Post Office needs to connect to community

Post Office

The government service has been reviewing its direct marketing and branding business since February and opted to retain DraftFCB to handle the £15m account earlier this week.

As part of the four-year contract, DraftFCB will now have to “develop and exploit the Post Office’s consumer database to optimise customer value… as the Post Office attempts to migrate the business from product focus to becoming customer centric.”

Branding experts say that to achieve this, the agency must focus on the brand’s rich local heritage.

Chris Allinson, project director on the brand development team at Added Value, says: “Despite some negative vibes like local closures and the effects of recent postal strikes, the Post Office has a rich local heritage and is something consumers are proud of.

“The brand is iconic and it must not forget this in its bid to relate to its customers better. The product approach left it feeling a little too similar to financial services, which can do without one-to-one contact in some circumstances. If it wants to retain its sense of pride, it must associate with its customers much more than this.”

Daniel Dumoulin, co-founder and director of Sundance, adds: “The brand has to stay close to its roots of a one-to-one service business that knows its customers extremely well. Moving from just focusing on new products will help maintain that emotive sentiment the iconic brand relies on and help it move with the demands of the 21st century.”

Royal Mail declined to comment at the time of going to press.

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