Dear Valued Customer...

One-to-one communication is widely recognized as the primary goal of email marketing, but the challenge is in knowing where to begin. One fundamental way to capture your intended audience’s attention and engage them in meaningful interactions is through personalization – another of the key factors that drive e-mail relevance and perhaps one of the easiest to apply.

 

As its most basic level, personalization is sending an email message that contains the recipient’s first and/or last name. When taken further, personalization complements segmentation in that message content is also keyed to a recipient’s location, attributes, status, preferences, or behavior. The nuance here is that through segmentation you are sending emails of greater relevance to a particular group. With personalization you take certain elements of customer data and deliver content targeted to the individual. 

 

Be personable, not recyclable

Consider the impact of adding (or really, not adding) a first and/or last name to the subject line and body of an email.  By addressing an email with “dear valued customer,” you could be buying a fast ticket to the recycle bin because the message may be perceived as mass distribution. The message may also have the opposite effect of what you intended, and make the customer feel as if you don’t really know or value her; how could you, if you don’t even address her personally? 

 

It is probable that you already know your customers’ first and/or last names, especially if they have made a previous purchase. So if you have the data don’t take these risks – use it!  Of course, there may be cases when you simply don’t know a prospect’s or customer’s name, but you may have other data (e.g., birthday, closest store, clothing size, or favorite sports team). If leveraged in your e-mail campaigns, this data will often enable you to make a more personal connection than with just a first name. 

 

This brings us to more sophisticated levels of personalization. While still relatively easy to apply, these personalization tactics move beyond the basics and enable you to achieve greater relevance in your communication. They allow you capitalize on more meaningful interactions with customers.  These tactics are best illustrated by the following three categories of programs.

 

Revenue-generating personalization programs

These types of programs all have one simple thing in common: creating new revenue opportunities. Take for example an abandoned shopping cart program, which is highly personalized and productive. Abandoned carts provide you with an opportunity to send a relevant e-mail that reminds a customer that they have items remaining in their shopping cart from a recent visit to your Web site.  You could further entice a customer to purchase those items by offering a special discount if they act quickly.  The personalization of course lies in the understanding of what your customers have shown an interest in, and using that understanding to promote products for which they already have a soft spot.

 

One major clothing retailer recently conducted an analysis of their abandoned shopping cart program and discovered that by simply reminding customers that they looked at particular items of clothing and considered buying them, the company drove customers to finally pull the trigger and make a purchase.  Interestingly, the retailer found that the difference in revenue generation between reminding people of abandoned items and offering special deals was not very significant.

 

Although a softer sell, loyalty programs can also drive a customer to purchase. By their very nature, loyalty programs generate valuable data about each individual customer. It’s almost unforgivable not to use this information to personalize your e-mail programs. Take for example a music retailer that offers reward points. In order to calculate the points it must track how much that customer spends on each purchase. Likely it is also tracking what kind of music a customer purchases and the frequency with which he makes a purchase. By sending an email that reminds the customer how many points he has accrued, the retailer can prompt him to claim his reward. The retailer could also offer a customer $10 off of their next purchase if they spend $60, or offer them two reward points for every dollar spent on their next purchase. 

 

Other programs that derive great value from personalization are cross-selling and up-selling campaigns.  In this case you can take advantage of the opportunity to promote products complementary to previous purchases a customer has made. For example, if a customer ordered a dozen roses last Mother’s Day, send him a personalized email acknowledging the previous purchase and alert him that Mother’s Day is coming again soon. Would he like to order roses again? You could also offer other floral options for consideration in case he’d like to try something different this year.

 

Relationship-building personalization programs

In contrast, the objective of these programs is to strengthen your relationship with a customer and demonstrate goodwill by providing them with unsolicited, yet helpful information. This approach enhances the customer’s experience with your company, and shows that you care about her as an individual. 

 

An ideal example can be found in the travel industry, where a respected agency runs a highly personalized email program when you book a resort vacation. The first message you receive is a confirmation with pictures of the property. Then, two weeks before your trip, the agency sends another email alerting you to all of the amenities in the surrounding area, such as tourist attractions and activities.  Five days before your trip, the agency follows up with another email directing you to the nearest supermarket and providing the weather forecast for your stay.  By going above and beyond the purchase to provide information of specific relevance to the trip, the agency generates a positive brand experience.

 

Content-targeting personalization programs

Distinct from relationship-building programs, content targeting allows a customer to dictate the information he wants to receive from you (versus presenting the customer with content you feel will be of interest to them) and how he wants receive it. It doesn’t get more personalized than that. 

 

A major sports league accomplishes this elegantly by allowing the fan to select his favorite team as part of the league’s newsletter registration process. The league then pushes the team’s specific news headlines, players’ statistics, rankings, and scores – all information of specific relevance to a particular fan. By consistently delivering this custom content to fans they are serving as a reliable, trusted resource, keeping fans actively engaged in the teams and further strengthening fan support of the league.

 

Don’t try to boil an ocean

It is okay to start small with personalization, and you really should. Take simple steps to become more relevant to your customers. Adding a customer’s name to a subject line or addressing her directly in the body of your message is a great start. First decide what impact you want programs to have, then build back from there. Ultimately you want each customer to feel like you really know and care about her as an individual, and this can be accomplished – more easily than you may think – by personalizing email content based on what’s of interest and greatest relevance to her.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

Happy Half Birthday: Creating Moments of Engagement

We've talked a lot about lifecycle marketing (what we call Moments of Engagement) and creating messages around events like anniversaries and birthdays. We've also talked about manufactured moments of engagement that marketers can create that are not strictly promotional. These include editorial content and special events or celebrations. Read our previous two posts here and here. 

Today I received a great example of a manufactured moment of engagement from Baskin Robbins. It's an email for my half birthday, offering a buy one, get one free scoop. This is an easy way to connect with a subscriber in a fun and unexpected way. 

 

What do you think? Have you implemented any similar programs or gotten any that you really like?

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

Break The Mold--Think BEYOND "Above The Fold"

As we rate and review clients’ acquisition score cards, we preach the good word on moving email enrollment to a prominent spot above the fold on the website, but is that really the best that we can do? To be fair, ecommerce teams do put up a solid argument to occupy that same real estate with more customer-centric site search or social plugins. So what now? Does email sign up get demoted to the footer? Or maybe for the adventurous, a test homepage kicker? I think not--and neither does Neiman Marcus.

I’ve been paying close attention to their recent beta site re-launch, Facebook chatter about the release and supporting emails sharing, “we heard you, check out the enhancements, and continue to tell us more.” This retailer is clearly focused on a path of self-improvement and using the “customer voice” to catalyze change (thanks ForeSee or Bizrate)…or just doing a great job at socializing that the NM customer experience is top of mind.

To support these changes,  Neiman Marcus is testing or has launched a very smart email acquisition strategy and it’s directly on the product page--a pop up!

 

Why is this so great?  This is the synergy of 2 very successful acquisition tactics at play.

1) Pop Up

In testing opt-in strategies for a multi-channel retailer, this strategy yielded a 3X increase in email opt-ins during a 30-day test. Also, a pop up doesn’t deter the customer from a specific product page. A customer’s site experience is unaffected if they choose to X out.

2) Product Detail Targeting

Asking for email centimeters away from an exclusive product that a customer is browsing. You get them right where you want them: looking at YOUR content!

 

Now to optimize this, add some flash to the call to action/sprinkle in an offer and voila: Asking a customer to share a crucial piece of information can bridge the gap between browse and buy!

 

If not now-then make an offer later down the line. At that point, if you know the exact product that drove the email sign up, why not serve up a welcome offer with this specific browsed product & toss in free shipping to sweeten the deal!

Moral of the story….as retailers become more aggressive, customers become savvier, and the inbox continues to crowd—what will your brand do to stand out and get the opt in?   

 

Anna McCarthy, Strategy, Client Services, e-Dialog

Perfecting The Abandoned Shopping Cart Message

As most email marketers know, abandoned shopping cart messages are very effective in bringing people back to your site to complete a purchase, even when they don't include a discount. Most often, people leave items in a cart because they either got busy doing something else and forgot to complete it, or needed a little time to think the purchase over. So just sending that reminder gets customers to come back. 

However, just because shopping cart reminders are effective doesn't mean they don't need a strategy for how to best use them. There are some things to keep in mind when you deploy these messages. The first is timing. How long should you wait before sending the reminder? In most cases, at least twenty four hours if not forty eight hours. Any sooner and you risk seeming too aware of the customer's online behavior, which creeps people out. 

In addition to knowing when to send the first reminder, think about whether or not to send a series of reminders and what the cadence of those might be. I admit to being overwhelmed by a recent string of reminders from Eddie Bauer that arrived every two days for eight days. Each one had a slightly different message, ranging from "did you forget something?" to "your items could be on sale" which is a good tactic if you're sending a series. The worst thing to do is to send the same reminder multiple times. 

 

One other consideration to keep in mind is whether or not to include photos or information about the actual items that have been left in the cart. When I got the Eddie Bauer reminder, I was hard-pressed to remember exactly what I had almost purchased! On the one hand, not including product images or names may drive people back to the cart so they can remind themselves which items are there, but on the other hand, a visual reminder may be more of a motivator, especially for fashions or accessories. Below is an example from Pottery Barn that does include product photos in their cart reminder emails. They also include related items, which can be a good idea for something like furniture, where the shopper may be looking for items that go well together in a room.

So, those are a few quick tips to think about when implementing or expanding your abandoned shopping cart trigger. I would love to hear your tips! Just leave a comment.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog

Extending the Experience with Post-event Email

Last Saturday night, I went to see Guster at the House of Blues in Boston. On Monday I got an email from LiveNation asking me to review the show. I had already shared photos on Facebook and checked out other people's videos from the show on YouTube, so of course I was happy to provide a review. 

 

I appreciated that the email included the info on the show I went to, rather than just a generic review request. When I go to a show, it's a rare occurence, so maybe not so important to include this info for me, but for people who see a lot of shows, this is a must-have. I liked that they included a link to learn more about ratings and reviews, and I think it's also not too heavy-handed of them to include a link to look for more events.

Once I clicked through, the review submission form was very easy to use, with only three items required; my review based on 1-5 stars, whether I would recommend the event to a friend (yes or no) and then a form field for my comments. I also liked that they included an example of what type of comment you might put in each section. The form included options for uploading photos and/or video of the concert too. They also asked about my seats and the sound quality, etc. One quibble and a missed opportunity: they didn't let me know when my review was posted on their site. I think a brief email telling me my review was posted would have been a nice follow up. 

You may think this is all well and good, but you're a retailer or a B-to-B company, so this type of email doesn't fit into your program. But you would be wrong. With a few tweaks, the follow-up can be an effective tool for a lot of different organizations. Retailers can ask for a review after a purchase, restaurants can ask for feedback after a meal, B-to-B marketers can ask about how a prospect enjoyed a recent webinar or whitepaper download. 

I hope I've given you some food for thought. I would love to hear about how you think this type of email can fit into your messaging plan.

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist, 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

 

 

How Not to Win Back Customers

E-mail can be a great tool for reaching out to customers who haven't purchased in a while, or haven't visited your restaurant, etc. But there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. I recently experienced the wrong way.

 

I was a member of the Boston Sports Club fitness center for a while, but ended my membership because we now have a free gym at our new offices. While the Boston Sports Club does have more amenities, I couldn't justify the cost. I got a message on September 8, with the subject line "We're too proud to beg so we'll bribe you: HALF-PRICE MEMBERSHIPS!" which certainly got my attention. The offer was a $0 joining fee and 50% off the monthly membership fee. It was a good offer, but still pricey since I have access to a gym for free. Overall, not a bad strategy to reach out to former members with a great offer, as I'm sure price is a big factor in non-renewals.

 

 

On September 27th I received the same message again. Exact same message with the same subject line, offer and expiration date. October 5th, I get the same message again. The only change is now the offer expires October 15th. October 19th and wouldn't you know it, I get the same message again with the only change being the offer is now good through October 29th. The whole thing comes across as pretty desperate, don't you think?

 

A better strategy would be to change up the messaging, even just a little, perhaps the subject line. For example, the second e-mail which was close to the original offer expiration date could have used some language around the limited time remaining to take advantage of the offer. By the time the fourth e-mail is sent, it's pretty obvious this offer doesn't resonate with me. So change up the promotion, maybe add a free personal training session or tennis court rental to add some relevance, since I've used both of those services in the past.

 

 

Overall, this makes me sad for the missed opportunity to really use e-mail marketing to the fullest. Do you agree?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this campaign or others that disappointed.

 

Liz Lynch, Communications Editor, e-Dialog

5 Ideas for Your Holiday e-Card

Using e-mail to send a fun holiday greeting to your subscribers is a great way to spread some cheer, share your brand personality and an opportunity to communicate with customers without a hard sell.

 

Here are five ways you can pump up your holiday creative.

 

Wow them with a videogram.

Video campaigns are fun, engaging and compelling. From a simple GIFeo to a full-fledged video, use it and watch customer engagement climb.

 

Dazzle them with their name in lights.

Take personalization to the extreme by using dynamically-published imagery to compel customers to connect with your brand.

 

Amaze them with a game.

Be interactive! Games are fun, memorable and can communicate a lot about your brand. They can also help generate online buzz.

 

Excite them with a treasure hunt.

Bargain hunters are looking for ways to save. Make them savor the hunt even more by veiling your offer in a creative way.

 

Dress it up with seasonal fixins'

Give customers a reason to take a second glance at your e-mail by adding seasonal flair. Show them your brand shares in the merriment of the season!

 

Here's one example of a card that does several of these things. The original e-mail included a GIFeo, and was personalized with first name. The card included a link to a game that was further personalized by having the snowball fight opponents be members of the client's account services team. You can hear from the team that created the card in this video and you can take a turn at the Snowball Throwdown too!

 

 

 

What do you think? Are holiday e-mails worth the extra work? I'd love to see any fun examples! If you'd like some help developing your holiday card, let us know. Our Creative team would love to help!

 

Liz Lynch, communications editor, e-Dialog

 
 

Reaching Out to Web Site Browsers

One of the great things about online marketing is the amount of data and information marketers can get about their customers. Consumers might be a little surprised by how much tracking goes on, but most are willing to be tracked if it results in more relevant advertising, including e-mail.

 

In previous articles on Moments of Engagement, we talked about using e-mail to follow up with customers who had browsed your Web site, but not purchased. This is an advanced tactic, and few e-mail marketers actually do it. I recently received one of these e-mails from Pottery Barn. I have been looking for a new sectional, and Pottery Barn has two that are small enough to fit my space. I've been looking at these two sectionals online, trying out different colors and posting to Facebook to see which one my friends like. I haven't purchased yet because this is a big purchase.

 

A few days after browsing the site, I received an e-mail from Pottery Barn with the subject line "Make room for great design!" At first glance, I assumed this was a standard promotional message, but when I opened it, I saw that it was actually a message based on my browsing behavior.

 

 

 

This message gets a lot of things right. It includes the image and the name of the sectional I was browsing, along with ways I can reach out and contact Pottery Barn with questions. It also includes other related product options and my closest store. I would have loved a discount-saving 10% on an item like this would have spurred me to purchase for sure.

 

You might have noticed that I mentioned that I had been looking at two different sectionals on the PB site. It looks like this template is designed for one product, which is fine. I actually got another message a day later with the same subject line featuring the other sectional I had been browsing. While this is one way to address a customer browsing several products, I think a program like this benefits from a suppression strategy, so that messages are deployed once every 7 to 14 days. It makes it a little less Big Brother-ish if they only come occasionally, rather than every time a customer browses. I am also wondering if Pottery Barn has a criteria for dollar amount of the item browsed. I wonder if they would send a message like this if I had been browsing pillows...

 

Do you think these types of campaigns are effective and a good use of data? I would love to hear from a marketer who has deployed these types of messages to see how they performed for you. Also, please let me know if you have other examples of these kinds of e-mails!

 

Liz Lynch, communications editor, e-Dialog

Personalization the Easy Way

As e-mail marketers, we know that personalization, when done correctly, increases message relevance, therefore increasing engagement, and hopefully leading to an action, like a purchase. But I think a lot of marketers think that implementing personalization beyond first name is something they just don't have time to do in between deploying their everyday campaigns. But that's not necessarily true. There is a way to send a campaign so that it has a non-personalized version and a version that is personalized by content/interest when you have that information about customers. If you're working with an ESP, it can all be done using content management tools so that the correct content is published automatically.

 

Here's an example from Borders Books. I am a Borders Rewards member, and I have a Gmail account connected to my membership. I also signed up for e-mail with my Hotmail account, but have never made a purchase connected to that e-mail. Today, Borders sent out a message promoting a new coupon. The main CTA was the same for both e-mails, but the Borders Rewards account with purchase data had something extra. Based on my purchase history, they added on a section with titles I might be interested in, as well as some multimedia elements, like an author video interview. They also changed the subject line from "40% off coupon---3 days only" to "40% off coupon---3 days only---plus romance picks for you!"

 

 

This is the standard image:

 

And this is the personalized image: 

 

I think this is a really smart approach. It keeps the main promotional message, but also makes me more likely to open future e-mails because I know Borders knows what I like and will show me relevant content.

 

Have you been impressed by a smart use of customer data in e-mail? Please share! I would love to see who's been doing great work recently.

 

Liz Lynch, communications editor, e-Dialog

Tell Me More: 10 Tips for More Effective Subject Lines, Part 2

In a previous post my colleague Lilia Arsenault discussed the first five tips for crafting more effective subject lines.  I’m here to discuss the last five tactics, in part two of this two-part series, on how you can create the best first impression possible- through stronger, better, and more effective subject lines. 

#6.  Include Your Company Branding

Most e-mail clients show the sender’s name and company information in the recipient’s e-mail inbox, so remember that your company name and branding is important to your audience.  Be sure to include brand references in the subject line, such as your company name, products, or services.  This helps create instant recognition and eliminate confusion that can lead to unopened e-mails.

#7.  Communicate the Benefit of Your Message, Not Product Features

World-renowned marketing consultant Zig Ziglar is famous for saying “No one ever wants a ¼ - inch drill bit. What they want is a ¼-inch hole.”  What he meant was, lead with the benefit your product delivers instead of the product itself.  Understand your audience’s pain and communicate the benefit or solution you can deliver.   The first step is to let them know you understand their challenge and that you have the solution.

#8.  Tease a Little

Effective marketers know how to use curiosity to their advantage.  Consider a teaser approach like “You’ve never seen a catalog like this” to pique their interest.  Another good approach is to use an ellipsis to trail off and create a mini-cliffhanger. “Just when you thought you knew it all…” Irresistible.

#9.  Use Numbers

Consider it the David Letterman effect.  Top-ten lists and other bite-sized chunks of practical content attract readers looking to get quick tips or recommendations. (After all, what made you read this article?) You can also use statistics and research in the subject line to quickly catch and hold attention.   Finally when you use them, let the number stand instead of spelling them out. Forget what the Chicago Manual of Style tells you – space is at a premium and you need instant recognition to get your message across. Use every tool at your disposal. 

#10. Frontload Content

Journalists use a tool called the inverted pyramid to convey the most important information at the beginning of a story.  That way, if a reader leaves after just the lead, they still get all the critical details.  Subject lines are no different.  Consider bringing the most important details – such as the offer, incentive, or other call to action into the subject line as opposed to the body of the e-mail where it may never be read.

As a final word of advice, you should think of these tools as arrows in your e-mail marketing quiver, best fired one at a time and carefully, at that.  You should always test- and test again and again! – to learn what approach works best and why.  But with careful planning and proper execution, changing your subject-line approach can lead to better open rates and better results for your next e-mail campaign.  

I hope these tips will help you get on your way to drafting better targeted subject lines.

Have any of these tactics  proved to be an effective strategy for you? Be sure to share!

Tell Me More: 10 Tips for Effective Subject Lines, Part 1

In today’s e-mail marketing world, the difference between e-mail success and failure can hinge on whether your target reader opens your e-mail or not.  You need to create the best first impression possible and doing this can come from stronger, better, and more effective subject lines.

Subject lines are both an art and a science- what works for one campaign may not work for another.  The good news is that there are a number of proven best practices you can implement.  In part one of this two-part series I’ll discuss five tactics for creating better subject lines, which means better results for your next e-mail campaign.

#1. Keep it Short

Subject lines shouldn’t be more than 60 characters. Total! And that is including spaces.  Yet to be more effective, yours should be even shorter than that.  Best practices indicate that e-mails with 0-49 characters achieve better open rates than those with 50 characters or more.  Communicating a short, precise message is much more effective than sending one that could get cut off and confuse your reader.

#2. Avoid Spam Filters

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that using an exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.  But it’s no laughing matter in e-mail marketing.  Using more than one in a subject line will get you filtered.  Other no-no’s : using the dollar sign ($), especially as the first character of your subject line, and capitalizing more than one word.

#3.  Convey a Sense of Urgency

If you can make your reader feel like she just has to open your e-mail and act on it immediately, your job is done and done well.  One way to elicit this emotion is create a sense of urgency with time-bound offers: “September 25 is your last chance to register”- or even better, with time-bound incentives- “Your last chance to save 20% ends tomorrow.” These subject lines are clear, direct, and downright compelling.

#4.  Personalize Carefully

Personalization has been overused to the point where if it’s done incorrectly, it can turn your recipient off, particularly in B2B marketing.  But, if your company has a great brand and offers something your audience truly values, personalization can draw them in.  “Susan, Coach’s annual sale is coming to your Scranton store,” feels more like a trusted friend passing on valuable information as opposed to an unwanted sales call. 

#5. Take Personalization to another Level

Differentiate your message by personalizing subject lines with data other than your customer’s first name.  Consider creative ways to include the name of a product they just bought, a service they’re interested in, or any other detail you have access to.  Doing this well demonstrates marketing competence, helps to create credibility and trust, and of course, delivers a tailored e-mail your recipient will want to open.  

In part two of this two-part series my colleague Aislinn Schlener will discuss the last five tips and leave you with some final words of wisdom before you embark on crafting more effective subject lines. 

Stay tuned for part two and in the mean time share some of your favorite subject lines!  

Lilia Arsenault director, ASP services, e-Dialog

Sending Personalized E-mail When You Don't Have Enough Data

 

One question that often comes up when marketers are creating a campaign based on customer data is "what do we send if we don't have any data on a customer?" Some might default to a generic message, or not include those consumers in the mailing at all. Sephora takes a different approach.

 

In this campaign, Sephora is promoting personalized product recommendations based on skin type, coloring and fragrance preferences. For this message alone, Sephora deserves kudos for actually using customer preferences to send a personalized, targeted and highly-relevant e-mail.

However, it's what they sent to customers who didn't have preferences on file that is really impressive. Each product category is grayed-out and when you click on one, you're taken to Sephora's web site where you can see the choices for each and save your preferences to your profile. Using this tactic, Sephora is able to reach parts of their list that don't have as much data and encourage them to add data for use in future e-mail marketing.

 
 

Snowball Throwdown: Behind the Scenes of the e-Dialog 2009 Holiday Card

 

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the primary team members behind e-Dialog's 2009 holiday card.

 

Each year, e-Dialog creates a holiday card for clients, prospects, and partners and strives to thank, entertain, and showcase e-Dialog technology.

 

The 2009 holiday card was comprised of a personalized e-mail message which linked to a personalized flash game. The e-mail used the recipient's first name, a custom message, and was signed by the account team.

 

 

The flash game allowed the recipient to have a snowball fight with e-Dialog employees they work with every day. Each game had 8 customized characters, which meant there were hundreds of permutations. Check out the game at www.e-dialog.com/snowballthrowdown.

 

 

Watch the video to hear from Jamie Gamsby, Senior Design Lead, and Kevin Nolan, Marketing Program Manager, about how they managed the project from start to finish.

 

 

Land's End Wows With Winter Warm-up Campaign

I've long admired Land's End for their smart use of the e-mail channel, from their targeting to their use of elements like animated GIFs to show product features.

But they truly blew me away with their Big Warm Up campaign. The goal of the campaign was to collect winter coats for the homeless across the country.

I received the first e-mail on October 28th. The e-mail promoted a geographically-targeted landing page and included a video which promised to show how I could have a starring role in the Winter Warmup. Right off the bat, I gave Land's End virtual kudos for creating a Boston landing page, but when I viewed the video, I was truly impressed.  

 

The video tells the story of the life of a Land's End coat through the years, from the Mom sewing a label into her son's coat, to him starting his career and family, to finally being passed on to a new owner. At the end of the video, a person is given a coat and looks down at the tag, and the tag had my name on it! This was so unexpected, it really made an impact.

 

 

 

But the campaign didn't end there. Land's End also invited me to a local event-an art installation where 768 figures, each representing 10 homeless people in Massachusetts would be displayed in downtown Boston.

 

 

They also sent an invitation to an event at my local mall, a book signing where positive messages would be collected and distributed along with the coats. This really shows the extra steps Land's End took. Many retailers promote in-store events, but genericize the copy and simply include a store finder where the recipient can look up their local store.

 

 

Land's End continued to engage me by updating the progress of the Big Warm-Up campaign, letting me know how many coats they had collected so far and how I could contribute.

 

 

And finally, after the campaign wrapped on November 30th, Land's End sent a thank you message, saying they had collected more than their goal for Boston and over 30,000 coats nationally.

 

 

I sure the Land's End reaped the rewards of this campaign finanically, since 30,000 people got discounts of 20% off a new coat, but I think more importantly, they promoted the idea that they care about the community, and created lots of warm and fuzzy feelings for those who donated while providing warmth for those who received the coats.