You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that different mail packs appeal to different audiences. Some folks like a letter, some prefer an eDM, some want a brochure. And some respond to a DeWalt triple-stitched heavy-duty safety glove.

In this case our target market was a bunch of tradies from Perth.

Late last year, when AMP asked for our help to encourage tradespeople to discuss superannuation with their financial planners, we didn’t mess around with anything as conventional (or delicate) as a letter in an envelope. Instead, to communicate the importance of financial advice we sent out the left hand of a pair of made-tough work gloves.

Our insight was that tradies and financial advisers have something in common: they both offer professional advice.

Our copy went on to suggest that tradespeople see enough dodgy DIY jobs to truly understand the value of professional advice.

And the offer? By just popping in to see their financial planner our targeted tradies not only got a good bit of advice on their super but also the matching right hand glove.

As they say, if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

Mums, they’re ace aren’t they?

The things they do for their kids – kiss your bumped knee better, make your lunch, wash your dirty laundry, give your brother bail money.

And then there’s all the ferrying they do. Driving you to school, to soccer, to your friend’s for that sleepover, to swimming, to ballet…

This was the insight that led to the creative work we produced for V/Line’s Mother’s Day campaign. Encouraging Victorians to book their mum a trip to the country where she can put up her feet and relax for a change.

Of course, we also had an insight into the minds of uni-aged kids which led us to develop the poster below – now proudly displayed at the regional universities around Victoria.

PS. Mother’s Day is this Sunday (yep, THIS Sunday). So buy her something nice and maybe she’ll help you out with that laundry.

Some jobs call for all the bells and whistles – an all-singing, all-dancing pack that demands attention like a two-year old having a rolling-on-the-floor, ear-piercing hissy-fit at Safeway.

Others require a more subtle touch.

Like the simple, well-crafted letter above.

It was written when TRUenergy asked us to create a piece to let their customers know how much they’re valued. We had no offer and no real call to action. But with so much door-to-door activity among energy companies these days, we needed to convince customers to stay with TRUenergy.

So we crafted a letter and gave it a twist.

Instead of the traditional format – a long letter with a single signature – we wrote a short letter with nine signatures. One for each of the business heads who are committed to looking after TRUenergy customers.

And the response?

The mailer only went out a couple of weeks ago, but within a day, TRUenergy’s switchboard was already receiving calls from customers who’d been approached by other energy companies, giving TRUenergy the opportunity to retain these people.

Exactly the response we were hoping for.

And not a bell or whistle in sight.

Hands up if you missed the 2009 ADMA Awards in Sydney.

For all those who weren’t able to get out of the office, onto a plane, over the bridge and into the city, here’s your chance to see who won, and – more importantly – why they won.

At the ADMA Awards 2009 Showcase, Dylan Taylor, the 2009 Chair of Creative Judges, will present last year’s winning entries and give us a behind the scenes glimpse into what the judges were looking for. So while Shane ‘Kenny‘ Jacobson won’t be presenting in Melbourne, the laughs will be replaced with insights into how to win next year.

Take that, Sydneysiders!

Our eDM for the event went out a little while ago, but there’s still time to reserve your seat.

So if you’d like to see what made the grade in 2009 and network over drinks and canapes, book your tickets here and we’ll see you there.

Each year, National Pharmacies runs a promotion that’s hard to resist – an extra 5% off for members.

They already get 20% off all their purchases, so this bumps it up to a whopping 25% off pretty much everything in store.

To promote this offer to members this year, we created a self-mailer, die-cut to resemble a National Pharmacies’ bag full of goodies. After all, what could be more motivating than seeing a bag full of the items you can get a juicy discount on?

Truth be told, several of us are already champing at the bit to get our hands on that Chanel perfume….OK, that’s enough drooling, back to work.

(But if all this is tempting you to sign up as a National Pharmacies member, just click here.)

If you’re an Aussie direct marketer, you may have recently received our little pack of oats in your mailbox.

It was created to promote ADMA’s Guru Breakfasts – a series of presentations delivered by various direct marketing experts. For this morning’s kick-off breakfast, Alan ‘Dr Direct’ Rosenspan flew in from America to explain how to get more from your marketing dollar. (And, perhaps, to track down a decent cup of coffee.)

We’re pleased to report that the Guru Breakfast series is off to a very healthy start. Less than a week after the mail pack hit desks around Victoria, the event had completely sold out.

So if you managed to secure a place at the breakfast table this morning, we hope you found the presentation enlightening, the breakfast delicious and the coffee hot.

And if you missed out this time, keep an eye out for the other Guru Breakfasts ADMA will be serving up throughout the year.

It’s always exciting to get our grubby little mitts on the printed samples of our work.

And after 99 days since the University of Ballarat Program Guide first hit CUBED, the project’s designer, Ellie, and account manager, Shaina, were stoked to finally be holding the real deal. Once bribed with Laura’s pavlova, they were even happy to pose (quite unnaturally) for a blog pic. Thanks gals.

This piece is a further extension of the bigger-than-Ben-Hur Learn to Succeed campaign, which – so far – has helped increase the University’s number of first preferences by 13%.

Our latest piece for V/Line will be hitting mailboxes this week.

Designed to increase passenger numbers, the mailer encourages city folk to hop on a V/Line train and check out some of Victoria’s best regional festivals.

V/Line is a proud champion – and sponsor – of regional events. This year’s CD look-alike pack carries the line ‘Regional Victoria Has Never Sounded Better’, and showcases the Echuca-Moama Riverboats, Jazz, Food & Wine Festival, The Age Harvest Picnic at Hanging Rock, Queen – The Unseen Archive at the Gallery of Ballarat and the Jindi Cheese Harvest of Gippsland.

So if you’re into riverboats, jazz, food, wine, picnics, hanging rocks, Queen, cheese or you’re just a train nut, get in touch with V/Line and book your next escape.

The results are in for the University of Ballarat’s Information Day campaign, and everybody’s pretty chuffed about them.

The campaign included television and radio commercials, press advertisements, a dedicated microsite and direct mail. And it garnered the sort of results that uni students dream of.

As the University’s Director of Student Services, Valerie Runyan, said:

“Students came from Ballarat and as far away as Gippsland, Echuca, Horsham, Geelong, Bendigo  and from the suburbs of Melbourne, Cranbourne, Ringwood, Deer Park and Melton to name just a few. The weather was amazing to say the least, I do not think it could rain any harder!”

In spite of the type of weather that makes you start thinking about swapping your car for an ark, the number of attendees increased by a whopping 11,000% (nope, that’s not a typo) compared to last year’s event.

So congratulations to all involved on the very appropriate outcome for a campaign titled ‘Learn to Succeed’.

It’s going to be a scorcher today. Not just hot – ice-cream-melting, shirt-sticking, proper revolting hot. The type of weather that leads to a total fire ban.

Speaking of fire bans, now’s the perfect day to check your smoke alarm.

It’s a reminder we recently made on TRUenergy’s behalf with a series of small space ads and it’s easy to do (checking the alarm, not writing the ads).

Besides, you’re probably stuck inside trying to hide from the heat anyway. So grab a chair, hop up and press the test button on your smoke alarm.

Easy, huh?