2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Pestfree the company does just as their name says. It makes environments pest free. Business, residential, cockroaches, flies and big fat rats. This particular brief was aimed at specifically the residential market within Dubai. Expressly stated as “some kind of leaflet knock and drop” communication from client, our task was to highlight the Pestfree brand, generate enquiries and, of course, sales.

Creative Execution

Because everyone is so very squeamish when it comes to pests and particularly rodents, we knew that merely getting consumers to think about rats would illicit action. The thing with pests is that you don’t even have to see them. It is the very thought that they could be in, or near, your home that is appalling enough. If someone for example told you they saw a rat near your door, suddenly every scratchy sound within the house would be attributed to that rat. This is the human conditioning the leaflet aimed to exploit. (Maybe) got rats? Call Pestfree.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Tom & Jerry aside, most of us would run a record breaking mile when confronted by a rat or mouse. Musophobia – the fear of rats and mice – is widely regarded as one of the most common phobias. This human truth inspired our idea. We strategically wrapped these leaflets on door handles of apartments and villas in our defined target zones. The cut out rat, like that trick of the toy rubber spider surreptitiously placed on a pillow or shoulder, drew attention and a fair amount of shrieks – we were told.

Results

Introduced in January as part of a knock and drop roll out campaign, the Hanging Rat has already begun to pay dividend. With targets being staggered, client is able to correlate sales to marketing activity. The first drop in the suburb of The Lakes has proven to be largely successful with a clear spike in enquiries and business. Results from the remaining targeted suburbs (The Greens, The Meadows, Springs, Al Barsha) are not available as yet.