Campaign of the Month

Cat videos and rigorous testing: The purrfect match

Purina implemented a rigorous email testing strategy.

Brand: Purina
Agency: Blueberry Wave
Website: https://www.purina.co.uk/

Campaign details

Subject line: Get your paws on a FREE SAMPLE of Felix Fun Sauces™
Opens: 13%
Clicks of opens: 58%

Context

An initial email had gone out encouraging subscribers to interact with Purina’s social media channels. The success of Blueberry Wave and Purina’s ‘Cats like Felix’ campaign had resulted in high levels of engagement and user-generated content, with cat owners sharing photos and videos of their own pets using the hashtag #uptomischief. Having warmed up their subscribers and familiarized them with Felix – the lovable feline behind the brand – Purina sent a follow-up email offering free samples of their new product: Felix Fun Sauces™.

What data was used?

The data was gathered from a combination of Felix and Go-Cat consumers, who had also registered and interacted with the brand between 0-60M+. The majority of these were reached via online registrations and sampling campaigns, although a few engaged through competition entries and voucher redemptions.

Objective

• Introduce subscribers to a new product – Felix Fun Sauces™ – and encourage them to request a sample.

What makes this a performing campaign?

It’s a well-known fact that pets and social media go together like kitties and catnip, but we loved the way Purina and Blueberry Wave tapped into this trend with a strong marketing strategy to back it up. Some #uptomischief posts on Facebook received over 600 shares and 8,000 likes, which laid the groundwork perfectly for a high-performing email campaign; integrating email into an overall marketing strategy is a sure-fire way to maximise engagement.

We were also impressed by the fact Purina and Blueberry Wave, far from getting complacent at this success, went on to implement a rigorous email testing strategy. The initial email offering samples Fun Sauces™ underwent an A/B subject line test, splitting recipients between A (Get your paws on a FREE SAMPLE of Felix Fun Sauces™) and B (Add tasty sauce to mealtimes with our Felix Fun Sauces™). Whilst both received good results, A was the runaway winner and therefore implemented across the whole subscriber list.

The ultimate send (below) impressed us with its accessible design, consistent branding, and clear call to action. ‘Claim your free sample’ is prominently placed, and was easily the most clicked link according to heatmap analysis.

As a final attention to detail, Purina and Blueberry Wave applied a filter to the subscriber list associated with the campaign, ensuring that contact would not feel harassed by receiving the email twice.

The results

The integrated strategy and initial subject-line testing that preceded this campaign, along with its clear branding and accessible design, ensured great results; 38,195 contacts opened, with 22,419 clicks-of-opens.