'The Deceased Mail Funeral' wins best public relations campaign for Mortascreen

Mortascreen is a rapidly growing consumer database of over seven million deceased individuals - 50,000 new records are added every month. Brands use its Deceased Preference Service database to update their own consumer databases.

Challenge
The aim was to raise awareness of the database, increase consumer registrations online by 25 per cent and sell at least eight new licenses. To do this, it needed to devise a PR strategy that would appeal to national, trade, broadcast and online media. The target audience for the campaign ranged from marketing directors to database managers, ad agencies, journalists and MPs. Due to the sensitive nature of the subject, any media stunt needed to be compelling whilst being careful not to cause offence to the public.

Solution
A high profile visual stunt was created around London's Westminster Bridge and Parliament Square - an area noted for its national and political appeal. A traditional horse drawn funeral procession, complete with four walking mourners, made a return journey between the two landmarks, coming to rest behind the London Eye. The cortège contained a coffin filled with the amount of direct mail Londoners receive in one day addressed to deceased loved ones. The Metropolitan Police even halted traffic for the cortège.