Birthday treats to improve engagement rates
The campaign achieved average open rates of 49%, and average click-through rates of 38%.
Brand: Penguin Random House
Designed and developed by: Claire Davis
Website: https://www.penguin.co.uk/
Campaign details
Subject line: Have a birthday treat on us
Opens: 49%
Clicks of opens: 38%
Context
Page Turners is a Women’s Fiction initiative that we launched in February 2017, for a specific segment of readers. It’s a space for women who love to read a breadth of genres from romance to crime, and light biography to domestic suspense. It’s first and foremost a community for like-minded readers who love to talk about, and share, their love of books.
What data was used?
The data used was gathered from people who had signed up to receive Page Turners newsletters.
Objectives
- Make their subscribers feel special
- Increase subscribers’ engagement
- Nurture the relationship with their subscribers
What makes this a performing campaign?
It is well known that it is more expensive to attract a new customer than retain an old one, yet it is all too easy to take existing customers for granted. Penguin Random House recognized the value of their existing subscribers and decided to create a birthday email to spoil them and make them feel special. This birthday email is an excellent example of how easy nurturing your subscribers can be, and how beneficial it is for brand engagement.
Using their data, they knew that their subscribers enjoyed, above all, an exceptional story or plot, with relatable characters or situations. They also knew that they were very price-conscious and keen on a good deal or freebie. They felt that treating their subscribers on their birthdays was in-keeping with their community-driven initiative, providing a personal touch by focusing on the readers and what they wanted to see.
Therefore, in addition to regular offers, they also wanted to send subscribers something extra special on their birthday as a thank you for being an avid reader. They organised to have a short eBook written by Mandy Baggot sent to their inbox on their birthday – exclusively available to Page Turners!
The results
This birthday campaign was very well received by Page Turners subscribers, with the addition of the exclusive freebie as a nice touch to make them feel appreciated. The campaign achieved some fantastic results, with average open rates of 49%, and average click-through rates of 38%. As well as rewarding subscribers, it has also given their author of choice some great exposure.
After seeing such success with the birthday campaign, Page Turners are planning to send out another treat to their subscribers on Christmas day, too. Watch this space…
