Background: ConnectPay Payroll Services acquires smaller payroll businesses as part of their growth strategy. Unlike larger payroll acquirers, ConnectPay typically retains the company's staff and is invested in client retention and success.
Communication task: We wanted to send a series of mailings to ConnectPay's top acquisition targets to promote awareness that ConnectPay purchases businesses like theirs and that by selling they could alleviate some of the major headaches that accompanied post- Covid19 payroll and tax law changes.
Creative Idea: Playing on the idea of an absurdly large and scary tax notice one of their clients might receive for improperly file payroll taxes, I devised a series of cards that joined together to create a scene of a retro 3D movie "Attack of the 50 Page Tax Notice". Each mailing included a post card and a gift - candy, popcorn and 3D glasses. Building anticipation and mystery as to what the final result would be, these were each mailed in order, several days apart.
Results: Of the 50 recipients of this campaign in 2020, six of the targets had been acquired by 2022, for a total of 4.3 million in revenue. Nine more are in the proposal process as of December 2022.
CREDITS
Strategy, Copy, Layout and Design by Anne-Marie Byrd
Vector Illustrations from iStock
The first mailing was a Coming Soon / Stay Tuned teaser and contained the left hand part of the triple image, plus a packet of microwave popcorn. The red and blue image to the left of the popcorn bucket is a secret message containing our URL that can be viewed once you have the 3D glasses in the final mailing.
The second mailing a few days later included classic movie candy, and the right side piece of the postcard puzzle. The mystery continues for the recipient with questions about what 'horrifying event' will be unleashed upon the payroll industry next? This is in reference to the almost insurmountable changes and rules that came in 2020 to the payroll industry, which put a severe strain on smaller payroll businesses. We also see an allusion to a movie premier in 3D!
The third and final center panel of the puzzle arrived along with 3D glasses so that the owner of the payroll company who received this could fully appreciate the "Attack of the 50 page Tax Notice" on the screen. On the back, contact information and a QR code to scan to make an appointment were included.
