What sizzled, what stayed the same, and how marketers can plan for 2016

How 2015 #BacktoSchool email

campaigns got it right

#BacktoSchoolA+

Introduction

“Back-to-School” is a key milestone in the retail calendar. It’s a shifting of gears into the busy fall season, and it provides an entry point to additional customer engagements that can also include Halloween and the critical holiday selling period. In this Back-to-School “Look Book,” we showcase five 2015 emails, each from a major retail brand. In collaboration with eDataSource, Inc., Epsilon email experts were able to review the subject lines, open rates and creative of these emails, and then provide commentary on execution and opportunities for improvement.

#BacktoSchool

Key insights

> Extensive coverage of back-to-school products this season. A shift beyond the ‘required products’ including beauty products, home goods and technology.

> Subject lines are vital drivers

of email engagement. Virtually every subject line in this analysis included some form of promotional offer.

> Simplicity is key. The standard

is for clear and relevant offers, and CTA’s.

> Mobile rendering is essential. Upwards of 60% of total email opens occur on mobile devices. Think mobile optimized for all devices.

A+

Subject Line:

Choose 4 Samples + Get back to school looks from NY Fashion Week

Read rate: 13.73%

Clothes and school supplies clearly are not the only back-to-school necessities! Aveda hit a homerun with their back to school campaign of Fall for Back to School Looks with the promotion of their beauty products and back-to-school savings event.

The cross promotional feature and the connection with the New York City fashion week reflects Aveda’s trending brand. The creative use of symbols in the subject line enabled the email to stand out in the inbox driving above average open rates. Additionally, the descriptive and cohesive subject line and pre-header text pairing provides a complete preview of the email content.

It’s a no wonder they achieved a 13.73% read rate! The greeting in the opening paragraph is an effective use of personalization while the descriptive CTA buttons drives engagement.”

Kara Trivunovic Vice President, Digital Client Services, Epsilon

KARA’S QUICK TIP

SHOP NOW AND SAVE

Increase the sense of urgency by including an offer end date in the subject line and email content; include a countdown timer until the beginning of the school season.

#Aveda

“

You had me at the subject line. Love it!

We’re the college experts. Plus enter for a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree!

This clever choice of text combined with the sweepstakes promotion helped to drive a remarkable read rate of close to 27%. Wow! With the multiple back-to-school retailers showcasing their brand as the ‘college headquarters,’ the pressure to drive engagement is high. The sweepstakes offering combined with the college registry option and campaign hashtag all helped to increase engagement.”

Kiley RobbinsStrategic Consultant, Epsilon

KILEY’S QUICK TIP

ENTER FOR A CHANCE

Consider adding a pre-header text of “Shop Now!” to complement your subject line.

#Bed Bath & Beyond

Subject Line:

We’re the college experts. Plus enter for a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree

Read Rate: 26.75%

“

Subject Line:

Kick off back-to-school at 50% off

Read Rate:11.07%

50% off a student’s required back-to-school technology devices equals huge savings!

The subject line and pre-header text convey a consistent message and work together to capture the open.

The email design is well organized with back-to-school product images spotlighted and descriptive CTAs --“Shop PCs” and “Shop Electronics” providing targeted content messaging versus the typical ‘shop now.’ This campaign was well targeted and the 11.07% read rate is an indication of success.”

Jill LeMaire-Redo Vice President, Strategic Consulting, Epsilon

JILL’S QUICK TIP

SHOP ELECTRONICS

Highlight customer ratings and reviews of featured products.

#Dell

“

Subject Line:

BACK TO SCHOOL: Gear up for school with 40% off

Read Rate:22.74%

There are brands you expect your inbox to fill up quickly with back-to-school promotions Shutterfly isn’t one of them. Because of this Shutterfly creates instant curiosity for the reader as to how the brand can help prepare families for getting back to school.

Once opened, the reader becomes quickly engaged by an actionable and meaningful pre-header section that aligns with the body content - not the typical “view this message in browser.” Additionally, the headline with CTA is featured prominently “above the fold” and making it easy for reader interaction.”

Kara TrivunovicVice President, Digital Client Services, Epsilon

KARA’S QUICK TIP

40% OF EVERYTHING

Optimize the email on the mobile device by increasing the size of the CTA buttons.

#Shutterfly

“

There’s something to be said about keeping it simple! Staples did a nice job with the single stacked layout of the email design. The multiple CTAs and consistency with the colors and size allows the reader to easily locate the offer and stay engaged.

The simple imagery does not clutter the email and the rendering on mobile devices gets an A+. The rewards callout provides a good engagement tactic and the app download feature is a great customer acquisition opportunity. The multi-promotion of the ‘daily deals’ and back-to-school highlighted offers enables readers to plan their shopping experience beyond the needed back-to-school items for the household.”

Mara CrisafulliSr. Relationship Manager, Digital Client Services, Epsilon

MARA’S QUICK TIP

EVERYTHING YOU NEED

Integrate a time of open content strategy for the daily deals clock. Include campaign personalization by leveraging demographic data of the recipient’s first name, children’s names, etc. (also, subject line testing)

#Staples

“

Subject Line:

Back to school savings in store and online

Read Rate:15.52%

Conclusion

As demonstrated, a lot of great creative work went into the back-to-school holiday planning. And, it’s in no doubt due to the fact that marketers are in planning mode months ahead of time. Marketers begin with their back-to-school holiday planning strategy in the early part of Q1. Keep this ebook handy to help you with your planning for next year. It will be here before you know it!

Want to hear more from our experts about the back-to-school holiday season? Please visit our Epsilon blog site, a Brand New View.

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