52472 1 3 econsultancy_xml <p>The industry has become focused on <strong>segmentation and targeting</strong>, and rightly so. </p> <p>The opportunity to deliver highly targeted communications to the most relevant people at the most relevant time delivers impressive results, as I saw when <strong>open rates topped 50%</strong> during my time at Warner Breaks.</p> <p>However, segmenting your lists and measuring results is only half the story, and provides limited success if you forget to invest time and energy in the content. </p> <p>So many companies are guilty of sending out emails that contain uninspiring content, simply because we need to <strong>get something out of the door</strong>.</p> <p>One of the biggest challenges is for brands that do not retail their products online, so don't have the excuse to send special offers, promotions and <em>"thought you might be interested"</em> emails.</p> <p>These companies want to<strong> build brand loyalty</strong> and promote their products, but need to think of more creative ways to do so. </p> <p>One company that shines is <strong>Innocent Smoothies</strong>, which has been sending me a <a href="http://family.innocentdrinks.co.uk/newsletters/">weekly newsletter</a> each Wednesday afternoon since early 2006.</p> <p>Aside from the obvious <em>"new recipes"</em> it is difficult to think what Innocent could write about, but each week they do a fabulous job of sharing news from their team, charity fundraising, environmental projects, competitions and general nonsense such as the <a href="http://belowthenose.blogspot.com">Official Moustache database</a>.</p> <p>Their <strong>tone is chatty</strong>, often jokey, perfect for their audience, creating the feeling of a warm and friendly group of friends that I would have no issue with having over for dinner. </p> <p>How many other companies start their emails with: </p> <blockquote> <p> <em>"Whoopee-doo, it’s September. Haven’t the months just flown by, unless you’ve been in prison – then it’s probably dragged a bit. Anyway, we’re here now, so sit back, relax and prepare yourself for autumn and some exciting news about Roy Walker’s second coming."</em> </p> </blockquote> <p>Their creative isn't even particularly flashly, relatively unchanged in 2 years, but still it remains one of the only pieces of email marketing I look forward to receiving each week.</p> <p> <strong>And the measure of success?</strong> Well in their recent Big Knit charity campaign, Innocent had 350,000 entries raising £175,000 for Age Concern, a campaign largely publicised virally over the internet.</p> <p> <strong>Praise to the innocent team,</strong> and let other email marketers follow their example. </p> <p>In a world of segmentation of analysis, let's not forget the content, something I have been guilty myself on many occasions.</p> <p>Matthew Finch</p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>The industry has become focused on <Emphasis>segmentation and targeting</Emphasis>, and rightly so. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>The opportunity to deliver highly targeted communications to the most relevant people at the most relevant time delivers impressive results, as I saw when <Emphasis>open rates topped 50%</Emphasis> during my time at Warner Breaks.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>However, segmenting your lists and measuring results is only half the story, and provides limited success if you forget to invest time and energy in the content. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>So many companies are guilty of sending out emails that contain uninspiring content, simply because we need to <Emphasis>get something out of the door</Emphasis>.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>One of the biggest challenges is for brands that do not retail their products online, so don't have the excuse to send special offers, promotions and <Quote>"thought you might be interested"</Quote> emails.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>These companies want to<Emphasis> build brand loyalty</Emphasis> and promote their products, but need to think of more creative ways to do so. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>One company that shines is <Emphasis>Innocent Smoothies</Emphasis>, which has been sending me a <Link URL="http://family.innocentdrinks.co.uk/newsletters/" Window="Self">weekly newsletter</Link> each Wednesday afternoon since early 2006.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Aside from the obvious <Quote>"new recipes"</Quote> it is difficult to think what Innocent could write about, but each week they do a fabulous job of sharing news from their team, charity fundraising, environmental projects, competitions and general nonsense such as the <Link URL="http://belowthenose.blogspot.com" Window="Self">Official Moustache database</Link>.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Their <Emphasis>tone is chatty</Emphasis>, often jokey, perfect for their audience, creating the feeling of a warm and friendly group of friends that I would have no issue with having over for dinner. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>How many other companies start their emails with: </Paragraph> <Block> <Paragraph> <Quote>"Whoopee-doo, it’s September. Haven’t the months just flown by, unless you’ve been in prison – then it’s probably dragged a bit. Anyway, we’re here now, so sit back, relax and prepare yourself for autumn and some exciting news about Roy Walker’s second coming."</Quote> </Paragraph> </Block> <Paragraph>Their creative isn't even particularly flashly, relatively unchanged in 2 years, but still it remains one of the only pieces of email marketing I look forward to receiving each week.</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>And the measure of success?</Emphasis> Well in their recent Big Knit charity campaign, Innocent had 350,000 entries raising £175,000 for Age Concern, a campaign largely publicised virally over the internet.</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Praise to the innocent team,</Emphasis> and let other email marketers follow their example. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>In a world of segmentation of analysis, let's not forget the content, something I have been guilty myself on many occasions.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Matthew Finch</Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2007-11-05T15:51:00+00:00 1 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>After working on email marketing for many years, I have certainly seen many examples of the good, the bad and the ugly, with many unfortunately falling into the latter two.</strong> </p> <p>However, one brand is leading the way with an email newsletter that has kept me hooked for nearly two years with fresh and engaging content.</p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>After working on email marketing for many years, I have certainly seen many examples of the good, the bad and the ugly, with many unfortunately falling into the latter two.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>However, one brand is leading the way with an email newsletter that has kept me hooked for nearly two years with fresh and engaging content.</Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 1908 364525 Innocent maybe, but highly effective false 2007-11-06T08:00:00+00:00 innocent-maybe-but-highly-effective 2009-04-30T02:56:18+01:00 2009-04-30T02:56:18+01:00 416