With huge retail events like Cyber Monday and the Holiday Season, Q4 provides no end of opportunity for email marketers to engage their customers. Here’s our pick of campaigns that put their own stamp on the season.
Cyber Monday
According to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Cyber Monday was the busiest email marketing day of the year for the eighth year running[i]. Most emails were very similar in content and appearance, but here are three that caught our eye.
Laura Ashley’s time-sensitive GIF
Subject line: Extra 10% off Everything Ends Tonight!
Why it’s great:
Laura Ashley’s email focussed on highlighting the urgency of their sale with a simple clock GIF that reminds customers that time is running out. The copy is centred in the middle of the clock meaning the reader’s eye is drawn straight to it, but thanks to the simple design and plenty of white space, it is easy to read and isn’t overwhelming. It certainly adds that extra element and live movement to the email that encourages customers to shop now.
Coast’s feel-good factor
Subject line: Happy Monday! 30% OFF Final Hours
Why it’s great:
Coast’s Cyber Monday promotion took a slightly different approach in that it felt much more like a celebratory email than a sale email. It positioned the sale as a special occasion for the customer to get excited about, rather than just a rush to get the biggest savings. The fact that the discount was written in balloons makes it stand out much more than flat text would have done. It’s a great way to communicate the message in a way that makes readers feel positive.
J Crew’s pet mouse
Subject line: The biggest, best, most amazing, OMG, beyond anything, ever, sale event. Starts now.
Why it’s great:
The most original of all the Cyber Monday emails we saw was this one from J Crew, which raised a few smiles around the office. The hand-drawn hat and scarf and the caption telling us the mouse’s name adds even more personality into the light-hearted and fun approach. It also grabs attention by leading with a strong call to action which is then backed up by the sale details, rather than the other way around. It shows that memorable emails don’t have to be complicated. The Holiday SeasonThrough weeks of increased frequency, snow GIFs and last order dates in the run up to the Holidays, these three brands did something a little different.
Topman’s brave subject lines
Subject line: Everything from ‘Insert Christmas pun here’ to ‘There’s a party in our pants’
Why they’re great:
With some punchy subject lines, Topman made quite an impression over December. From pop culture references and seasonal puns to self-mocking quips like ‘Yep, another sale email’, they showed a confident knowledge of how their target audience communicates and boldly used it to their advantage. With a mix of ambiguous lines – ‘Thank us later’ – and extremely direct – ‘Ho ho ho BUY SOMETHING’ – they struck a provocative, hard-to-ignore tone that most brands wouldn’t dare adopt, especially at the most wonderful time of the year!
Sephora’s personal touch
Subject line: Amaze them
Why it’s great:
Sephora’s clever use of personalisation relates the brand and products to the positive sentiment of writing a gift tag to a loved one. This is emphasised by featuring individuals as recipients rather than groups e.g. ‘gadget lovers’. They also have catchy alliterative titles that use emotive words e.g. ‘marvellous mum’, ‘darling dad’, to be both personal and inclusive. This is all supported by the clear design that, thanks to the shape of the gift tags, keeps the focus on the products.
Mr Porter’s Mr Christmas
Subject line: Have you met Mr Christmas?
Why it’s great:
Mr Porter’s simple but fun animation made for a nice break from sale-focussed messages. The mischievous nature of the animation adds personality and the copy says just enough to create curiosity. The email is essentially promoting some fun festive themed content – continuing their already strong record of sending emails that you can’t help but click, while remaining on brand and original.
Last updated: Aug 05, 2016 admin
