Staedtler writing implement company has launched a campaign in Australia to increase use of its products. The only domestic manufacturer of pens and pencils in the country, Staedtler faces competition from the all mighty keyboard, those pesky imports and the death of the handwritten letter. Acknowledging this, Staedtler, with help from Host, have created a campaign that leverages dependence on the keyboard for correspondence. The campaign consists of a site on which visitors can craft a handwritten message and have it mailed to a friend (in Australia) but the return address will be that of the website from which the note originated. Host hopes this spirals and causes recipients to visit the site, create their own notes and spread the campaign exponentially.
The site will also be promoted with print ads and handwritten notes placed in public places throughout Melbourne and Sydney. We’re not quite sure how continually driving people to a website to create digital notes will increase sales of physical pens and pencils but, like, whatever. It’ll be fun to watch the whole country pen-pal’ing itself.
