1、2018 Holiday Marketing Guide Lessons it applies broadly to the winter holiday season and spirit of celebration without specifying a particular event. Alternatively, Green Monday was the least utilized event, yet Green Monday emails generated the third highest engagement and conversion rates among al

2、l messages. In Q4 2017, messages referencing 7 out of the 9 most prominent holidays in their subject lines generated lower open rates than the 13.9% average for standard emails. Some possible explanations for this include: - The unique nature of the holiday season means more brands are using the sam

3、e 9 most popular themes in their deployments to compete for subscriber attention. - End-of-year pressure to meet revenue projections can lead to higher mailing frequency, which then translates to consumers being overwhelmed by similar-looking messages, and ultimately makes it even more challenging f

4、or each message to stand out. - Marketers who dont have a clear understanding of their audiences demographic make-up and messaging preferences lean toward sales-focused approaches to their mailing programs. Even when incorporating a holiday theme, the traditional methods of batch and blast lack rele

5、vancy and are no longer enough to capture subscriber attention. Despite the lower engagement rates, themed emails for 5 of the 9 major Q4 holidays and events generated higher conversion rates than the average for BAU emails (4.8%). - Combination of the right email content, offer and timing can signi

6、ficantly impact conversion rates especially when subscribers are ready to buy. - Many of the themed emails with weaker conversion rates were typically not associated with persuasive call-to-actions (CTA) prompting subscribers to buy. Examples include Thanksgiving and Christmas messages that centered

7、 on sending subscribers well-wishes instead of driving purchases. 5 Columbus Day Monday, October 9 Columbus Day was the first Q4 holiday of 2017. Only 7.9% of brands participated, which also marked a substantial drop from the 11% adoption rate in 2016. Although producing slightly lower engagement ra

8、tes compared to standard emails, Columbus Day campaigns generated almost double the conversion rate of BAU messages with 7.6% of unique clicks resulting in purchases. Columbus Day 2016 Columbus Day 2017 BAU 11% 7.9% N/A 13.6% 13.0% 13.9% 1.3% 0.9% 1.2% 9.5% 6.7% 8.4% 7.4% 7.6% 4.8% Adoption rate Ope

9、n rate Unique click Click-to- open Conversion rate Columbus day anchor Columbus DayIntroduction Green MondayChristmas Halloween New Year Thanksgiving General Holiday Black FridayCyber Monday ConsiderationsConclusion 6 Columbus Day Day of the week findings Day of the week analysis uncovered the follo

10、wing trends: - Columbus Day (Monday): Columbus Day was typically the last day of a 3-day weekend sale, so many brands sent out emails with prominent reminders and last chance notices on Monday. About a third of all Columbus Day-themed campaigns were sent on Columbus Day. Despite having the most sign

11、ificant proportion of total volume for the week, that Monday still generated the highest open and click rates with 14.1% and 1.0%, respectively. - The day after Columbus Day (Tuesday): Brands deployed 14% of Columbus Day emails on the day after the holiday. They generated the highest day of the week

12、 conversion rates, most likely because all of these emails promoted a single day extension to their Columbus Day sale. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun. 33.8% 14.3% n/a* 5.2% 6.5% 23.4% 16.9% 14.1% 11.6% n/a* 9.4% 11.0% 13.3% 13.8% 1.0% 0.8% n/a* 0.5% 0.8% 0.9% 0.9% 6.9% 6.7% n/a* 5.4% 7.0% 6.6% 6.

13、2% 7.0% 15.6% n/a* 4.5% 2.9% 8.6% 10.0% Email volume DayOpen rate Unique click Click-to- open Conversion rate *Number of emails sent on this day was too low to be statistically significant. 7 Columbus Day Offer type findings In addition to deployment timing, our findings show that the presence of an

14、 offer and type of incentive offered can also impact campaign performance: - For Columbus Day, emails with “% off” discount and ones without a specific offer in the subject line generated similar open rates. However, the “% off” emails produced conversion rates that were three times higher than the

15、ones for emails without an offer in the subject line. - Emails that did not contain a specific incentive in their subject line featured words like dont miss, ends soon, hurry, limited time or other keywords which communicated urgency. These words were strong drivers of email opens. However, low conv

16、ersion rates may be due to underwhelmed subscribers who were not excited by the items on sale or the discount offered once they opened those emails. - Emails with % off discount in their subject lines generated double-digit conversion rate (10.7%), indicating that emails with specific offers can eff

17、ectively drive purchases from subscribers who are ready to convert. Moreover, many of these emails featured discounts that were significantly higher than the typical value promoted on Columbus Day some emails advertised discounts between 40% and 85%, which were likely hard for subscribers to pass up

18、. Dollar off Percent off No off er 12.4% 13.1% 13.4% 0.7% 1.0% 0.8% 5.7% 7.4% 6.1% 3.8% 10.7% 3.4% Off er type Open rate Unique click Click-to- open Conversion rate 8 Columbus Day Key takeaways Every year during the first week of October, Columbus Day becomes the subject of an ongoing debate about w

19、hether it should remain a federal holiday. As more and more major cities opt to replace the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day,3 brands should take note of the sentiment and educate themselves on the different psychographic attributes of their audience. Staying in tune with an audiences attitudes a

20、nd beliefs can determine whether to opt for either theme. For example, observing activity from customers and brand followers on a brands social media page can help discern audiences views of this particular holiday. Once marketers determine whether to reference the holiday in their campaigns, they c

21、ould take a number of steps to ensure they are communicating the right message. For example: - Segmenting subscribers who are based in cities that do not recognize the holiday, and replacing Columbus campaigns with BAU emails. - Avoiding the Columbus Day theme and instead emphasizing a summer cleara

22、nce event or early peek into fall offerings. - If appropriate, using lighthearted creative and copy to reflect the holiday theme but not overstate the clichs of the holiday. 9 Halloween Tuesday, October 31 In 2017, the number of brands that used Halloween themes in their email subject lines increase

23、d by 45% year-over-year (YoY). Despite the increase, open rates dropped by almost a full percentage point whereas click and conversion rates remained unchanged. YoY Halloween emails continued to generate the lowest open rate among all Q4 holidays which was 50% lower than that of BAU messages. Despit

24、e low engagement, Halloween conversion rates still beat out standard campaigns by 11%. Halloween 2016 Halloween 2017 BAU 27% 38.9% N/A 7.8% 6.9% 13.9% 0.4% 0.4% 1.2% 5.1% 5.4% 8.4% 5.3% 5.4% 4.8% Adoption rate Open rate Unique click Click-to- open Conversion rate Halloween anchor HalloweenIntroducti

25、on Green Monday Columbus Day ChristmasNew Year Thanksgiving General Holiday Black FridayCyber Monday ConsiderationsConclusion 10 Halloween Overall findings When comparing Halloween themed emails, a few differences stood out between the top and bottom performers. Top performers: Subject lines for the

26、se emails incorporated witty, original and out- of-box Halloween puns or references that were consistent with the marketers brand. See examples on the right: Bottom performers: Halloween emails with weak open rates tended to incorporate the theme without specifying the value of their message or how

27、it relates to their brand or products. The subject lines contained words like mystery offer, Halloween savings and spooky, but did not offer any information on the benefit associated with the message (a clear offer value, Halloween items on sale, etc.) or they lacked context and relevant details for

28、 the target audience. This may have contributed to these emails blending in with other run-of-the-mill campaigns. Subject Line: Dont be a Hallo- weenie. Enjoy these spooky treats Taylor Media Subject Line: Are you ready for your Epic BREWS the date was chosen because 11/11 is a collection of 1s the

29、loneliest number. Ecommerce giant Alibaba picked up the event in 2009 and has since transformed it into a global shopping phenomenon.6 Participation from US retailers is still small which makes it an exciting opportunity for marketers to engage their younger audience through an empowering energy mom

30、ent. The campaign examples below use the treat yourself theme, strong offers (high value gift and discount), and one-day timeframe to capture attention. 49 Considerations for Q4 Veterans Day Also celebrated on November 11th, Veterans Day is another occasion for brands to showcase their human side be

31、fore the holiday shopping rush. The examples below illustrate how brands can tone down the hard-sell on this holiday and instead focus on honoring veterans and highlighting charitable programs that help veterans. Subject line: Look Good, For Good | Veterans Day Sale going on now Subject line: Vetera

32、ns Day: Serving Those Who Have Served Us All 50 Considerations for Q4 Have a plan to address online and offline traffic surge Even Amazon, the mother of all online retailers, suffered a website outage during their latest Prime Day sale.7 Mass shopper discontent quickly became apparent on social medi

33、a and is one of many reminders of the importance of preparing for traffic spikes. Since few brands (if any) can guarantee their purchasing channels will be 100% disruption-free at all times, its imperative for marketers to have a communication plan ready in the event of a breakdown. Recent examples

34、from the following brands demonstrate how poor communication can put a dent in a brands reputation and threaten hard-earned customer loyalty: - Victoria Secret: During their annual sale, inaccurate stock counts on their website resulted in many confirmed orders being placed on back-order and eventua

35、lly canceled. Not addressing the issue fueled customer discontent and declining brand perception.8 - Build-A-Bear Workshop: The brands pay your age deal was so appealing that it led to huge crowds queueing in front of stores which caused security concerns, guests getting turned away, and a flurry of

36、 customer complaints on social media.9 51 Considerations for Q4 Embrace reverse showrooming “Reverse showrooming” or “webrooming” the act of researching a product or service online then heading to a physical store to complete a purchase is gaining traction with consumers. Studies show that not only

37、is Amazon the number one destination where showroomers end up purchasing, but its also even more popular with reverse showroomers who eventually purchase elsewhere.10 The holidays are an opportune time for brands to start marketing their physical locations as unique in-store experiences that cannot

38、be simulated online. A slew of tactics have proven beneficial for retailers such as offering in-store cooking classes like Williams-Sonoma,11 providing a pop-up bar or caf like Club Monaco,12 letting shoppers enjoy a glass of wine as they wander through the aisles like supermarket chain Marianos,13

39、or simply making in-store pick-ups and returns possible for online purchases like Home Depot.14 Subject line: Youre invited to Sip there is a drastic increase in cardboard waste caused by shifting consumer habits from in- store to online.15 By sticking to lower-priced, standard box sizes (regardless

40、 of the size of the item), many online retailers prioritize efficiency over environmental sustainability. This presents a great opportunity for savvy brands to elevate their ecommerce experience. A great way to make a memorable first impression is to combine brand designs with considerate packaging

41、(boxes that better fit the ordered items). Especially for the holidays, adding festive themes, holiday product suggestions, and exclusive coupons to shipments can go a long way in building brand reputation and encouraging customer loyalty. 53 Conclusion Sources High value brands have historically be

42、en defined by the price and quality of the goods or services they offer, but shifting consumer behaviors and shopping patterns mean that price and quality are no longer enough to guarantee success. Instead, factors like end- to-end service, personalized experiences and brand message/ culture are bec

43、oming value drivers for consumers. These changes matter even more during the holiday season, which means that marketers need to rethink their standard holiday plans and examine how important these emerging factors are to their audience if they plan to develop a consumer-centric 2018 holiday plan tha

44、t can drive meaningful returns throughout the holiday season and beyond. Methodology We used Yesmail360i, Yes Marketings multi-channel marketing communication platform, to track almost 8 billion emails sent in Q4 2017. We used keywords like Columbus, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cheer, Chr

45、istmas and Free Shipping to identify emails with specific themes and offers in their subject lines, measure their performance and compare them to standard campaigns over the same timeframe. To provide a more accurate measurement and not skew the performance of standard/BAU messages, we removed triggered campaigns from this analysis. 1 - NRF 2 - eMarketer 3 - Time 4 - Thrillist 5 - Shopify 6 - eMarketer 7 - Fortune 8 - Business Insider 9 - Washington Post 10 - Business Insider 11 - Pop Sugar 12 - Fast Company 13 - WSJ 14 - Retail Dive 15- NBC News Contact us 1.877.937.6245 conclusion anchor