Bother

Solution

In 2020, Bother dipped their toe into mail – testing mail, Door Drop and Partially Addressed Mail.  Despite limited experience in the channel, the results showed seeds of promise, however it was clear a more focussed acquisition strategy was needed. 

Working with print experts, Pureprint (who were already handling their offline and physical requirements), and Marketreach, a test and learn strategy was developed, with a vision to roll out nationwide if successful. Taking on board Bother’s ambitious growth objectives and challenging cost per acquisition targets, Pureprint and Marketreach recommended, as a first stage, progressing Door Drops as a scalable, targeted, and cost-effective channel to broadcast awareness and drive response.  

Marketreach’s starting point was to profile Bother’s active customer base against geo-demographics to understand which were most predictive. The data was overlaid with MOSIAC profiles and customer penetration to build a customer propensity model which identified suitable marketing sectors. Further regional analysis refined the model by delivering insights into brand engagement by urban, rural and suburban areas – from which it was recommended that Bother’s first test in October focussed initially on central London, South East and South West of the UK.

In October 2021 a bright, eye-catching Door Drop landed on the doormats of 2 million highly targeted postcodes across the UK. With a message centred on ‘ease’, it positioned Bother as a useful additional service rather than an alternative to the main supermarket shop.  An attractive ‘£25 off your first shop’ offer was included to encourage the recipient’s first shop and a QR code made downloading the app quick and easy. This hardworking A5 Door Drop delivered record-breaking sign-ups from the day it landed which is no surprise as JICMail data shows that 67% of retail Door Drops are read. They are also revisited more than 3 times and stay in home for almost 5 days.

“Prior to first Door Drop landing there was a palpable sense of nervousness and apprehension. We had very high targets that seemed almost impossible, and then you see the first few orders and refresh the dashboard and then there are 10 and then there are 100. It was exciting to watch. It also helped to validate the mission of the company - people get it and people want to use the service.” Ryan Fuller, Head of Growth, Bother

Buoyed by the success of this first campaign, Bother worked closely with Marketreach to optimise the targeting and execution of their follow up November campaign. A post campaign analysis looked at response by MOSAIC category code and identified the high performing codes. Using this insight, as well as sector density analysis and further regional analysis, the model was rebuilt to improve response. 

The Door Drop was then submitted for Eye-tracking analysis. Heat maps provided a pictorial representation of what caught people’s eyes in those crucial first few seconds. Using this insight, and sector expertise, the Marketreach consultants recommended making the headline more focused, reducing the copy, and using Trust Pilot ratings and quotes to provide confidence (vital for a new brand). 

The optimised Door Drop was tested against the control in a split test to 2 million new postcodes that had been identified using the refined targeting model. The uplift in response to the optimised version gave Bother the confidence to roll it out in the following December campaign. 

Alongside providing targeting and creative advice throughout, Pureprint were responsible for the overall project management and production of the campaign, ensuring timings were met and the Door Drop output was of the highest standard.

Finally, as this this was a new initiative, Bother benefited from Marketreach’s incentive for growth to support their test and learn approach.