Let me tell you about an incredible, new product launch and what made it successful. Popular in Japan, Sun Chlorella wanted to break into the U.S. market. A Japanese entrepreneur, George Higashida could not get the product in U.S. health food stores. And the few that did carry the product did not create sales The challenge So he asked me and my team to create a campaign to:
1. Generate direct sales
2. Open up retail sales
3. Create a loyalty/continuity program for repeat sales
4. Cross-sell other nutritional products
5. Create an accountable system so the client always knew the cost per sale
The challenge was the product was unknown in American and the idea of taking algae pills was not very appealing. So we created a campaign that strategically:
• Branded the company
• Positioned the campaign
• Targeted the audience
• Identified the unique selling proposition (USP)
• Developed a powerful direct response offer
• Used direct response copy-not image art
• Tested, tested, tested-always improving results
The entire project was done so in a way that we could immediately see the cost per sale. The return on investment (ROI) was positive from the start. After the first campaign, we kept testing media and the creative, continuously growing the campaign. The successful projects we developed were: 1. Direct mail. Both traditional envelope mailings and the Magalog format. 2. Landing pages. Never market to your website – always market to a landing page. 3. Bookalog. This looks like a book, feels like a book, but is a powerful sales piece. 4. Email. 5. Banner ads.
Results 1. Over 600,000 buyers were generated from our marketing. 2. Direct mail buyers being drawn to retail stores opened up retail distribution and stores began promoting the product nationwide. 3. A systematic reordering program was created, including aggressive efforts for automatic shipments. 4. New product promotions were successfully developed – increasing profitability.
Bottom Line This successful product launch, despite intense supplement competition and no public knowledge of the product’s benefits, created a new, multi-million dollar corporation thanks to our direct response marketing strategies.
