GOLD

Client: GlobeinvestorGOLD.com, Toronto

Campaign: Direct Mail Acquisition Program

Agency: One Company, Toronto

Creative Director: Jim Ranscombe

Copywriter: Irfan Khan

Art Director: Andrew Taylor

In December 2001, Bell Globemedia Interactive launched a new high-end financial Web site, GlobeinvestorGOLD.com, which would be one of the first Canadian financial sites to adopt a monthly subscription fee. The challenge was to convince people to pay $9.95 a month to use the service when there were excellent free financial sites available. However, research showed that although Canadians are heavy users of online investment services, because the majority of those sites are owned by financial institutions, investors didn’t necessarily perceive them as independent or reliable sources of information.

The execution was a one-piece self-mailer, targeting the active online trader, primarily male 35+ and those who have a propensity to pay for online service. (The lists purchased were from financial newsletters for which the investors had paid.) The front cover was designed to communicate the benefit associated with subscribing to the service. The inside was designed to show the functional benefit of subscription, highlighting GlobeinvestorGOLD.com’s investment tools (such as portfolio tracker, charting, buy-sell recommendations, real-time quotes, stock alerts) and exclusive insights. It also provided a strong call to action: ‘Visit today for a 30-day free trial.’ The theme of independent, exclusive and trustworthy information was present throughout, with an emphasis on the notion that ‘it pays to be informed.’ The DM campaign was supported by TV, print – consumer and trade – and radio.

The campaign, which aimed to induce trial, exceeded objectives with a 5.33% response, and succeeded in attracting much higher qualified candidates to the site.

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