Royal Mail, Great Britain: LetterScale (International Services)
Goal EasyWeigh LetterScale: creating awareness about postage and regain lost revenues.
Mr. Mike Hilder, Head of Marketing Communications for Royal Mail's international services:
In the UK Royal Mail International Services has undertaken a number of activities to heighten awareness of the consequences of incorrect postage particularly by encouraging customers to 'Check it, Don't guess it' whenever they mail abroad. In support of that message Royal Mail International Services has Innovation Affairs to thank for the development of an ingenious cardboard weighing device named the EasyWeigh LetterScale.
The EasyWeigh LetterScale designed by Innovation Affairs is easy to use, folds flat for use in direct mail packs, and provides a superb means of communicating messages about checking the weights and tariffs for both overseas and inland mail.
Mr. Hilder continues:
For Royal Mail International Services as with other postal operators incorrect payment of postage particularly international mail is a big headache particularly as it may result in delays to customers mail or a surcharge if underpaid. 'I see the EasyWeigh as ideal for targeting a social mail audience particularly as talking about postal tariffs and prices is not exactly the most exciting subject to promote. The EasyWeigh has proved extremely popular with social mail customers and spearheads our promotional activities on increasing awareness of postal tariffs to this important target audience.
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| Mailings Royal Mail distributed 300,000 EasyWeighs with postal rates information to households known, or identified through market research as being highly likely to generate international mail. The results were extreme positive (see results market research) |
Billboards The famous jockey Frankie Dettori helped launch the EasyWeigh LetterScale. |
Deutsche Post, Germany: LetterScale
CEO of Deutsche Post World Net Mr. Dr. Klaus Zumwinkel apparently likes the EasyWeigh LetterScale at first sight at Post Expo 2002 in Cologne.
Goal EasyWeigh LetterScale: create awareness about postage and provide convenience when sending mail.
The EasyWeigh LetterScale, the “consumer friendly” tool plays an important role in the private mail and the SME segment to cutting costs and improving revenues, will feature for the second time in Deutsche Post Global Mail’s campaigns.
The LetterScale helps lessening the waiting time at post offices, improves revenue protection and makes sending letters more easy. For letter mail customers it creates a better awareness about postage and it provides them service, convenience and information. The EasyWeigh enables Deutsche Post Global Mail to communicate in a unique and lasting way with their private customers.
Mrs. Amina Zuk, Marketing Private Customers Deutsche Post Global Mail:
Last years’ tests showed that our mail-users were very fond of this neat product and that is why we have decided to use EasyWeigh again. The product is an excellent tool to create better awareness about international postage and to provide our customers more convenience when sending international mail.
Deutsche Post, Germany: LetterTemplate (Stampit)
Mrs. Dina Lewicki, Service Manager PC Franking Deutsche Post:
We're currently distributing the LetterTemplate with our STAMPIT BUSINESS Starterkit package (see picture) to our business customers. If the template is folded, it fits perfectly in our software package. Since STAMPIT, the PC franking software of Deutsche Post, is a complete online solution, this template really helps our customers to easily determine the size and measurements of their national and international letters when they prepare their mail in the office or at home. Thus, the LetterTemplate helps our STAMPIT customers to frank their postal items correctly. We only had very positive feedback about our version of the LetterTemplate at all - it is highly appreciated by our customers.
Despite its practical value for determination of postage, LetterTemplate has a touch of 'clever innovation' because it can be folded away - in a somewhat unusual way - to a smaller size. Our customers have intuitively realized how to use this template - of course, this is also due to the work of our marketing agency who made the design very clear.
Moreover, Deutsche Post also gives the LetterTemplate away to potential customers at exhibitions - to us, it is as a perfect tool for marketing and communication, too.
Deutsche Post, Germany: PackageScale (Stampit)
Mrs. Dina Lewicki, Deutsche Post, responsible for marketing and international sales of STAMPIT:
Since April 2006, Deutsche Post uses the PackageScale as a give-away for its online franking solution STAMPIT. We named it "STAMPIT-Portowaage" – "STAMPIT postage scale". It consists of four weigh bows to determine the weigh level of large letters of 500 and 1.000 gram, small parcels of 2 kilo and parcels up to 5 kilo. The PackageScale as a give away fits perfectly to STAMPIT, because to frank a letter or parcel with the right postage, customer first needs to determine the weight of it him- or herself. Our scale is most suitable for consumers and online-sellers having a small or medium shipping volume.
We used the STAMPIT scale as an incentive/give-away for several customer acquisition and marketing campaigns. For instance on www.ebay.de.
We would like to thank the guys from Innovation Affairs for an always pleasant co-operation, for the very good quality of the products and adherence to delivery dates. Stay innovative - we are looking forward to further product ideas being "simple-but-smart"!
Slovak Post, Slovakia: LetterScale
Goal EasyWeigh LetterScale: promotion- and marketing tool
Mr. Jaroslav Macuda Manager of Marketing Department The Slovak Post:
I would like to express my thanks for the personal approach and flexibility of your company in fulfilling the needs of the SlovakPost in producing the LetterScale for us. The first time we have received your product as a piece of promotional material and at first sight it increased our intention to test it and use for the Slovak Post.
Now, having a LetterScale in our own design, we are very satisfied because our customers like it. It's promoting our Call Centre and increasing the image of our company. It represents small gift for customers given them during personal sales visit. The usefulness of this product, as a marketing tool, is easy to be seen as everybody uses it and therefore it is retained for longer time.
We would like to continue with our cooperation in the future and use your product as a part of some specific marketing campaigns of the Slovak Post.
DHL Germany: PackageScale
Mrs Laura Mc Auliffe from DHL Packstation Germany about the EasyWeigh PackageScale (PortoWaage):
From another department within Deutsche Post we received samples of the EasyWeigh PackageScale, the stackable package scales from Innovation Affairs. We used these scales for our bonus programme; customers collect points by using PACKSTATION and can redeem them for vouchers, gifts etc and one of these was the Portowaage.
The Portowaage has been one of the most popular gifts in the bonus programme, probably because it is practical for our customers. They can use it to weigh their packages before sending them from a PACKSTATION. Because of this we decided to purchase specially DHL PACKSTATION customized Portowaages ourselves.
US Postal Service , USA
Postmaster General Mr. John Potter is highly interested and pleasantly surprised – as you can see - by our products at the National Postal Forum in New Orleans
La Poste/ De Post (eXbo), Belgium: LetterScale
CEO of the Belgium Post Mr. Johnny Thijs is interested in our products at the Post Expo
Goal EasyWeigh LetterScale: promotion tool
In view of the liberalisation of the European mail market lowering the barrier to 100 gram, eXbo, and the Belgium Post also, wanted to inform their customers and prospects about the new rules and at the same time say welcome to the competition.
Eric Piers, Managing Director of eXbo Services added:
We wanted to do something for our business clients and since our theme is "When Innovation and Tradition meet" the innovative EasyWeigh LetterScale from Innovation Affairs seemed a good item to feature in our campaign towards our clients and prospects (because it was a perfect tool for communication and easy to send by mail). After our first meeting with Innovation Affairs we soon possessed our own, special designed eXbo model that was sent in a mail piece to many of our prospects and clients. From our customer centre we know that the response was very positive and our goal achieved: people still have this LetterScale on their desk with our logo and telephone number! All and all a useful and successful cooperation between eXbo and Innovation Affairs.
TNT Post, Netherlands: LetterScale
Goal: prevent business customers from underpayment and communicate the change of TNT Post brand colour from red into orange and to communicate the new postal rates.
In 2007 the royal TNT Post executed a campaign aimed at reducing the level of underpayment in the small- and medium size business segment with the EasyWeigh LetterScale.
In January of that year TNT Post distributed the LetterScales with the new orange TNT Post colours including new postal rates to small- and medium sized businesses.
Apart from the many positive reactions from customers (Very useful, Genius invention, A simple and moneysaving tool, Saves a trip to the post office, Very convenient with prices on scale), the level of underpayment in the target group decreased despite a rate increase in that same year. TNT Post believes that the foldable LetterScale of EasyWeigh contributed to this result.
Swiss Post, Switzerland: Starter kit
Successful campaign with free EasyWeigh starter kit for Swiss Post's WebStamp
In the summer of 2008 Swiss Post launched a new campaign to extend their WebStamp service with a free carrier pick-up of packages.
The campaign has been spearheaded by two famous Swiss artists and the possibility to order a free starter kit online, containing a foldable LetterScale, stackable PackageScales up to 6,5 kg and a LetterTemplate to determine dimensions of letters and labels for printing.
Responsible for the starter kit has been EasyWeigh, the Amsterdam based company who already made tools and starter kits for US Postal Service (Click'n'Ship), Canada Post (Ship-in-a-Click), Deutsche Post (Stampit) and Royal Mail (SmartStamp).
The feedbacks to the starter kits were consistently very positive according to Mr. Marc Hadorn, responsible for the campaign at Swiss Post.
P&T, Luxembourg: LetterScale (Division des Postes)
Goal EasyWeigh LetterScale: Promote product prepaid Postenveloppe (Le prêt-à-poster).
Mr. Robert Rosa (Marketing Manager):
During many years we had good contact with Innovation Affairs and when we planned to promote efficiently our product Postenveloppe, the prepaid envelope, the EasyWeigh LetterScale seemed an excellent tool to accompany this.
Because the prepaid envelope Postenveloppe has a weight limit of 30 gram, we have asked Innovation Affairs to produce a customized EasyWeigh LetterScale with a 30 gr. slot too. They developed this special model and now we give our customers during exhibitions and trough our Post Offices net a free EasyWeigh LetterScale. Customers respond very positive to this free gift and more important: they are using it too, so that the risk of overweight diminish considerably. We are very enthusiastic about this product.