Welcome to The Alchemy Worx Subscriber’s Choice Award Q2 2013. Last quarter, Boden’s beautifully executed 3-tier sale scooped an impressive 60% of the vote. We shall be blogging soon about our own take on their strategy behind that particular email campaign, so keep your eyes peeled. As usual, the format is simple – we’ve selected three of our favorite emails in terms of creative, copy and subject line. Just select a winner. Simple!
BEST CREATIVE
Interactive Billboard
Winner: Hermes
Subject Line: Father’s Day approaches. Affirmative.
Why we chose it
For its charm, branding and the simplicity of its execution.
Why it’s great
The layout is simplicity itself – a single image, headline and call to action. On average people spend less than 3 seconds reading an email, so nearly everyone that opens (and downloads images of course) will get the full impact of the marketing message. And even if they don’t take an action, it’s likely a positive brand impression will be made. The billboard ad-style of the layout really fits a fashion brand and mimics the website almost exactly. This is a brand ‘literally’ delivering their website into their subscribers’ inbox! The hand-drawn image is very inclusive, intimate and evocative of childhood storytelling and works well with the handwritten font. While the subtle animation adds to the humor but doesn’t dilute the message if not activated.
Finally, the understated nature of the CTA reinforces the brand’s luxury identity. It’s not actually a one-off seasonal e-shot as the design and content might suggest. It’s Hermes’ monthly email, so this is effectively their newsletter. It’s a very bold approach to simplify a month’s worth of content into one single message, just like an interactive billboard ad. We would suggest that with such simple yet engaging content they would see even more engagement from a weekly email.
BEST COPY
Get personal with text only
Winner: Trip AdvisorSubject Line: Travellers will love you for this
Why we chose it
A simple, uncomplicated message delivered effectively through direct, benefit-led copy.
Why it’s great
It’s refreshing to see an email that lets the copy do the work without relying on images. In fact, Trip Advisor’s standard weekly newsletter does use beautiful images in an intelligent way. This change of pace alerts subscribers to the fact that this isn’t the standard newsletter, so might merit more attention. And the removal of images also takes away some of the marketing sheen that can make image-heavy emails feel impersonal. The copy is an excellent example of direct benefit-led marketing copy. The words ‘you’ or ‘your’ are used no less than 8 times in just 67 words with ‘we’ or ‘our’ not appearing at all. The copy gets right to the heart of why most people give reviews: to help others. Next is the reassurance that it won’t take long, which is one of the biggest barriers to writing a review.
Then you get the reason to do it now because you get a nice perk. Interestingly, the CTA has nothing to do with the action they want you to take – giving a review – but with the perk you get ‘Hotel Specialist Badge’. Classic benefit-led copy. There are lots of other nice copy touches, too. The subject line is an open-ended challenge – “Will love me for what? Let’s open to find out”. The snippet mentions the ‘first badge’ implying these are on-going rewards. The personalization is subtle and unobtrusive – knowing someone’s login details doesn’t mean you should treat them as your friend. And finally, the sender is MemberUpdate@, which is a subtle reminder of status.
BEST SUBJECT LINE
Know your audience
Winner: ThinkGeek
Subject Line: %Firstname%, I am your father
Why we chose it
It is succinct, on brand, witty, seasonal, personalized and engaging – all in just 5 words.
Why it’s great
There’s a lot written about subject lines – should they be long or short, specific or generic, single or multi-proposition, personalized or not, benefit or feature, and so on. And there is no right or wrong answer. It’s all about focusing on meaning with subject lines, as is proved by this gem from ThinkGeek. First, it shows they have a complete understanding of their audience. ThinkGeek sell specialist items affiliated with gaming, sci-fi and fantasy, which they do with an unashamed pride in the perceived ‘geekiness’ of it. So, the iconic “I am your father” line from Star Wars feels like an insider’s joke.
Actually, as it’s a line that has passed into movie folklore, it’s also hugely inclusive. The personalization, too, isn’t a superfluous marketing gimmick. It improves the idea because it plays neatly with the full line “Luke, I am your father”. It’s also seasonal, as this is a father’s day email, so the theme is relevant and the email timely. So, by focusing on their offer and by understanding the relationship their audience have with their brand, ThinkGeek have produced a subject line that is personalized, seasonal, witty, non-sales, non-benefit and short. And did the next one they sent use all these tactics? No. It was ThinkGeek’s 20% off for Geek Pride Day ends tonight!
Last updated: Oct 17, 2016 admin
