floors in places like hospitals, schools and office buildings. Under pressure to use environmentally sustainable practices, retailers and BSCs are the perfect markets for Tennant’s new ec-H20^TM technology. Using electrically charged water rather than chemicals, it’s environmentally friendly—important to hospitals, schools and anywhere people gather.

Small target, high impact

Tennant Associate Marketing Manager Andrea Haack says one of the keys to success was in careful list development. Key decision makers were targeted, she said. “And we were careful to validate the names on the list, including spelling.” Spelling was important because the concept included variable printing: Using Indigo digital printing, the cover of each piece was personalized with the prospect’s first name and an inside page was imprinted with contact information specific to the prospect.

It was a short list—about two hundred, so the impact had to be big. An 11 x 17 brochure that couldn’t be ignored was the answer, delivered via UPS—signature required. It urged the recipient to “Take the 30-minute challenge,” an invitation to meet and see how the prospect’s costs could be reduced and environmental practices improved.

Key features

The campaign included an outside agency and was managed by Andrea and her colleague Cristina Zintl, assisted by GLS Account Executive Karin Hill. Among the challenges was matching the layout of the contact information section with the realities of variable data—the spacing had to accommodate a wide range of names with variable character counts.

Color also required special attention. A number of test runs were undertaken to assure the press output matched the original creative. The result: excellent.

Other features of the campaign included high-impact photography of Tennant’s key executives, the real people providing Tennant’s product—an effort to further enhance the sense of a personal touch. And because of the large format, bold graphic design and limited copy, it was a piece targeted executives could take in quickly.

Printed using paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the initial mailing, handled by GLS, was followed two weeks later by mailing autographed copies of “Green Recovery,” a book by environmental expert Andrew Winston on how businesses can benefit by using environmentally sustainable practices.

And it worked—big time.

Enviable metrics

Past Tennant mailings have typically seen 5–7 percent response rates, nothing to sniff at. But this piece, Tennant’s first major foray into variable printing, yielded an astounding response of nearly 20 percent. And, over the initial nine months, the campaign was found to have contributed to approximately $2 million in new sales.

The campaign was so successful, it won a prestigious internal award, the sales team was impressed, and the company recently undertook a second effort using the same formula. In fact, Tennant is now starting to roll out sister campaigns in Europe and Latin America.

For Tennant, sound environmental practices and a large, carefully targeted and personalized mailing paid off with a truly remarkable return on investment!

To learn more about Tennant and their products, visit them at: www.tennantco.com.