Challenge: Every year, Bozell sends a holiday card to a list of roughly 550 client contacts, vendors and prospects. With so much happening in the world, I needed to figure out a way to cut through the clutter with creativity while also showcasing our capabilities. To further boost our ROI, I wanted to create something that would reach far beyond those to whom we sent the card. We'd need to make 2017’s holiday card something special; more than just a “card”.
Solution: A recent NPR/PBS Newshour/Maris poll showed that 58% of all Americans were dreading the thought of talking politics over the holidays. Leveraging this insight, we created HolidayAnswer.com, an interactive chatbot that provides real-time tension-diffusing answers to the awkward, prying and politically charged questions we all receive from relatives and loved ones, available around the clock on any device.
Everyone on our mailing list received a printed card that introduced the online tool. From there, recipients could visit the site to partake in an instant message-like conversation with run responses sure to alleviate even the most stressful situations. The chatbot understood a range of topics, from political questions centered around the president, current events and controversial topics, to more personal questions about relationships, finances and the prospect of having children. As the questions started pouring in, we increased the chatbot’s repertoire by adding even more subjects and current events based on trends.
Printed Card
HolidayAnswer.com
HolidayAnswer.com
Ability to Share Questions and Answers on Social Media
Featured in Adweek's List of "The Most Creative Farewells to the Year"
Featured in Ads of the World's Collection of "Highlighted Christmas Ads"
Featured in Ukraine's MMR Media Trends Blog
Results: HolidayAnswer.com wound up exceeding our expectations, not only from a traffic and engagement perspective, but also by the publicity it received. In just two weeks, the site had generated over three times as many sessions as there were card recipients with an average visit length of nearly three minutes and over 4,000 questions answered. With absolutely zero paid promotion, the website was picked up by not only the local news, but also by Adweek in its list of 2017’s most creative agency holiday cards and Marketing Media Review, a Ukrainian media trends publication that praised the site for its novel idea and its ability to help its audience practice English. It was also featured on Ads of the World’s multi-year collection of Highlighted Christmas Ads alongside the likes of DDB, McCann and Saatchi & Saatchi.
Agency: Bozell
Role: Creative Director
Role: Creative Director
Additional Bozell Holiday Cards
The Nifty Gifty Finder: In lieu of a traditional holiday card in 2018, we created TheNiftyGiftyFinder.com—an online gift idea generator that used five simple questions to help people narrow in on the perfect gift for those hard-to-shop-for someones. The site housed 50 unique gift ideas – some heartfelt, some amusing, but each one specifically selected by a Bozell employee. The site itself was animated throughout the entire gift-elimination process, making it a fun (and helpful) experience from start to finish.
The Great Excheeriment: For the 2019 holiday season, we launched “The Great Excheeriment,” a social experiment with sentiment. To spread cheer to our clients and friends – and multiply the holiday spirit – we sent each person on our mailing list five pre-stamped Cheer postcards, as well as instructions on how to participate in the excheeriment. They were encouraged to spread cheer by mailing the postcards to their friends, colleagues and loved ones. Upon receiving the postcards, the recipients were prompted to visit HereForCheer.com where they could track their locations. Those locations were instantly added to the Cheer Tracker map to visually record just how far and how often cheer has been spread. After tracking their cheer, visitors were then prompted to forward along Cheer GIFs – animated versions of the postcards – in order to continue spreading cheer this year. Then we’ll all sit back and watch how far the cheer spreads.
