Unlimited Group is an independent London agency group that uses science to understand and track human behaviour better – and create effective ads.

It applied what it does to its Christmas greetings this year. Instead of the usual client Christmas cards, the agency recreated a 1970s social experiment in unsolicited direct marketing by sociologists, Phillip Kunz and Michael Woolcott.

The agency set to see if people would respond to a Christmas card from someone they didn’t know and find out how they’d do that.

In the original behavioural test, Kunz and Woolcott sent 578 Christmas cards to random strangers. The sociologists received responses from 20% of recipients in the form of a card or letter. They concluded that people were very receptive to warm, unexpected and emotive communications.

In United Group’s #giftofahello project, the agency posted 500 handmade cards, created by staff and their children, to random people across the country and invited responses online or by post.

To accompany the project, Walnut Unlimited surveyed 4,046 adults from across the UK to gauge their sentiment towards the experiment and the giving of Christmas cards more generally. This survey suggested that 45% of people would feel positive about receiving a card from a stranger.

It also found that almost one third said they would reply to a card like this – a higher proportion than the 20% that responded in the 1970s experiment.

So what happened in the real project?

So far United Group has triggered 1,300 online responses. But just one physical card, which amounts to a 0.2% response rate.

Do we only talk to each other online these days? Or are we more wary now about unsolicited contact, with fear of spam, scam or fraud lurking in every unsolicited approach?

Ryan Wain, chief marketing officer at Unlimited Group, commented “Wanting to avoid adding to the litany of cards our clients usually receive we instead invested in #giftofahello. The results – not wholly unexpected – suggest that Christmas is moving online and crucially brands need a laser sharp focus on craft in their communications.

“Lazy, boring emails will receive zero engagement – particularly at a time of the year when brands aren’t just competing with communications from competitors, but the communications consumers receive from loved ones.

“Our accompanying research shows a desire for people to receive (and respond) to Christmas cards. This is particularly true amongst young people and that’s a real opportunity for brands looking to engage at Christmas time.”

love this idea #giftofahello handmade Christmas cards from someone you’ve never met – I’d like one please! @giftofahello #special https://t.co/936p9slbwq … https://t.co/B3mt5qspAr … https://t.co/B3mt5qspAr

— Christine Hollywood (@WordWe11) November 21, 2017

This is cool! I want one #giftofahello ??‍♀️ https://t.co/cdc3rZ2ktc

— Hannah Barlow (@hannah_barlow44) November 20, 2017