The Dependables: Your Local Business, Amplified

Why spend £500 on advertising when you could spend £200 and reach the same households?

Secure Your Spot Learn How

It's Not Just Another Leaflet

The Dependables isn't just another leaflet through the door. It's an A4 advertising mailer that groups 8-16 complementary local businesses together, splitting the cost, multiplying the impact, and delivering something people keep.

The Problem With Traditional Advertising

(And Why Most Small Businesses Get It Wrong)

You've seen it before. A plumber drops 10,000 leaflets. A hairdresser pays £400 for a month of Facebook ads. An electrician sponsors the local football team.

The result? A response rate somewhere between 0.5% and 1% if they're lucky. Most of that money disappears into the void.

Here's what they miss: people don't keep single-business leaflets. They glance at them for three seconds and bin them. But research shows that 45% of households keep higher-value printed materials for longer.

How The Dependables Changes Everything

The Dependables works on a beautifully simple principle that David Ogilvy would have appreciated: give people something useful, and they'll keep it.

Instead of promoting just your business, we create a local services directory featuring 8-16 businesses that complement each other. When a household receives The Dependables, it's a resource — not junk.

Something worth pinning to the fridge. Something they'll reach for when the boiler breaks at 11pm, when they need a last-minute birthday trim, or when the garden's turned into a jungle.

A Resource Worth Keeping

This is what your customers receive. A professional, high-quality directory.

A mockup of The Dependables A4 mailer showing slots for multiple businesses

The Mathematics of Shared Cost Advertising

Let's talk numbers, because facts sell. By sharing the cost and creating something people keep, you reduce your cost-per-response significantly.

Traditional Solo Leaflet Drop

  • Cost: £500 (5,000 leaflets)
  • Response Rate: 0.5-1% (50-100 responses)
  • Kept for: ~17 seconds

Cost Per Response: £5 - £10

The Dependables Model

  • Cost: £200 (5,000 mailers)
  • Response Rate: 4% (200 households)
  • Kept for: ~38 days

Cost Per Response: £1

The Behavioral Science Behind Why It Works

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, built his reputation on understanding that humans are "gloriously irrational". The Dependables leverages principles of perceived value, social proof and cognitive ease to make your advertising stick.

Perceived Value Through Context

A single leaflet says: "Buy from me." The Dependables says: "Here's your local trusted services directory." Same businesses. Completely different perceived value.

Social Proof at Scale

When 8-16 businesses come together, you're not just another cold caller. You're part of a trusted collective.

Cognitive Ease

People hate making decisions. The Dependables removes friction. Need a plumber? It's right there on the page — no searching required.

Who Belongs in The Dependables?

The magic is in the complementary nature of the businesses. We don't include competitors, we include collaborators. Find your group below.

What You Get

Each group creates a complete solution ecosystem for households. When someone keeps The Dependables, they're keeping your business in their lives.

Your Professional Listing Includes:

  • Business name, logo, and brand colors
  • Description of your services (we can write this for you)
  • Contact details: phone, website, email
  • Your unique selling point highlighted
  • Optional: special offer or guarantee

The Mailer Specifications:

  • A4 size—impossible to ignore
  • High-quality print on 300gsm silk card
  • Professional design that commands attention
  • Distributed to 5,000+ local households
  • GPS-tracked distribution with proof of delivery
  • Targeted postcodes based on your service area

Yearly Booklet Bonus:

All businesses that sign up get preferred entry at a discounted price into a yearly booklet featuring all 10 Groups for the ultimate reference book that households keep year-round.

The Ogilvy Approach: Research, Test, Refine

David Ogilvy spent decades studying what makes advertising work. His conclusion was simple: "The more you tell, the more you sell". The Dependables follows that discipline.

73% of door drops are opened, read, filed, or set aside for later.

48% of consumers visit the advertised business, ask for more information, or make a purchase.

90% of campaigns that included door drops saw an increase in new customers, compared to 59% of those without.

Who The Dependables Is For:

  • You serve local customers within a defined geographic area.
  • You offer services people need regularly or in emergencies.
  • You want sustained, long-term visibility (not a one-off campaign).
  • You understand that brand-building happens through repetition.
  • You value collaboration over isolation.

Who It Isn't For:

  • You only want a quick hit (though you'll likely get one anyway).
  • You operate nationally with no local presence.
  • You prefer to spend £500 to reach the same people alone.

Investment & Commitment

Why quarterly? Because Ogilvy taught us that advertising works better the more you do it. The DMA research confirms this: repetition matters.

One-Time Campaign

£200

per business

5,000 households reached

Get Started
Recommended

Quarterly Campaigns

£750

per business, per drop

20,000 household impressions per year

Start Building Brand

The Guarantee

If The Dependables doesn't outperform your previous solo leaflet campaign on a cost-per-response basis, we'll include you in the next mailer free of charge.

Join The Dependables

Spaces are limited to 16 businesses per mailer. We never include direct competitors. Once your category is filled, it's filled.

Don't let your competitors fill your spot. To secure your place, call, email, or fill in the form and we'll send you a sample and a breakdown of your service area.

Phone 07356246487 Email david@thedependables.co.uk Website thedependables.co.uk

Request More Info

P.S. — Ogilvy's most famous principle was this: "On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy". If you've read this far, you're already ahead of the competition.