Media agency “Media 1” wanted new clients. To get new clients they had to reach out to various CEO’s whose secretaries would screen their mail and throw out the mailings.
The challenge was to get through the secretary barrier. The insight was that the secretaries never opened letters apparently sent by the CEO himself / herself and returned as undelivered. So Media 1 sent letters to fake addresses e.g. to “H.E. Avyuser” in order to reach out to a CEO of a softdrink manufacturer.
These undeliverable letters were then returned to the alleged sender…
…found on the back of the envelope was the CEO’s name.
The enclosed letter explained how “Media 1” could reach anyone.
Out of 50 letters, they got 38 positive answers and 7 media pitch invitations.