Sky
Background
The Sky Winback programme is an on-going programme aimed at getting lapsed customers to return to Sky.
In 2020/2021 Sky broke away from their traditional letter and envelope ‘business as usual’ mailings to test highly creative, disruptive pack mailings. These were hugely successful in recruiting lapsed customers back to Sky.
In late 2021/2022, working with their print partner The Lettershop Group, Sky set out to build on this successful formula - combining great creative with specialist print and finishing and the proven medium of targeted addressed direct mail – to win more customers back. The purpose was to create challenger ‘disruptive’ mail packs, that would be mailed alongside existing ‘business as usual’ mailing campaigns, as part of the Winback activity.
The brief was to create new formats that were both cost-effective and eye catching; they needed to stand-out on the doormat and encourage customers to engage with them.
Solution
Sky and Lettershop merged their creativity and print expertise to develop six highly impactful, interactive mailings that would seduce even the most resistant ex-Sky customer into opening them.
The first mailing - themed around Halloween – was a pumpkin shaped pack that used a combination of shaped die cutting and a peel-and-reveal mechanic that exposed a trick or treat message beneath.
The second - a Christmas cracker - was timed to land on lapsed customers’ doormats during the run up to Christmas. The addition of perforations meant that a sharp tug at each end revealed a seasonal offer message inside.
The third campaign ran early in 2022 and tied in with the launch of Sky’s new streaming TV, Sky Glass. It utilised the show-stopping assets from the main launch to create a disruptive pop-up TV within a 4-page mailer. A water-based hi-gloss spot UV was used to highlight the ‘all-in-one-TV’ image – truly driving this message home. The piece was designed to maximise impact but kept within the constraints of Mailmark standard letter postage.
The Queen’s Jubilee presented the opportunity to theme the fourth new format – designed to look like an invitation to a Royal Garden Party. A small, prestigious looking envelope was created. On the front was simple, elegant text with an authentically regal-looking font. To ‘seal’ the Royal theme, the envelope was embossed with a regal-looking ‘stamp’. Once opened, the lapsed customer was ‘invited’ to return to Sky with a similarly regal-themed invitation card.
The fifth campaign promoted the popular new Sky Glass: the streaming TV that doesn’t need a dish or box to operate. It was this feature that inspired a highly interactive pack featuring a shaped double zipper perforation, designed to look like TV wires. When peeled, the wires revealed the message that ‘with Sky Glass there are no messy wires'.
The final pack in the series was based on the time critical Games of Thrones launch. The simple format used imagery that integrated with the high-profile media campaign around the launch. To add dimension and fully portray the richness and depth of the new series, Lettershop incorporated a textured varnish on the envelope and within the pack. Tactile and vibrant the pack whetted customers’ appetites for what was in store if they returned to Sky.
Results
The 6 disruptive packs were effective in disrupting lapsed customers’ inertia and getting them to return to Sky.
At a whopping 20-40% above both forecast and/or BAU results, these interactive campaigns smashed expectations and got lapsed customers interacting with Sky again!
Source: SMP Award Winner 2022
