In the bustling heart of Times Square, marketing billboards are as abundant as cups of coffee at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. This is the epicenter of the internet's 'spray-and-pray' marketing strategy. This approach involves a near-panic dispersal of fresh venture capital (VC) funding on large-scale advertising, followed by fervent prayers in multiple languages that the right audience will visit your site. The final step is to convince the VCs that your dog devoured their investment when the strategy fails. However, we chose a different path for our marketing strategy, one that was less glamorous but more effective. This is the story of a unique campaign that achieved a 36% click-through rate, added a significant number of people to our permission database, and introduced a qualified group of people to our brand.
Our campaign began with the basic elements of an email marketing strategy: a targeted opt-in email list, an enticing subject line, a personalized message, and a whopping 1000 pounds of chocolate. We partnered with a renowned chocolatier to give away boxes of truffles as part of our campaign.
The mass email was sent out with the subject line, "mmmm…c h o c o l a t e !" Upon opening the email, users were informed that they could send chocolates to a loved one simply by registering on our site. This offer triggered a flood of responses, with over 20% of site visitors converting into opt-in registrants.
Once registered, users were asked to provide the name and email of the gift recipient, as well as the emails of five people they believed would be interested in gifting chocolates. Upon submission, these five individuals received a personalized invitation to visit our site and send a chocolate gift. The gift recipient was notified via email that they had received a gift, which they could claim on our site. Over 80% of recipients visited the site and claimed their gift, providing us with valuable demographic information in the process.
The campaign was a resounding success. Gift givers were seen as spontaneous and generous, while recipients were thrilled to receive an unexpected treat. Our company benefited greatly from the campaign, gaining a large database of potential customers and a detailed snapshot of our prospective customer base. The campaign also reflected positively on our brand.
In terms of cost, we spent less than $3 to acquire an opt-in user with several data points. In contrast, executing the same campaign through a large affiliate network could cost over $7 per form.
In an era where the viability of B2C business models is under scrutiny, a creative email marketing campaign may prove more effective than a Times Square billboard.
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