Prolific direct marketer switches from promotional to emotional to showcase its range of marketing products for micro businesses
London, 29th May 2015: Vistaprint, the leading e-commerce brand serving micro business owners with Do it Yourself marketing materials, is launching a new TV advert in the UK this summer. The spot is part of an ongoing, multi-million pound global campaign which aims to significantly shift brand perception and connect emotionally with Vistaprint’s core micro business customer base. Following a successful track record in direct response advertising, the new ad signals a fresh, brand-forward direction in the company’s marketing strategy and is its first to not include any promotional offers.
Directed by international award-winner, Greg Gray, “The Postcard” tells the touching story of an independent bakery over fifteen years and the crucial part it plays in the relationship between the owner and his son. Throughout the spot, Vistaprint marketing products work as a plot device, driving the narrative whilst showing how the business is evolving over time. The final tagline, “Everything you create matters,” communicates Vistaprint’s emphasis on providing professional quality products that micro businesses at any stage can use to market themselves with pride.
Don LeBlanc, Vistaprint CMO, comments, “This spot is intended to position our brand in a different light and serve as a new way for us to communicate, as we strive to become a more customer-centric organisation. We serve millions of UK micro business owners every year, so we are really excited to see how our customers react to what is a very different style of advertising from what they have traditionally seen from Vistaprint.
“In the past three years we have invested significantly in making positive improvements across the board with product quality and range, technology, customer service, site experience, marketing and pricing. We now have a solid platform to do really great brand work that complements the direct marketing strategies that have proven so successful for us in the past.”
The creative was developed in-house by Vistaprint’s internal agency of over 120 employees working from locations in the US, Europe and Tunisia. The 30 and 60-second versions of the spot will air on multi-channel TV networks over 15,000 times in June. A full three-minute version, where the complete story is revealed, is available to view on the Vistaprint UK YouTube channel. Media buying is being coordinated by Mediacom.
Liam Shannon, Executive Creative Director, Vistaprint, adds, “Around three quarters of UK micro business owners are sole traders with no employees. By their nature, each of those businesses are highly individual and in many cases deeply personal. We see evidence of this every day through the marketing products they buy and the stories they share with us.
“The challenge was to try to capture the emotional and personal essence of being a business owner in a way that would universally resonate with a wide spectrum of businesses across multiple countries, whilst showing how our products play a subtle but important part in their lives.”
The TV campaign will be supported throughout June by Vistaprint social media platforms and PR. Further localised versions of the spot are set to roll out in Europe later in the year. Vistaprint will continue to air its previously successful testimonial-based commercials throughout 2015.
