Royal Mail

‘Lord of the Rings’ stamp bonanza

The brief
Royal Mail wanted to halt the decline in the sale of first-class stamps in the run up to Christmas and launch a campaign that would change the behaviour of the stamp buying public during the critical months of November and December. Rufus Leonard worked on the online campaign alongside the campaign’s film producers and Royal Mail’s other agencies to design, write and build a co-branded LOTR/Royal Mail website and email marketing campaign. For this we developed a media strategy and timing plan and created a series of integrated communications that would work in the outside environment, on branded lorries, and in different interactive and print formats, including game cards - with the promise of a £1million prize.

Our Approach
The campaign focused on a £1million ring, hidden in a set of first class stamps. We devised in-store activities, a franking message and a full internal communications strategy – as well as banner ads for royalmail.com and yahoo.com, which directed users to the campaign site, and an email for 40,000 Royal Mail registered users.

The Flash-animated site featured exclusive film content and other downloadable interactive features. Royal Mail’s shop was incorporated within the site to encourage online stamp sales, as was a revenue-generating ‘last post date’ SMS reminder service. The site also offered an online ticketing facility.
 
The value
As the only official LOTR website for the UK, the site had a captive audience and was a powerful magnet for film fans and consumers in pursuit of the £1million prize. The site launched in October 2002, driving first-class stamp revenues up £9 million. The Yahoo ads received more than 600,000 page impressions and more than 18,000 direct hits. By Christmas, 49% of all UK stamp purchases were first-class, compared with 43% in the previous year. The tradition of downtrading on Christmas stamps was fell by two thirds. An internal competition received 15,000 entries, and follow up research revealed that Royal Mail brand awareness has risen dramatically.

Awards
New Media Age
- The Royal Mail ‘Lord of the Rings’ £1m Christmas stamp promotion - Best use of multiple channels category - commendation.