webinar: promoting america state by state: email expert review of fifty state tourism agencies
DESCRIPTION
“One to One’s deep experience serving travel-related brands provide us with unique insight into critiquing and designing engaging promotional email,” said webinar presenter Dr. Philip Rhodes, Managing Director for OTOinsights. “In this webinar we’ll be visiting the State Tourism Agency websites for all fifty states and then signing up for email; then offering expert analysis of the emails we receive over the following ten-day period.”TRANSCRIPT
www.OTOinsights.com 1
August 26, 2010
Promoting America State by State:
Email Expert Review of Fifty State Tourism Agencies
2www.onetooneinteractive.com
Dr. Philip Rhodes, Ph.D.
Philip holds a Ph.D. in Information Design from the University of Portsmouth. He has extensive research and teaching experience in hypermedia design and information architecture. He speaks fluent Portuguese, having lived and worked in Brazil. Before joining OTOinsights, he worked with US solution providers Rare Medium and Sapient, as Director of Information Architecture. Specializing in offering user-centric online solutions within the banking, education, and telecommunications sectors. He also taught at several universities in Brazil and the UK, and has been widely published. Philip is both the Managing Director and the Director of Customer Experience Research & Design at OTOinsights, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Managing Director & Director of Research
3www.onetooneinteractive.com
Agenda
www.OTOinsights.com 4
OTOinsights Overview
www.OTOinsights.com 5
Established in 1997, One to One Interactive is the first global enterprise to assemble a complete solution for brands, agencies, and publishers executing one-to-one marketing strategies. The company employs over 140 professionals in 7 offices located in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
One of the 20 “Hottest Independent Digital Firms” GloballyAdAge, 2007
One of the Fastest Growing Private CompaniesInc Magazine, 2008
www.OTOinsights.com 6
OTOinsights Overview
Established in 2002, OTOinsights has conducted over 400
research project in over 30 countries.
Specialists in neuromarketing and customer experience strategy,
research and design.
Undertake discrete point-in-time projects and strategic
engagements.
Experience across all platforms including digital (e.g. web,
intranets, mobile devices, PDA’s, i-TV, etc.), call centers, retail
environments and physical products (e.g. laptops, printers, etc.)
OTOinsights Offerings:
Amplifying Engagement
fhios quantemo Customer Experience Research Neuromarketing Research
www.OTOinsights.com 7
OTOinsights | Amplifying Engagement
Brand Perception Research
Information DesignNeuromarketing Research
Customer Experience Research
• Eye-Tracking• Pre-Cognitive Neurological
Engagement• Cognitive Emotional Tagging
• Usability Testing• Focus Groups• In-Depth/Paired Interviews• Online Surveys• Expert Evaluations• Accessibility Audits• Ethnographics
• Research/Tracking • Socially Informed/ Multi-
Channel Personas• Engagement Mapping• Cultural Anthropology• Trend Spotting
• User Needs Analysis• Information Architecture• User Scenarios• Behavioral Use Cases• Feature Matrix• Wireframes• Site Maps• Prototype Development
9www.onetooneinteractive.com
PART 1 | Context: The US travel landscape
10www.onetooneinteractive.com
Context: The US travel landscape
US travel landscape is significant revenue
generator, both in terms of domestic travellers and
international visitors
• Although 2009 saw reductions in number of
travellers (domestic and international), and
hence an overall reduction in revenues, 2010 and
the next 4-5 years is expected to see continued
growth
• The internet has an increasingly important role to
play in the travel landscape, yet how are official
state organisations capitalising on that potential
growth
Travel in the US:
• Travellers spent a total of $704.4 billion in 2009
• Predicted that travellers with spend $748.3 billion in 2010
11www.onetooneinteractive.com
Context: The US travel landscape
• How many people are travelling to US states?
• US study (July 2010)
• 1,469 million domestic leisure travelers in 2009
• 54.9 million international visitors in 2009
• $610 billion spent by domestic travelers
• $94 billion spent by international visitorsHow will travel numbers change?
• Domestic travel predicted to increase 1.8% - 3.6% year on year for the next 4 years
• International travel to the US predicted to increase 3.1% - 5.1% year on year for the next 4 years
12www.onetooneinteractive.com
• The Internet and travel?
• 90 million US residents used the Internet to
plan travel in the past year
• Sites visited include:
• Destination websites
• Travel Agency websites
• Travel company websites
Context: The US travel landscape
Increased use of the Internet has led to significant decrease in the number of calls to state and local tourism offices
13www.onetooneinteractive.com
• Email and travel?
• The ‘open rate’ for travel related emails is
relatively high (approximately 13%, with click-
through date of 3%). More so than e-commerce,
insurance, technology and government emails.
• 10 million travellers a year respond to travel
emails leading to unplanned travel.
Context: The US travel landscape
14www.onetooneinteractive.com
PART 2: Review of 53 States (sites/e-newsletters)
15www.onetooneinteractive.com
Methodology
• Expert Approach
• 2 experienced customer experienced consultants
• Independently reviewed US state travel sites and e-
newsletters
• Focus
• Ease of finding link to sign-up
• Information required to sign-up
• Timeliness of email response
• Quality of e-newsletter
16www.onetooneinteractive.com
Results | Summary
• The numbers
• 36/53 sites had a link to sign-up on the homepage
• 7/53 had links on deeper pages
• 10/53 had no e-newsletter
• 23 sent email confirmation
• Only 3 sent the current e-newsletter within 24 hours
• A further 6 made the archive of e-newsletters
available
17www.onetooneinteractive.com
Sign-Up Process
18www.onetooneinteractive.com
Results | Sign-up
• Key criteria used in the analysis:
• Is the sign-up available from the homepage
• Is it possible to enter ‘sign-up’ details on the homepage
• No additional information required to sign-up e.g. postal address, annual income, etc.
• Can the user customise the newsletter to their areas of interest
• Is there is a clear confirmation page
• Is the user informed what will happen next
• Is the user given access to the latest newsletter or an archive of newsletters
19www.onetooneinteractive.com
Sign-up | The best and worst
Key
Excellent
Very poor
No email
newsletters
20www.onetooneinteractive.com
Sign-up | The best and worst
• Best
1. Texas
1. Arkansas
3. Missouri
3. Maryland
3. Vermont
• Worst
41. Wisconsin
38. New York
38. North Dakota
38. Georgia
34. Virginia
Note that 12 states did not offer an e-newsletters
21www.onetooneinteractive.com
Sign-Up Process: The Best
22www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Texas
• Sign-up is clearly shown on the
side of the homepage
• Only an e-mail address is required
• No unnecessary information
is requested
• Users are able to create an
account which will provide them
with access to further features
• However it is clear that this
is optional
23www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Texas
• Clear confirmation is sent via
• The user is provided with
more information regarding
the e-newsletters
• The look and feel of the
confirmation email is consistent
with the website, with a clear
Texas logo
• Users are given a link back to the
website
24www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Arkansas
• Sign-up is clearly shown on the
side of the homepage
• Only name and email address
are required
• It is clear that the Zip Code
is not mandatory
• Users are able to select their interests
in order to customise the email
newsletter
• Option to select a ‘general
newsletter’ is also provided
25www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Arkansas
• Confirmation page has a clear
indication that their subscription
was successful
• Users are informed that they
will receive an email
confirmation
• Confirmation email received
immediately
• Website links provided
26www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Missouri
• The sign-up is clearly shown at
the top at the homepage
• Users are informed of the
benefits of subscribing
• Ability to enter email address
on the homepage
• The user is able to personalise
the e-newsletter by checking the
relevant boxes
• ‘?’ icons provided to assist users
27www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Missouri
• Clear confirmation screen
• Users informed about the
content of the e-newsletters
• The option to unsubscribe is
provided
• Email confirmation sent
• List of interests selected
during sign-up
• Link back to the website is
provided
28www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Maryland
• The sign up is clearly shown
within the ‘What’s Happening’
section which is suitable
• Clear heading on the sign up
page
• Clear indication of frequency of e-
newsletters
• Ability to view archived
newsletters before subscribing
• Only email address is requested
29www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Maryland
• The user can choose which
categories they wish to receive
information on
• Clear indication that the user has
subscribed and preferences have
been saved
30www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Vermont
• The sign up button is clearly
displayed on the homepage and
accompanied by an ‘envelope’ icon
• Clear heading on the sign up page
• Users are able to select specific
interests
• However these are limited to ‘up
to three’ and selection method
not intuitive
• Only email address is mandatory
31www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Vermont
• Clear confirmation page
• Users provided with a link to
view the latest e-newsletter
• Immediate email confirmation
sent
• However, users are required to
confirm subscription by
clicking on a link in the email
• No indication of this was given
on the confirmation page
32www.onetooneinteractive.com
Sign-Up: The Worst
33www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Wisconsin
• Link to the e-newsletter is on the
homepage
• However it is hidden through
use of poorly contrasting
colours
• Users are asked a lot of
unnecessary questions, including:
• Screen name, zip code and a
password
34www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Wisconsin
• The confirmation page “welcomes
back” the user
• The user is referred to by the
screen name rather than their
own name
• The ‘save changes' link has no
purpose for users that have just
subscribed
• Required to confirm via email link
• Users have been forced into
creating an account
35www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | New York
• Link to newsletter at the top of
the homepage
• However link is hidden due
to small font and not
accompanied by an icon
• Account creation required
• ZIP code is mandatory
• User must go through many
pages in order to sign up (three
steps)
36www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | New York
• Confirmation page states that an
email had been sent in order to
confirm subscription
• However no email was
received
37www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | North Dakota
• Link to sign-up on the homepage
• However, lots of mandatory
information required in order to
subscribe
• e.g. address, password
required, ‘how did you hear
about us?’
• Required to create an account
in order to receive the e-
newsletter
38www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | North Dakota
• ‘Thank you’ message on the
confirmation page gives the user
the impression that they are now
a member and have completed
the subscription process
• However a delayed email
was received 5 minutes later
requesting confirmation by
clicking on a link
• No indication of next steps
39www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Georgia
• No link to subscribe on the
homepage, had to conduct a
search to find it
• Once the user clicks on a search
result, the sign up link is still very
hidden at the bottom of a text
heavy page
40www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Georgia
• Appears as though the user is taken
to another site as the logo has
changed
• Broken link in the centre of the page
– it does not do anything
• Right column ‘email entry’ field
works correctly
• However there is no confirmation
page, just a message which
appears in the right column
• No confirmation email
41www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Virginia
• Link on homepage
• However link is below the fold of the
page
• Once the user clicks ‘subscribe’ they are
returned to the top of the page without
any indication that anything has changed
• Only if the user scrolls down will they
realise that they have completed the
subscription
• No confirmation email sent
42www.onetooneinteractive.com
E-mail Newsletters
43www.onetooneinteractive.com
Results | e-mail newsletter
• Key criteria used in the analysis:
• Are links to the site provided and are they clear
• Are links provided to social networking sites
• Is the e-mail personalised
• Is there a specific and catchy subject line
• Is there an option to unsubscribe
• Is a real address, phone number or other similar details about the sender
provided
• Is there consistency with the e-newsletter and the website
44www.onetooneinteractive.com
E-mail newsletter | The best and worst
17 email
newsletters review
Key
Excellent
Very poor
45www.onetooneinteractive.com
E-mail newsletter | The best and worst
• Best
1. Arizona
1. Tennessee
2. Oklahoma
4. Kentucky
4. Minnesota
• Worst
17. Florida
16. Vermont
12. New Mexico
12. North Carolina
12. North Dakota
Only 17 e-newsletters were reviewed
46www.onetooneinteractive.com
E-mail Newsletters: The Best
47www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Arizona
• The e-newsletter has consistent
look and feel and navigation with
the site
• The logo is a link to the
website
• The social media links are
prominently displayed at the top
of the page
• There is also a link to a photo
competition, which adds a
level of interest
48www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Arizona
• Headings are clear and the links
provided are unambiguous
• The images are large and
excellent quality
• Contact information is clearly
provided at the bottom of the
page
• There is a clear link to
‘unsubscribe’
49www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Tennessee
• The logo is obvious and takes the
user to the main site
• The aesthetic is visually appealing
and consistent with the main site
• The social media links are clearly
displayed at the top of the page
• Contact information is clearly
provided
• There is a clear link to unsubscribe
at the foot of the page
50www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Oklahoma
• Simple and clear presentation
with key information provided
• The ‘play’ icon reaffirms that
the link will take the user to
a video
• Consistent look and feel to the
website
• Logo provides a link to the
site
• Includes multiple social media
tools to share the page
51www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Oklahoma
• Clear contact information is
provided
• The unsubscribe option is located
at the bottom as would be
expected by users
• However it is slightly hidden
within a paragraph of text
52www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Kentucky
• The heading and logo are clear
and provide a link back to the
main site
• Branding is consistent with the
site
• The sections are well divided and
the colour contrast aids page
scanability
• Each article also has a link to
further information on the
main site
53www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Kentucky
• The separate ‘Upcoming Events’
section is useful and displays the
dates and key information
• There are social media links both
to share the newsletter and take
the user to the Kentucky Tourism
social networking pages
• Option to unsubscribe is ‘one-
click’ and takes the user to a
confirmation
54www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Minnesota
• There is consistency with the website
in terms of branding and look and feel
• The logo is a link to the website
• The layout and visual style of the
newsletter is clean and it is simple to
scan through
• Each of the headings is a link to the
related article
• Short description of each article
and an accompanying image
55www.onetooneinteractive.com
The best | Minnesota
• There are links to their Facebook
and Twitter as well as other useful
links on the left
• There is a clear link to
‘unsubscribe’
56www.onetooneinteractive.com
E-mail Newsletters: The Worst
57www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Florida
• Unable to see images on the
email newsletter (even when
images are enabled)
• The link to ‘see online version’
leads to an error page
• Lack of a visible link to the
website
• No links to social networking sites
• Lack of consistency with the
website – unable to see if there is
any branding
58www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Vermont
• Poor contrast of grey text on a
green background on the title of
the ‘in this issue’ section
• There is no option to unsubscribe
from the newsletters
• There are no contact details
provided
• The August issue is not available
and the sample is the ‘July’ issue
(even though we are now almost
in September)
59www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | Vermont
• The newsletter was poorly formatted
when viewed in Google Chrome
• The newsletter was not sent via email
upon completing the subscription
process
60www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | New Mexico
• There is no option to unsubscribe
from the e-newsletter from this
page
• ‘In this issue’ links take the user
to what appears to be the full
version of the newsletter
• However, ‘hot deals’ leads to a
different page
• There are no social network links
on this cover page
61www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | New Mexico
• The actual newsletter is very long
and requires the user to scroll a lot
• The newsletter is very text heavy,
especially on the second half of the
page
• The newsletter was not sent via
email upon completing the
subscription process
62www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | North Carolina
• The logo is not a link to the
website
• There is a link to ‘subscribe’ at the
top of the page
• No links to social networking sites
are provided
• ‘Opt out’ is not visible and another
link to ‘subscribe’ is positioned at
the front of the footer
• No contact information is provided
63www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | North Dakota
• Logo is not a link to the website
• The option provided to
unsubscribe is labeled ‘instant
removal’
• The text ‘instant removal’ does
not look like a link
• Many broken links e.g. ‘read more
news stories’ links to a 404 error
page
64www.onetooneinteractive.com
The worst | North Dakota
• It is stated that the newsletter is
available both in text and HTML
format, however the option to
chose is not provided
65www.onetooneinteractive.com
PART 3: Insights & Conclusions
66www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
• Include Sign-up on the homepage
• Sign up should be located towards the top
of the page (at least above the fold)
• Should be accompanied by an image or
icon e.g. an envelope to draw attention
• Ensure sign-up requires minimal data entry e.g.
name and email address
• Include a short sentence stating the benefits of
signing up e.g. promotions, stay up to date with
news and events etc
Conclusions
67www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
• Do not require any unnecessary information to
be entered (such as postal address or annual
income)
• Do not require users to ‘create an account’ or
‘become a member’ of the site
Conclusions
68www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
• Consider including a short second step/page
allowing users to customise the newsletter by
selecting specific areas of interest
• Provide a ‘select all’ tick box or ‘general
newsletter’ opt in
• Provide a link to the latest newsletter or an
archive so that users know what to expect
before subscribing
• Do not require users to re-enter information
e.g. do not request name / email address a
second time
Conclusions
69www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
• Include a clear indication on the website that
the subscription process is complete and has
been successful
• Ideally include a clear, separate
confirmation page with different content
• Include a clear thank you message on this
page
• Provide an indication of what the user can
expect next i.e. email confirmation
Conclusions
70www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice Sign Up:
• Send email confirmation immediately
• User should not need to ‘reconfirm’ the subscription
• Ensure consistency with site i.e. branding and logo, etc.
• Include information about newsletters e.g. frequency
and type of content
• Include a link back to the website
• Include a link to unsubscribe
• Include contact details
Conclusions
71www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice E-Newsletter:
• Include a clear and catchy subject line so that
the user immediately recognises the email
• Ensure consistency with the site in terms of
branding e.g. logo, layout, etc.
• Include links to the site and ensure that they
are clear e.g. logo and url address
• Do not include hidden links e.g. decorative
images or plain text
Conclusions
72www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice E-Newsletter:
• Include links to social networking sites
• To share the e-newsletter
• Links to the states social network site for
tourism e.g. Facebook page
• Ensure that the e-mail is personalised – use
of first name, etc.
• There must be a clear option to ‘unsubscribe’
• This must not be hidden within text
• Do not use terms such as ‘remove’ or ‘opt out’
Conclusions
73www.onetooneinteractive.com
Best Practice E-Newsletter: (Notes)
• Provide a real address, phone number or other
similar contact details about the sender
• Do not include excessive amount of text
• Limit the length of the e-newsletter, do not
cause the user to vertically scroll excessively
Conclusions
74www.onetooneinteractive.com
Questions?
Dr. Philip Rhodes: [email protected]
For copies of the presentation or further info on OTOinsights services please email:
Follow OTOinsights on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/OTOinsights http://twitter.com/fhios
www.OTOinsights.com 75
Future Webinars from One To One Interactive
Join us for our next Webinar on September 23rd at 11 AM Eastern Time:
“Search Best Practices: How to Dominate Search in 2011”
With Greg Slama, Search Marketing Specialist at OTOi
Register at: http://bit.ly/aQd5gv