There’s nothing we enjoy more than getting our clients the results they want – and deserve. Which is why we’re delighted to announce that Halfords, Britain’s leading car product retailer, will be including Bitrex in their own brand of winter car care products as of this year.
Bitrex, produced by our client Macfarlan Smith, is the world’s most bitter substance. Just a tiny amount added to everyday household or car care products will make them extremely unpalatable, thus helping prevent young children from accidentally swallowing the harmful chemicals they contain.
Here in the UK, our newly severe winters mean that the market for screen-wash and antifreeze products is growing substantially. Earlier this year, Bitrex identified an opportunity to ensure these products would be safe if they fell into the wrong hands. But there was a challenge: without a big budget, how could they get the attention of the large retailers’ key decision makers?
Cue Family.
We knew the target audience consisted of extremely busy individuals who are targeted by numerous pieces of communication every day. We knew they would only take time to consider something that engaged them and demonstrated a clear tangible benefit to the sales, profit margins or brand image of their organisation. The successful strategy to target these people would be one of personalised, one-to-one communication. And it had to be something more interesting than a traditional letter and corporate brochure.
The result? A child’s pink picnic basket containing a little china tea set – but in place of the teapot was a bottle of screen-wash. This display of childhood innocence with a worrying twist was sure to cause recipients to consider how their bright and sweet-smelling liquids might be viewed by a young child, and to realise the importance of adding extra protection against accidental ingestion. The baskets asked retailers, “What happens if your Winter Car Care Range falls into the wrong hands?”, and directly challenged them to consider whether their products are “as safe as they could be”.
The hand-delivered basket mailing also allowed recipients to taste Bitrex for themselves with a taste test kit, and an informative leaflet told of the Bitrex ingredient brand offering and the potential it has to increase product sales.
It’s still relatively early days for results, but the results so far have been fantastic. Delivering a return on investment of 28:1, the mailing opened doors to approximately 85% of the UK car care retail market. Meetings have taken place with several leading retailers and manufacturers, and in addition to the Halfords range it looks as though Bitrex will be appearing on the shelves in a range of guises this winter. Congratulations, Bitrex!