How Nufarm Received 60 Leads through PURLs

Marty Thomas,

newfarm personalized urls

Nufarm, a Chicago area company, is a manufacturer of crop protection products.  In the summer of 2010 they had just launched a new product the revolutionized the way for farmers to fight fungi and other pests.  Being that winter was only a couple of months away, Nufarm needed to get the world out fast.

So what did they do?  They used Personalized URLs!

Nufarm developed it’s “Treat the Seed Right” campaign that used Personalized URLs (PURLs).  The goal of the campaign was to identify those willing to meet with a sales representative, and ultimately generate sales.

A 4″x6″ Postcard was sent to 1,500 prospects acquired from trade journals and farm dealers. The postcards used variable data print to include the name and contact information for the Nufarm salespeson for that area. The card also included the recipient’s name, his/her Personalized URL and a $50 gift card offer.

Recipients that visited their PURL received a Nufarm hat.  They were also greeted with a brief video featuring Nufarm and directed to a survey page that asked a few questions.

“We were trying to take advantage of the ‘personability’ of direct mail and the PURL to get a response,” said Brian Rund – Nufarm’s director of branding and marketing services.

Those that didn’t respond to the first mailing were sent a second, then third postcard.

The Results
  • 6% of the 1,500 prospects visited their Personalized URL
  • 4.5% answered the survey questions
  • 60 people agreed to meet with a sales representative

Great job Nufarm on a tremendously executed PURL Campaign!

 

    • Josh Lindsay

      Great post Martin.
      It would be interesting to know what the response rate was to the second and third postcard. Did the PURL site or offer change for them?

    • Martin Thomas

      The case study didn’t mention the exact response rate for the second and third postcards. But it did say this…

      “In all, Nufarm mailed out three sets of postcards between July 5 and August 31. The second and third mailings were reminders for the non-responders.

      The mailings got smaller with each successive wave. The second postcard carried a message that addressed the recipient by name and added “Your seed is waiting.” The third told the recipient that the opportunity “won’t last.”

      “People who participated in rounds two and three probably wanted to participate after the first direct mail card but needed a reminder,” says Sherry Mitchell, marketing director of Laser Image Printing & Marketing, a Durham, N.C.–based printing and marketing company that handled the campaign’s microsite design as well as printing and mailing. “This is typical for direct mail campaigns: the second and third mailings are reminders.”