Welcome to The Alchemy Worx Subscriber’s Choice Award Q4 2013. As the busiest quarter of the year, there was no shortage of campaigns to choose from. But we’ve scoured through our inbox to narrow it down to 3 of our stand-out favorites.
BEST CREATIVE
Winner: Jamie’s Italian Gold Club
Subject line:Tis the season to be jolly!
Why we chose it:
It’s a great example of how content-heavy emails can be cohesive and attractive, and how a well-designed communication really can deliver your website straight into your customer’s inbox.
Why it’s great:
The rich gold and black colour palette used throughout gives the whole email a feeling of quality and luxury. Creative touches – like a bauble on the video rather than a standard ‘play’ button and subtle animations throughout – make every detail feel considered and well-thought out. But more than just being attractive, the design is crucial for carrying the extensive content. The single column layout, clear segmentation and bold typographical headers allow customers to focus on each element in turn without being overwhelmed.
At the same time, variation in typography, layout and animation throughout prevents the email from becoming boring or repetitive. Most importantly, the design is completely on brand. The colour palette, typography and animation are all consistent with the website and previous emails, so – even with a seasonal theme -the brand is easily recognised by customers.
BEST SUBJECT LINE
Winner: D&D London
Subject line: Either give me more wine or leave me alone
Why we chose it:
For its unusually provocative approach
Why it’s great:
In a busy world where time is precious and everybody, from brands to your mum, wants a piece of you, this “what’s in it for me?” sentiment is something that rings true. But while it’s easy to relate to, it is also intriguing, because it is unusual in its context. It’s quite uncommon for a subject line to give an ultimatum like this. While many people may find it humorous, some customers might find its challenging tone confrontational. Either way, it creates a reaction. But this is more than just an intriguingly ambiguous statement designed to increase open rates.
Once a customer opens the email, the content – information about upcoming wine experiences, delivers on the subject line and actually mitigates it by revealing that it is a quote. So why not use quote marks in the subject line? If the line had been in quote marks, it would not have been as provocative because it would have been clear that it’s not being said by the brand. The strength of it lies in its bold and direct approach. As the brand has since used subject lines like “F is for…” and “We Want You”, it seems that this approach is working for their audience.
BEST COPY
Winner: Boden
Subject line: A note for naughty email readers…
Why we chose it:
The fundamental aim of good copy is to engage customers. So imagine copy that not only engages customers, but creates an allegiance with them. Over their own family. At Christmas. Boden did exactly this with their Christmas Day email.
Why it’s great:
By acknowledging that checking emails isn’t generally what people ‘should’ be doing on Christmas day, Boden immediately address what customers may be thinking. But they don’t apologise for appearing in their inbox on Christmas Day. Instead, they put the responsibility entirely on the customer for having checked their email. In less than 200 words the copy reassures, entertains and empathises. But its main strengths are its inclusiveness and charmingly conspiratorial tone. Through this, the brand position themselves as a reliable friend and turn the simple act of reading an email into a secret rendezvous between allies – “You shouldn’t really be here, you’ve secretly met us”. This email is also proof that, even for retail brands, valuable communications don’t need to be sales led. Sure, this email offers free delivery, but the real value here is in the message. And that value is created partly though regular engagement throughout the year. While many brands were pushing sales or sending generic seasonal messages, Boden used this communication to send something personal. In fact the brand seems so confident of its position in customers’ inboxes that it actually ends the email by telling readers to go away and stop engaging with it. And when was the last time a company did that?
Last updated: Apr 20, 2015 admin
