Our solution was to give the CIO a ‘cheat sheet’ for their big meeting with the CFO … disguised as a mug. On the back, only visible to the CIO, was a ‘script’ with the key benefits in brief. It was a fun, simple sales tool that could also become a conversation piece around the office. Our goal was for companies to request a presentation; our objective was 1-2% response. Closing the deal was then up to the sales team. Just one sale would eclipse the entire cost of the campaign.

Optus is Australia’s second largest telcommunications company. Their Business division sells high-end tech solutions to large corporates. For this brief, we were selling virtualisation, which allows companies to use fewer servers, saving space and reducing cost. Our brief was to invite prospects, mostly IT Managers and Chief Information Officers (CIOs), to receive a tailored presentation on virtualisation for their company. Research showed us that these ‘tech-heads’ knew about virtualisation, but often had trouble selling it to others within the organisation – particularly the finance guys (CFOs). Our strategy was to help them do that.

Like most high end solutions, the sales cycle for virtualisation is long. But already we’ve had 48 requests for assessments – a healthy 4.4% response for an expensive, complex product. The sales teams are now busy setting up appointments, following up on the leads we’ve generated. While it’s still too early to get concrete ROI, already projected annualised revenue from one proposal is $60,000 – enough to cover the entire $40,000 campaign budget. And that’s with 15 more leads still to confirm.

Most DM for IT is dull: heavy on jargon, light on insight. But we believe our creative was based on a real truth: the target didn’t lack knowledge, they lacked the skill to sell to non-technical people. The piece avoided jargon, simplifying a complex solution into its key benefits. It would also, of course, create conversation around the office. The strength of the idea isn’t in the mug itself, it’s in its use as a humorous, covert sales tool. The idea even ties in the Optus brand’s use of the word ‘yes’ to subliminally persuade the CFO.