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Back-to-School countdown 2012
An Experian white paper | Page 1
Table of contents
About this paper ..................................................................................................................2
Rules of thumb for Back-to-School email marketing....................................................3
Back-to-School email campaign timing ..........................................................................4
Timing and revenue .....................................................................................................5
Timing by category ......................................................................................................6
Back-to-School email best practices ...............................................................................7
Sample Back-to-School emails .................................................................................8
Amplify your Back-to-School email campaigns with display ads ............................10
Sample email with display ads ................................................................................ 11
About Experian ..................................................................................................................12
Back-to-School countdown 2012
Page 2 | Back-to-School countdown 2012: Smart strategies for email marketing
About this paper
As we noted in 2011, to a large degree, success in Back-to-School
email marketing comes down to timing. When is the best time to start
your promotions?
The answer, we’ve found, lies in what you sell, the age groups your products
are designed for, as well as the student’s geography. The first campaigns can
launch as early as May or June, and then really take off in July!
To write this paper, we studied the Back-to-School email campaigns of 99
brands, grouped into Apparel and Supplies categories. The Apparel category
includes apparel, accessories and department store brands; the Supplies
category includes books, school supplies, furniture and room décor.
We mined through the data and creative executions to identify and share
with you key and emerging trends, compelling strategies, tried and true best
practices, as well as new techniques that can help you amplify your email
marketing efforts.
.
Back-to-School countdown 2012
An Experian white paper | Page 3
Rules of thumb for Back-to-School email marketingBack-to-School programs target parents of children entering kindergarten, all the way up to college students.
Age group Products of interest Role in purchase Precipitation purchase
Children (age 6–10)
Books School supplies Apparel
Influencer School prep
Tween Books School supplies Apparel
Influencer School prep Peer influence
Teens Books School supplies Computers Apparel Décor
Influencer/Purchaser
School prep Peer influence
Coeds Apparel Books School supplies Computers Furniture Room décor
Influencer/Purchaser
Moving to school
Observations:
•Start of school varies by region, and nationwide spans a full calendar month. For instance, the 2011–2012 school year began around Aug. 8 for public schools in the South, and around Sept. 8 in the Northeast. Back-to-School promotions, therefore, should have rolling schedules by geography.
•The academic calendar at the college and university level begins earlier than most public schools, making July the better time to market apparel and supplies to coeds.
•In regions where school begins after Labor Day, many families vacation the last week in August. While high out-of-office rates may make the week leading up to the start of school less ideal for some categories, the increased use of mobile marketing, both on phones and tablets, may lead to more shopping during vacations than we have previously seen.
•Retailers report a marked spike in apparel sales after start of school, indicating the influence of peers.
•Emails with offers in the subject line have stronger transaction rates than those without offers. The 2011 transaction rate with offers was 21 percent higher compared to subject lines without offers (0.075 percent with offers and 0.061 percent without offers).
Back-to-School countdown 2012
Page 4 | Back-to-School countdown 2012: Smart strategies for email marketing
Back-to-School email campaign timingIn 2010, we reported that Back-to-School mailings had started earlier, as evidenced by a greater percentage of mailings delivered in July 2010. Back-to-School transaction rates in 2010 were highest in August, however, so the timing of Back-to-School mailings shifted once again. This time, the percentage of July mailings fell below those last seen in 2009.
More telling, August 2011 mailings accounted for 70 percent of the total email campaigns, a hefty 25 percent increase over August 2010.
August is the month for Back-to-School mailings
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
SeptemberAugustJuly
28%
66%
55%
70%
34%
22%
6%11%
8%
2009 2010 2011
Back-to-School countdown 2012
An Experian white paper | Page 5
Timing and revenue
Taking a closer look at the timing of the Back-to-School mailings, we found that the first half of August is a critical time period for marketing to parents and other Back-to-School purchasers. The proof is measured in both volume of mailings sent and the revenue those mailings received.
Why the first half of August? Success could be related to a number of factors, including:
•In regions where school begins after Labor Day, families may opt to shop prior to their end-of-summer vacations.
•In regions where school begins in August, brands may be benefiting from the peer-group influenced spike in shopping (children see what peers are wearing and ask their parents for similar items).
This information can be used to drive your messages and offers.
Back-to-School mailing volume and revenue peak in the first half of August
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
2nd half
of
Septe
mber
1st h
alf of
Septe
mber
2nd half
of
August
1st h
alf of
August2n
d half
of July
1st h
alf
of July
4.4%
24.2%
42.7%
0.1%
20.0%
6%
8.6%
% of volume % of revenue
Back-to-School countdown 2012
Page 6 | Back-to-School countdown 2012: Smart strategies for email marketing
Timing by category
The charts below compare the time of Back-to-School campaigns for the Apparel and Supplies categories.
Both groups launch the bulk of their email campaigns in August. However, the Supplies group launches 9 percent more campaigns in July than Apparel brands. The increase is largely driven by book sellers and companies focused on room décor in response to the earlier start date of universities and colleges.
Apparel Back-to-School volume by month — 2011
July17%
August76%
September7%
Supplies Back-to-School volume by month — 2011
July26%
August66%
September8%
Back-to-School countdown 2012
An Experian white paper | Page 7
Back-to-School email campaign best practicesContent
Combinations of style and special offers deliver great results, especially when combined with photos of hot-selling and popular items. Expiration dates on the offers can help to motivate parents to purchase sooner rather than later, and free shipping is always a strong incentive.
Subject lines
References to style and offers are popular in Back-to-School subject lines and can help to generate high transaction rates. Subject lines that delivered strong transaction rates in 2011 include:
•Sneak Peek — Go Back-To-School In Style!
•Reading, Writing, Arithmetic & Shoes!
•FREE Shipping — Today Only! Get Your Back-to-School Shopping Done Today!
•Up to 40 percent Off Just in Time for Back-to-School!
•Back to School: Try a free sample pack on us!
Comparing Back-to-School campaigns with and without offers in the subject line, we found that campaigns with an offer had higher transaction rates than those that did not include an offer.
Back-to-School campaigns with offers in the subject line had 21 percent higher transaction rates
0.00%
0.02%
0.04%
0.06%
0.08%
0.10%
With offerWithout offer
0.06%
0.07%
Back-to-School countdown 2012
Page 8 | Back-to-School countdown 2012: Smart strategies for email marketing
Sample Back-to-School emails
Subject Line: Kids Footwear — up to 75% off + Exclusive 20% off Coupon!
•Shoes for both boys and girls let this email hit the spot with both sales and style.
Back-to-School countdown 2012
An Experian white paper | Page 9
Subject line: Back to School: Try a Free Sample pack on us.
•Well-timed in the first week of August, Keurig notes that it’s not just students who are returning to school. This email entices students, parents and teachers with a free sample pack of coffee to start the school year.
Back-to-School countdown 2012
Page 10 | Back-to-School countdown 2012: Smart strategies for email marketing
Amplify your Back-to-School email campaigns with display adsNow that your email strategy is set, we suggest introducing another highly effective marketing channel: online display advertising.
Research has shown that the mix of email and display campaigns can boost
Web traffic by a factor of four.1
Structure your marketing campaign to reach your customers and prospects via multiple channels, including email and display. This will significantly improve your reach and increase the effectiveness of your marketing budget. Targeting platforms, such as Experian’s Audience IQSM, can help you accomplish this in a seamless manner.
How does this work?
•Utilize your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) file to determine which segments receive which ads.
•In the meantime, the consumer either: (a) reads your email or (b) doesn’t open your email.
•The consumer receives a display ad while they are surfing online.
(a) If they read your email, the display ad reinforces the campaign message.
(b) If they didn’t open your email, you’ve connected with the consumer via a display ad instead.
1http://www.eyefortravel.com/social-media-and-marketing/comparison-email-and-display-advertising-how-best-spend-online-budget
Back-to-School countdown 2012
An Experian white paper | Page 11
Sample email with display ad
Integrate the same creative within email and display ads to reinforce your brand’s message. The email conveys the two main messages of “sale” and “backpack” and the display ad reinforces the “backpack” theme.
Left: emailBelow: display ad
Back-to-School countdown 2012
Page 12 | Back-to-School countdown 2012: Smart strategies for email marketing
About Experian Marketing ServicesExperian Marketing Services is a global provider of integrated consumer insight, targeting , data quality and cross channel marketing. We help organizations from around the world intelligently interact with today’s dynamic, empowered and hyper-connected customers. By coordinating seamless interactions across all marketing channels, marketers are able to precisely plan and execute superior brand experiences that deepen customer loyalty, strengthen brand advocacy and maximize profits.
For more information, please email [email protected].
About Experian Audience IQExperian Audience IQ is a display advertising platform that allows advertisers to seamlessly integrate consumer data to drive targeted advertising. As a full-solution provider of advanced advertising, we enable cost-efficient audience targeting that goes beyond simple demographic and contextual targeting.
With Experian Audience IQ, advertisers don’t need to sacrifice audience quality for reach because we improve advertising effectiveness by reliably delivering an online addressable audience that exceeds millions of consumers. For more information, please email [email protected].
Experian Marketing Services955 American LaneSchaumburg, IL 601731 866 626 6479www.experian.com/marketingservices
©2012ExperianInformationSolutions,Inc.•Allrightsreserved Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
04/2012