Dream Merchant

Dupont division asks food leaders to rethink their resumes.

To capture attention for Supro, a new soy-based food ingredient, Protein Technologies invited executives at the nation’s leading food companies to ponder their own legacies.

The company decided on direct mail as the fastest, most targeted way to tell customers that Supro was available and that the FDA was considering Protein’s application to advertise the product as a cholesterol reducer.

But the soy campaign needed a creative lift to clear the often insurmountable hurdle between secretary and ceo.

“We wanted an approach different from the typical direct mail, where usually the response rate is so low the cost/ benefit isn’t meaningful,” says Keith Parle, director of industry management for St. Louis-based Protein Technologies, a division of Dupont.

In Great Visionaries, handled by St. Louis-based Zipatoni, decision-makers at the nation’s top 25 food companies were sent leather-bound biographies of three of history’s greatest visionaries. The set was comprised of Robert Ferrell’s Harry S. Truman: A Life, Doris Rich’s Amelia Earhardt: A Biography, and Alf Mapp’s Thomas Jefferson: A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity.

The books were shipped in custom-made, four-title bookcases with one book missing. An enclosed bookmark told recipients they would soon have the chance to become visionaries in their own right. Four days later, the execs were shipped a fourth matching book embossed with their names and containing blank pages. They were challenged to fill it with stories of their own forward thinking. A personalized letter from Dupont ceo Chad Holliday accompanied a product brochure, consumer data, and info on Protein Technologies.

“We wanted to convey the message that the recipients could be great visionaries if they grasped the opportunity to increase company profits while improving people’s health around the world,” says Zipatoni president Jim Holbrook.

Food industry leaders clearly have an eye on the future. Fifty-two percent of the recipients committed to an account visit, and 29 percent more indicated interest in pursuing the opportunity, says Parle. As of last month, 13 percent of the presentations inspired the initiation of projects to investigate development of foods using Supro.

Comparing the 81 percent response rate with the less-than-10 percent results typically achieved from direct mail, Parle noted, “The results exceeded our expectations by quite a bit.”