Archive for August, 2008
3 Simple Steps for creating a successful viral e-mail campaign to your house lists.
By Tom Polanski, Mojo Marketing Maestro, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
The case study that I’ve included to below got me to thinking that any advertiser could use the success principles InterContinental Hotels Group discovered to market to their house lists. They would just have to tailor the incentive to their offer. If it’s too capital and labor intensive to create a rewards program or a frequent buyer program, perhaps gift cards of varying amounts could be used to create the same virality. I hope that the case study sparks your thinking in new directions.
Viral remarketing case study, InterContinental Hotels Group:
Summary: Making your best customers really feel appreciated can solidify their loyalty. But is it worth the investment in customers who are already your brand champions?
Find out how marketers for an international hotel chain crafted a simple email that got a 100% response rate from their most active loyalty club members. Ultimately, 1,766% more people than were initially sent the email responded.
Challenge:
Cassandra Jeyaram, Social Marketing Manager, InterContinental Hotels Group, and her team wanted to thank the 150 most active members of their Priority Club rewards program while boosting stays at the same time.
They intended to boost the already strong loyalty of their club members and get more people into rooms at hotels such as the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo while keeping costs at a minimum. Such a campaign required a balancing act.
What type of campaign would make their biggest fans feel rewarded and leverage their passion for the hotels without making them feel like pawns? And still provide a solid ROI?
Posted by Tom Polanski in Marketing on August 15th, 2008
SPAM CAMPAIGNS READ MSNBC.COM OR CNN IN “FROM” AND “SUBJECT” LINES
Posted: Wednesday, August 13 at 01:55 pm CT by Bob Sullivan
Spammers have upped the ante in their efforts to trick news consumers, switching from e-mails with tabloid-style headlines to impersonating major online news services. On Wednesday, e-mails that appeared to be from msnbc.com landed in inboxes worldwide, promising breaking news and confusing some recipients.
The spam unleashed Wednesday follows a massive campaign last week in which spammers impersonated CNN.com. That campaign saw 250 million spam messages sent in one intense 24 hour period, according to spam-fighting firm MX Logic Inc. Those e-mails appeared to include links to CNN’s top 10 stories, but Internet users who were tricked into clicking on those links were sent instead to Web sites overseas that were booby-trapped with malicious software.
Recipients should immediately delete any unexpected e-mails purportedly from CNN, msnbc.com or any other firm that they haven’t done business with and authorized to contact them.
Users who open the fake CNN or msnbc.com e-mails and click on a link are in for a bad day if they fall for the ruse. Those who do are sent to Web sites that attempt to trick them into downloading what is described as a video player plug-in. Instead, the malicious software will infect the user’s computer, ultimately giving hackers complete control over the machine. Infected computers are then used to send out even more spam.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising on August 13th, 2008
Clarity and Transparency Create Brand Loyalty and Life Time Value in Consumers.
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Clarity will always be valued over persuasion by savvy internet users. We’ve all become cynical over the years. Much of it is due to constant marketing pressures. Yet so many companies and marketers still insult us with “dog and pony shows” and obfuscation. If a company wants to keep customers then it must be clear every step of the way. Relationship management, which to a large degree the management of expectations is of paramount importance. And as we know it’s easier and more profitable to keep a customer than it is to keep looking for new ones.
One way for e-merchants to do this is to make sure that they do everything possible to allay the anxieties of the shopper. In our experience the top two reasons for abandoning the shopping process are:
1. Lack of confidence in the site.
2. Surprises.
3. Perceived potential difficulties in navigating the site.
PEW studies show that the average end user will begin to make judgments about the aesthetics and “goodness” of a site within one (1) second. Therefore, our studies show that it’s critical to have credibility enhancing symbols above the fold on the left where the eyes naturally fall first. In addition, a hygienic, orderly and easy to navigate site will increase end-user stickiness. The last thing a shopper wants to be subjected to are unnecessary actions and confusion while trying to find products. Bring form and function together to create an online store—an environment, if you will— that is positive, easy to navigate, pleasant to be in and conducive to frequent and extended visits.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Customer Centric on August 13th, 2008
Dennis Consorte, Director of eCommerce, David’s Cookies, discusses marketing and selling cookies online
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Folks, we’re really tickled to be able to spend some time with Dennis Consorte, Director of e-Commerce at David’s Cookies. When you get a chance, check out the site. A lot of really scrumptious cookies and deserts. I know the eBrand Group will be using David’s over the holidays. They offer much, much more than the usual “cookie tin” suspects. (smile)
Tom Polanski: Hi, Dennis. How are you doing today?
Dennis Consorte: Hey Tom, I’m doing great, thanks. I’m very excited to speak with you! How are you?
Tom Polanski: I couldn’t be doing better. Dennis, would you mind giving us a little bit of background as to how you ended up at David’s?
Dennis Consorte: Sure. Long story short, I was a computer geek as a kid, heavy on the software side. I fell out of it around senior year of high school, got my Bachelor’s Degree in psychology and eventually ended up working on the management team at an architectural firm. Four years later, I decided that administration wasn’t the path I wanted to take, and rejuvenated my love for computers, but more on the online marketing side. I got into a bunch of things including some large consulting gigs and 5 years later I found myself in a fulltime position at David’s Cookies. Here I manage much of the site development, online strategy, the affiliate program, SEO, PPC advertising and of course just growing our Internet presence and online business.
Tom Polanski: It’s always interesting to me the journey people take to find their passion, their niche. Do you apply any of the principles you learned earning a degree in psychology towards your marketing?
Posted by Tom Polanski in Interviews on August 11th, 2008
Advertising News: Coke uses Olympics to launch interactive campaign
I thought you’d be interested in tis bit of marketing news passed on to us by Dana Nelson at SS|PR. Coke kicked off a brand new marketing strategy today at the Olympics in Beijing.
Pioco, China’s most influential Bluetooth Media company, has wired thousands of hotspots in and around the Olympic stadiums, hotels, restaurants, clubs, cafes and other leisure venues of Beijing and
Shanghai to broadcast Coca-Cola Bluetooth video commercials to Bluetooth-enabled cell phones.
Coca-Cola’s relationship with Pioco marks the first time in Olympic history that a brand has used Bluetooth media for its marketing campaign. Would you be interested in interviews with Coke China and Pioco? Let me know if you need more info.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Marketing on August 8th, 2008