What My Lunchbox Says About Me

I am an avid online shopper. I love to buy books, clothing and home decor online. I even bought my car on eBay! I like getting emails from retailers and I actually like getting catalogs as well. It's fun to flip through the catalogs and imagine what the products might look like in my home.

 

Generally I get catalogs from companies like Pottery Barn and J. Jill and Garnet Hill. But recently the catalogs landing in my mailbox have changed. Now I'm getting Growing Up With Garnet Hill and Hannah Andersson and other kid-product catalogs. And I have an idea of why. I think it can be traced back to my lunchbox. Several months ago, while making a purchase at Garnet Hill, I saw that kid's insulated lunchboxes were on clearance, and since I didn't have one to use for bringing my lunch to work, I bought one.

 

It seems pretty likely that Garnet Hill identified me as someone who purchased from their children's line, added me to their children's catalog list, and then sold that list to other retailers looking for customers for their kid's items. Unfortunately, those retailers won't really get their money's worth, since I'm not really a buyer of kid's things, this was just a one-time anomaly.

 

You see this in email marketing as well, especially around holidays. If I buy my brother a Red Sox cap for Christmas, suddenly I'm getting offers targeted to Red Sox fans. It's a good strategy, to look at purchase data and use that to increase the relevance of your marketing messages. However, it needs to be implemented correctly. Just as an abandoned shopping cart trigger should only deploy once every 30 days or so, one purchase does not make a pattern. On the other hand, if I buy Red Sox gear every Christmas, that would be an opportunity to target me for a gift-themed email featuring the latest Red Sox collectibles on Black Friday.

 

I'd love to hear how you handled the challenge of analyzing purchase data and implementing a targeted messaging plan for your email subscribers.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

 

Returns & Exchanges: Shop or Play?

I received a site re-launch campaign from Kate Spade in my Inbox a couple weeks back.  At first glance, I thought it was another retailer using their new site to manufacture a Moment of Engagement, or MOE.  The sight of this MOE would make any e-Dialoger proud as we are always talking to our clients about the importance of screaming web site overhauls from the rooftops.  It’s the perfect time to generate a renewed buzz about the brand and encourage customers to explore the site, hopefully resulting in a purchase.

 

 

When I clicked through to the new katespade.com, however, I was presented with one question: “Shop or Play?”  Upon choosing shop, it looked much like the Kate Spade e-commerce site that I peruse on a regular basis.  But, when I opted to play, I was presented with a wealth of information on Kate Spade, the brand.  This included everything from videos, to a blog, to philanthropic partnerships.  I wasn’t stunned by the fact that Kate Spade had all of these important brand building elements, but that they made them just as much of a focus on their site as they did the web store.  Usually, retailers only devote an email badge or a single web page to these important aspects of their brand, but Kate Spade realized their value and gave them prominent real estate. 

 

The new katespade.com is not just a virtual store front anymore.  It’s a place where you can immerse yourself in the brand and if you just so happen to pick up that cute green purse you’ve been eyeing on the way out, then so be it.  So I ask you one question – would you rather shop or play?

 

Elisa Kleniewski, senior account manager, e-Dialog

 

When It's Time to Get Personal

Most of the emails I receive are promotional or transactional. I rarely use email for personal notes-my friends have moved over to Facebook Messages or texts. So when I do get a "personal" message from a brand it catches my attention. I wanted to share a couple of recent examples to see when it might be the right time to get personal with your subscribers.

 

When I got a message from Simon Cowell, I thought "he must have heard how talented I am!" And I was kind of right! It was an invitation to audition for The X Factor, his new show. It was really informative, gave dates and locations for auditions, and tips for what they want to see.

 

 

I also got a "personal" email from the publisher of The New York Times announcing their new paywall plan. The email was all text and was quite long, but I think it needed to be to address all the changes. I felt it described why and how the change was happening and what it would mean for home delivery subscribers, and non subscribers, and alerted me to the fact that I will receive an email on March 28th with a special offer.

 

 

There's been discussion lately about whether email is a conversation or not. Some say it's not a conversation in the true sense of the word, because marketers are still blasting the same message to all their subscribers, but I think these two examples show that even when it's not really a "personal" conversation, you can make it feel that way, by doing something as simple as having the message signed by a real person.

 

What do you think?

 

Liz Lynch, sr. marketing communications associate, e-Dialog

 

 

Snow on the Ground Says Winter, but My Inbox Says Spring

Here in Boston, the snow on the ground and the additional 3 inches forecasted for tomorrow tells me we're not done with winter quite yet. However, my inbox has clearly moved on and is already thinking Spring.

 

Actually, signs of Spring have been showing up for a few weeks now. The first mention of Spring was from Lands' End, which promoted Spring Break swimwear on March 6th. Inside, they  featured "today's break" which was girls' dresses, and promised a new break the next day.

 

 

Borders Rewards urged me to "Spring Ahead. Start the new season with the best books" on March 11th, just before the switch to daylight savings time, and followed that up with a spring break-themed message on the 18th using the subject line "Your SPRING BREAK Itinerary: Relax. Recharge. READ!"  

 

Solutions used a little bit of word play and offered me "Your "extra" spring break: 10% off + NEW markdowns." I really liked the fact that the creative had a college theme with the font style, and the surfboard.

 

A few retailers were less literal about Spring, including Crisco Cooks, a newsletter that features recipes using Crisco products. They sent their March newsletter with the subject line "Prepare for sunny days ahead with these great dishes‏."

 

 

Crate and Barrel used the sunshine theme as well in their email. The subject line was "Welcome spring into your home with these bright, warm yellows" and the primary text in the email body was "Bright, bright sunshiny day."

 

 

So while I may still have the Winter blues, these emails did brighten my inbox. What Spring emails did you enjoy getting?

 

Liz Lynch, sr. marketing communications associate, e-Dialog

Introducing Returns and Exchanges

What do you get when you take 17 strong personalities with even stronger points of view, equally obsessed with the worlds of retail and email marketing?  e-Dialog’s retail team and their new weekly blog “Returns and Exchanges."

 

We follow, subscribe, “like” it all…we study our clients (over 100 brands and counting), monitor the industry, and take frequent trips to both the virtual and bricks and mortar malls to bring you ideas, conversation starters, best practices and tactics to amp up your email marketing program. 

 

We’ll talk about trends and offer advice – how to pair that little black dress that never goes out of style (your email program) with a pair of killer platform pumps (hello social!) and pulling it all together with some fabulous accessories (how local and mobile are you?). 

 

I hope you will take a break and check us out each Tuesday for a healthy dose of retail therapy! 

 

Laura Saati, vice president, retail practice, e-Dialog

Free shipping for the Irish!

This fun and festive e-mail from Timberland caught my eye on this St. Patrick’s Day. The subject line reads: "Free shipping for the Irish!" (Hey, I’m not Irish!)  But when you open it, it states, “Let’s just make that for everyone. Free shipping on every order.” 

 

The playful message is clear in the super subject line as well as the creative. Most of Timberland’s mailings have a grey border, with orange tabs at the top.  But for this occasion, they changed it up with a green border and green tabs. It’s different and definitely stands out!  

St. Patrick's Day E-mail

  
 

Traditional Timberland E-mail

 
 

I thought that this was a smart and good-humored way to use St. Patrick’s Day to promote free shipping at Timberland.com.

 

Have you seen any creative St. Patrick’s Day e-mails? I would love to see them, just leave a comment.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Melissa McClay, campaign specialist, e-Dialog

Marketing in the Wake of Tragedy

As events continue to unfold in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, various companies have developed campaigns to help their customers help those affected in Japan. These have been met with various degrees of acceptance, in some cases with acute criticism. So, how can a company know what crosses the line and what doesn't? Let's take a look at a couple of examples to see if we can identify why they either succeeded or failed.

 

The first one that came to my attention was on Facebook by a non-profit organization called Dog Bless You. From what I can tell, this is an offshoot of explore.org, which states as their purpose to champion the selfless acts of others through film in order to inspire humanity. As part of their mission, they provide grants, which are funded by the Annenburg Foundation. By founding Dog Bless You, they hope to champion the selfless acts of animals, such as search and rescue dogs.

 

On Saturday, March 12th, Dog Bless You posted a challenge on their Facebook page, stating if they could get 100,000 fans in 10 days, they would donate $100,000 to support search and rescue dogs working in Japan. Nine hours later, they already had 50,000 fans. By Sunday at 8 pm, they had reached 100,000 fans. On Wednesday, March 16th, they stated they were increasing the grant to $500,000 to support other humanitarian efforts that are needed in Japan.

 

Reaction to Dog Bless You's efforts was positive, and many dog people shared the posts with others on Facebook. I'm sure it also helped that the founder was at SXSW, which likely amplified the reach of this campaign, with so many social media superusers being at the event.

 

Microsoft's Bing tried a similar tactic, but was not as successful. Bing asked Twitter followers to retweet and for each one, Bing would donate $1.00, up to $100,000. The tweet included a link to Microsoft's Community Involvement page for the Japan earthquake, which listed ways people could help. This was seen at blatently promotional and Bing backpedaled hours later, apologizing and saying they had donated the full $100,000. In theory, both of these campaigns ask people to do something similar: become a Facebook fan, or retweet on Twitter. Both are social sharing actions. The only difference is one is a non-profit and one is not. Erik Sass of MediaPost writes (and I agree) that it's disingenuous to think any for-profit company's donation is 100% altruistic, and perhaps what people responded to negatively about the Bing effort was the $100,000 donation limit. What if there were no limit? If people's tweets resulted in a 50 million dollar donation would the response be the same?

 

We've heard that communications to Japan have been difficult, but people have been able to connect using social media, such as Facebook. On the news and on the web, we've seen a lot of interviews via Skype. It's free if both people use Skype on their computers, but you can also use it to call cell phones and landlines for a fee. To help facilitate communications, Skype has offered users in Japan free wifi at hotspots, as well as a credit for up to 25 minutes of landline calling. Skype sent the e-mail below announcing the program, which also included links to the Red Cross Family Links Network for those trying to reconnect with missing family members, plus links to how they can support the relief efforts. For Skype users in Japan, the e-mail was sent in Japanese, of course.

 

 

So far, reaction has been positive, even though Skype does get some benefit from their charitable actions. People must sign up to use Skype to take advantage of the free calling, so Skype gains in that sense, but the need for communications is so acute, it greatly outweighs the potential future benefit to Skype.

 

I think the key to communications in times of tragedy is to be sure your company or product takes a back seat to philanthropic efforts. In the heat of the moment, focus on how your company can help, or how you can help support the efforts of others. There's plenty of time when the crisis is over to draft that press release.

 

Liz Lynch, sr. marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

 

 

 

Preference Centers: The Nexus of Deliverability in 2015

We find ourselves at an interesting point in the evolution of the Internet. Advances in technology have put us at the crossroads of a truly integrated, multichannel approach to marketing where messages are converging across the channels, including e-mail, mobile devices, and social media. Demonstrating an understanding of your customers' wants, needs, and preferences has become essential to a successful communications strategy and for building trust with your audience, yet many marketers lack this basic knowledge - information that could be easily obtained simply by asking for it.

 

One of my favorite movie quotes that I have always found applicable to our industry is from the movie "Arthur" (not the aardvark or the Russell Brand reboot). At one point in the movie he says, "Aren't waiters wonderful? You ask them for things and they bring them." Folks, it's really that simple. Give your customers the opportunity to tell you what they want and bring it to them. Preference centers are an ideal way to get this information.

 

Currently, most preference centers are focused around e-mail communications. What type of information do you want to get, when do you want to get it, and what format do you want it in? While this is important, it's only a small part of knowing how your customers want to interact with you. For example, they may not want any e-mail communication from you but will follow you closely on Facebook and then go to your website to make a purchase. Sending e-mail to that person (and like others) will at best result in a non-responsive message. Cumulatively it will taint your IP reputation and negatively affect your relationship with the ISPs.

 

As communication channels evolve, so too should your preference center. This is the perfect opportunity to educate your customers, and in turn, be educated by them. Consumers want marketers to demonstrate knowledge of their interests, the types of products or services they like, the kinds of offers they want, and importantly, their communication and shopping preferences. In fact, you may well find they'll accept more frequent messaging in return for honoring these preferences. The preference center is the vehicle to tell them about and get permission for things like:

 

• Product categories. Most consumers want marketers to know what products or services they like. Marketers must ask for this information in their preference centers, and can even improve the ability to capture it by placing a bookmark capture function, such as "Add this category to my preferences" on product description pages. 
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• Message type. Does your consumer like offers and discounts? Product recommendations based on items they've purchased? Surveys or other interactive activities? Rich media like video? New product announcements? Personal alerts or follow-up messages? Make sure you find out the types of messaging they're most likely to engage with and combine that knowledge with their preferences for channel type and frequency.
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• Communication channels. Provide greater options for consumers to choose the manner in which you interact with them, for example, e-mail, mobile, or social messaging. Until unlimited data plans are ubiquitous and it doesn't cost a consumer extra to receive your texts, it is extremely important to gain permission to send SMS messages to them. Further, there are channels and tactics you may not even have considered using yet, like IM (which Facebook Messages employs), or behavioral retargeting messages. With all the talk about Do-Not-Track, now is the time to get to know your customers, their preferences, and the types of communications they'll opt in for.
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• Frequency. Survey your subscribers about message frequency and ask them within the preference center how often they want to receive messages on a monthly or weekly basis. You can even manage frequency by message type. For example, marketers could increase frequency when soliciting product review data or alerting subscribers that a new review had been posted to the website.

The preference centers of the future will play an essential role in establishing a 360-degree view of your customer, providing the customer intelligence needed to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time - through the right channels. This doesn't mean you will abandon channels; rather you will use each in the most effective and integrated way.

 

The industry continues to evolve toward more targeted, relevant messaging mapped to consumer preferences. From an e-mail perspective in particular, this will drastically reduce bounces and complaints and increase engagement metrics, which translates to good IP reputation and ultimately delivery to an inbox. It comes down to giving the people what they want in the channel they want it - an approach that's a win-win for your customers, ISPs, and marketers.

 

Rick Buck, VP of privacy and ISP relations, e-Dialog

 

This article originally appeared on ClickZ.

Dropping the F Bomb in Advertising

Many of us have heard that comedic audio clip in Web circulation on the “F Bomb.”  Often rumored to be the voice of George Carlin, it describes the word as “one of the most interesting words, one magical word that falls into many grammatical categories.”  Its use in nearly all contexts (and in all countries) however is generally still considered obscene.

 

Diesel, an Italian clothing company, today launched an e-mail campaign with the ‘F Bomb’ in the copy.  Running with the subject line “This time we're serious, Sale ends Sunday the 13^th”, the copy included a line that read “Diesel Island.  The least F**ked up country in the world.“  Best known for their jeans aimed at young adults, Diesel is a brand that indeed could get away with this.  I suppose figuring out where to draw the line depends on your audience.

 

 

Just yesterday Chrysler fired an employee from their social media marketing firm who posted the offensive word in a tweet.  Besides a recent Super Bowl commercial featuring Eminem, Chrysler hasn’t really been known for marketing towards trendy youths. The post, though off brand strategy, is no doubt generating some buzz.  If nothing else, Chrysler's number of followers on Twitter is up since the incident. Is this the wet concrete that will pave the way for the “F Bomb” to find acceptance in advertising copy?  Follow Diesel, and we soon shall learn. It’s on their Web site too.

 

What do you think? Is it pushing the envelope too far or just what advertisers need to do to cut through the clutter?

 

One thing to note about this e-mail, the copy was all in image form.  No HTML system-text was used, even in the ALT tag behind the image, allowing it to get through SPAM filters.

 

Jim Kelley, manager, creative services, e-Dialog

Coming Soon to a Phone Near You: QR Codes

Quick response, or QR, codes are popping up many places – in store windows, magazines and even in e-mails.  Jimmy Fallon recently used one on his TV show to promote a band, and New York City is adding them to building permits. These codes are read by scanning them with a code reader (available via download for smartphones). In our increasingly mobile world, QR codes are poised to become a ubiquitous way to provide a multichannel customer experience.

A recent e-mail sent by the Canadian retailer, Dynamite, included a banner announcing a contest that could be entered by scanning the QR code:

  

Once scanned, a mobile-friendly landing page with video content launched:

 

The contest entry, exclusive video content, and social sharing aspects are all geared toward a fun, cool, brand-building experience.  All of these factors are perfect for targeting the company’s prime demographic: young teenage girls.

If your company has a mobile-commerce site, links to purchase products should also be included on the landing page.

Another great e-mail-related application is the use of QR codes for acquisition initiatives.  It is possible to link your QR code to an e-mail sign-up form where customers can enter their e-mail addresses and become a part of your subscription list.  This tactic works best in print materials or in physical locations (like POS).  It is great way to integrate the online and offline experiences.  As we march toward multichannel marketing, the customers who signed up via QR code scanning or who have scanned QR codes in your e-mails may become the core audience for your mobile marketing/SMS strategy!

 

What's your experience with QR codes? I'd love to hear your thoughts on how they will be used going forward.

 

Lauren Pizzi, program manager, e-Dialog

 

Facebook Fan Pages & E-mail Acquisition

The topic of e-mail acquisition in the social media space is one that is top of mind for a lot of marketers. The social space is a fabulous place to engage with your brand's fans and leverage that “fanship” and extend it to the e-mail channel. There is absolutely no reason not to collect e-mail addresses from your fans. It should be a prominent fixture on your fan page, as well as something you promote in your stream.

 

Recently, a friend of mine “liked” a brand called MiO on Facebook. I personally value this friend's opinion and when this “like” showed up in my news feed I clicked on the link to check it out and was instantly intrigued. See below for the why.

 

Overview of MiO:

 

The company is new and its product of liquid flavoring for water isn’t on the market yet. This company is doing a grass roots marketing promotion, and I hadn’t heard of it before. The draw was the first 100,000 fans/likes who signed up would receive a free sample before it hit shelves in late March. Hmm, a chance to try something before others is kinda cool. I dig it.  Plus they played on the song “100,000 bottles on the wall” which I think is cute.

 

So obviously, to send a free sample to me, they need to collect some information. Makes sense. But the FIRST piece of data they collected was, you guessed it, my e-mail address. Very clever on their part – usually this field is part of the postal address details and can be left blank.

 

Page one for “Free Sample” Give us a Try! e-mail collection page:

 

 

Page two is to collect my postal details and gives me the option to select to receive e-mail communications. One caution-this opt in form states I am opting in to "e-mail communications such as recipes, access to offers, and product samples from Kraft and/or its portfolio of brands." which is pretty broad, and could turn people off. Kraft has a lot of brands! I think keeping it simple and opting in to just one brand or product's messaging is the better choice in most cases.

 

 

 

Page Three – Done! With CTA to Share this with your Facebook friends AND to Invite your Facebook friends to the party. Nothing ground breaking here BUT remembering to include easy sharing options is key if you want to take advantage of the word-of-mouth power of social media.

 

 

Page Four & Five: Actual sharing on Facebook Wall and/or Inviting Friends Page.

 

 

So, with all that said, why aren’t more of us collecting e-mail addresses on our brand's Facebook page? This example does use a Facebook app, but you don’t need to give away anything to have a CTA on your page with some educational information on the benefits of being an e-mail subscriber and a link to a subscription form.  Visitors to your Facebook page and your Facebook fans should be an easy e-mail win,  since they are already interested in your brand!

 

Food for thought…I would love to see examples of brands you think are doing a good job recruiting e-mail subscribers via Facebook.

 

Sayward Bosse, senior program manager, e-Dialog

 

In Lifecycle Messaging, Your Brand Matters Too

Yes, your customer comes first -- absolutely. But, don't forget that you as a marketer have needs, too, which is why your brand matters. While your customers and even the products they buy have a lifecycle, there are times when you need to find other reasons to communicate with your customers. So, instead of sending that tired old weekly promotional message, use your brand to manufacture a Moment of Engagement (MOE) for your customers.

 

Apparel and consumer electronics brands seem to have a constant supply of opportunity, like fashion seasons and gifting seasons. And some really smart brands and marketers simply create these moments and enjoy the benefits. Levi's manufactures moments of engagement tremendously well, consistently incorporating their brand voice into their messaging. This weekend, Levi's manufactured a moment of engagement, Levi Strauss' birthday, and combined it with a nice 20% off promotion. Kudos to Levi's for doing so, and providing a reason to open the mail and drive traffic to the site. Take a look at the message below.

 

 

You, too, can manufacture brand moments of engagement. In fact, this type of creativity may be the reason you found your way to marketing in the first place. Have some fun and make MOE work for you.

 

What great examples of brand MOEs have you seen recently? I'd love to hear about them, just leave a comment.

 

Rick Kenney, account director, e-Dialog