Division B - Printed Tools of Public Relations
Category 14 - Other
Advantage Hunter CD Brochure
Mark Kellum, Scott Saylor, & Wanda Kenton Smith
Award of Distinction
Research/Situation Analysis:
Hunter Marine, with world headquarters in Alachua, FL, is a premier
builder of recreational sailboats and is a highly respected brand
within the global Luhrs Marine Group. As a long-time client of Kenton
Smith Advertising & Public Relations, Hunter Marine had customarily
showcased its line of sailboats in two glossy, 48-page,
coffee-book-style catalogs. Hunter Marine asked KSA&PR to reduce
burdensome printing and postal costs of publishing these upscale
catalogs, but still produce an attention-getting vehicle that would
break through the clutter to reach their target audiences. Hunter
Marine also wanted to develop a secondary show flier that could be
produced economically and distributed more generously at boat shows
nationwide to “hull thumpers,” i.e., interested sailboat prospects that
weren’t quite ready to buy. Hunter dealers were guarded about widely
distributing the expensive collateral catalogs; they told Hunter
marketing executives that they wanted two separate pieces: 1) an
impressive brochure tailored and targeted to the more qualified,
serious boat buyer that was less expensive than the previous two
coffee-book style brochures, and 2) an economical, yet attractive sales
flier for the less serious prospect. At the same time, Hunter also
wanted to significantly reduce its cost per collateral from its most
recent $5 per 48-page catalog to something far more economical. Hunter
marketing executives communicated their desire to bring printing costs
down by a minimum of 25 percent—while not compromising on the quality
of the final piece that would showcase the company’s leading-edge
technological advancements and designs. KSA&PR’s creative team
developed innovative design strategies and concepts that met the
client’s criteria: there would be two category-specific brochures. They
would be reduced in size. The primary collateral for the serious buyer
would incorporate all the information, stunning photos and technical
statistics on an Interactive CD packaged within the brochure. The CD
would include spectacular running footage of select models along with
Internet links to the Hunter Marine dealer locator. The KSA&PR team
also strategically categorized Hunter Marine’s sailboats into three
easy-to-access product lines, all under the “Advantage Hunter” company
headline: Yachts, Cruisers and Trailerable boats. Each of these product
lines would carry a small dedicated print brochure within a customized
flap. A second flier for less-serious prospects would follow the same
layout and design but would not incorporate the CD or flaps. It would
be designed at the same size as the original, but exclusively feature
product specifications and photographs. The overall look and design of
the collateral would brand with the current advertising campaign to
strengthen Hunter’s position in the marketplace.
Objectives: The three project objectives for the
Advantage Hunter CD Brochure were as follows: 1) To reduce by at least
25 percent the printing costs of Hunter’s traditional 48-page
coffee-table catalogs, which normally were produced at a cost of $5 per
copy; 2) To develop and execute a concept for an innovative alternative
to the catalogs that would work in both print and web-based formats for
the 2007 model year that would gain broad acceptance from both
customers and Hunter dealers for use in boat shows and dealerships; 3)
To produce a second, inexpensive flier for the general prospect pool
for the 2007 model year.
Implementation: After creative brainstorming
sessions, the KSA&PR account team decided to do something that had
never been done in the U.S. sailboat industry: produce the first-ever
combination CD/brochure. They decided to dramatically cut from a 9” x
12” coffee-book style to a 5” x 8” brochure that opened
up into four
panels. The opening panels featured the Advantage Hunter CD packed with
great features normally found in the large-format catalog; informative
copy; breathtaking exterior and interior photos of all of Hunter’s
latest line of yachts, cruisers and trailerables. PLUS: the CD
contained more appealing features for sailors that went far beyond the
norm, by including exciting video footage of the Hunter sailboats on
the water, and interactive website links enabling boaters to easily
locate a Hunter dealer near them. Three other brochure panels were
labeled; Yachts, Cruisers and Trailerables. Each panel pocket featured
a mini-brochure for a quick-read synopsis of the features of each line
of boats, with alluring photography of the sailboats in action and the
key photos of interior living spaces and sleeping accommodations,
all-important considerations to boat buyers. The breakthrough design
effectively maximizes space to “Advantage Hunter.” When the
mini-brochures are removed, a reader can view exteriors shots of
Hunter’s latest lines of sailboats, plus find key sailboat
specifications. KSA&PR also met Hunter’s objective to create a
sales flier that could be economically distributed at boat shows to
less serious buyers by using the same design without flaps and simply
incorporating specifications and photography into the final design.
Evaluation: The Advantage Hunter CD Brochure met
its three project objectives as follows: 1) The Hunter Marine CD
Brochure was produced at a per-publication cost of $2.59, nearly 50%
less than the cost of the expensive $5 per copy coffee-table style
Hunter Marine catalog previously used. 2) The secondary, boat show
flyer, devised by creating a simpler version of the original creative
without the CD and without the flaps met its goal by minimizing
creative costs and print costs, as the job ran on press at the same
time. 3 ) The Advantage Hunter CD Brochure succeeded with both Hunter
dealers and customers; Hunter Marine initially ordered a run of 5,000
CD brochures in October of 2006. Dealer demand and customer requests
led to three separate re-orders to date, for a total of 20,000 brochure
CD copies and 50,000 CDs. Hunter Marine Sales and Marketing Director
John Peterson said on March 15, “Not only did this achieve our
objective to reduce costs and create a breakthrough design that
resulted in a great deal of buzz within our industry and among our
customers, but we found that the CD actually boosted our search engine
placement.” He confirmed that Internet research indicates that Hunter
Marine “has bumped up 25% in the (search engine) rankings in the past
several months since the CD distribution began. Our customers are using
the CD and their linkage to our website has been noted through search
engine placement.” Hunter Marine has yielded “the highest search engine
ranking utilizing sailing keywords, all without any pay per click or
other online advertising” of all sailboat manufacturers, a fact
Peterson directly attributed to the recent successful distribution of
the Advantage Hunter CD brochure.
Budget: $51,895 for agency creative design and
copywriting fees, and this fee includes the photography shoot for
20,000 Advantage Hunter CD brochures. The per-publication cost was
$2.59 per Hunter Marine CD brochure, nearly 50% less than the
traditional coffee-table catalog, which cost $5 per publication to
produce. The cost was $12,900 for an additional 30, 000 copies of the
CD, including replication and design fees. Dealers have also enjoyed
the ability to distribute the Hunter Marine CDs alone at a cost of a
mere 43 cents each.