Season Finale: Back to school 2008
A look back on seasonal trends, email activity and standout B2C marketing:
Start to finish: The first reference to back to school was on June 25 by Abercrombie & Fitch. The final reference was on Sept. 22 from Buy.com.
The distribution curve: The biggest day for back to school emails was Sunday, Aug. 3, followed by Sunday, Aug. 10. Retailers sent the majority of their back to school-themed emails after Aug. 7.
Most interesting email: Going to college is rite of passage, a big step toward adulthood. Looking to capitalize on this in a July 24 email, Sam’s Club debuts their Collegiate Membership. The message: “Stop mooching off your parents’ membership and get your own.” The copy might have being better if it spoke to parents rather than the kids, since the parents are the more likely subscribers, but strategy was smart as Sam’s Club looked to start a direct relationship with the children of their customers.
Both Macy’s and Bed Bath & Beyond created back to school checklists to help their subscribers shop. Macy’s promoted theirs in a July 13, while Bed Bath & Beyond promoted theirs in a July 23 email. These checklists are not only nice service pieces, but are also a good way to get customers to buy things that they might not have thought of.
Unexpected relevance: Petco got in on the back to school season with this Aug. 14 email that plays on concerns that your pets will be lonely when your kids go back to school. Why not buy a new toy to help ease the transition?
Email 2.0 angle: There was some strong video content featured in this year’s back to school emails. On the humorous side, there was OfficeMax’ Aug. 14 email that highlighted their Penny Prank Videos. The videos are hilarious and a great compliment to their Penny Deals campaign. They even have a send-to-a-friend link under the video player to encourage viral pass-alongs after you watch a video. After being criticized for the very viral but not OfficeMax-relevant ElfYourself microsite, this looks like it will be a much more successful viral campaign because it dovetails with their promotional campaign.
On the more serious side, Buy.com had a nice series of “man on the street”-style video interviews that they featured in several emails. They interviewed several teachers (including Justin) and parents (including Kelly) about their back to school shopping plans and recommendations. In an Aug. 1 email, Buy.com brought those angles together with written recommendations from some students (including Michael). No one else was highlighting video testimonials like these.
Standout subject lines:
Road Runner Sports, 8/8 — Save Gas With Cool Back-to-School Savings
OfficeMax, 8/28 — Exclusive Penny Coupons for Back to School
Sports Authority, 7/29 — Best Brands for Back 2 Sports
Home Depot, 8/4 — The Home Depot + Back to School = Great Values
Lands’ End, 8/24 — 10 back-to-school essentials (no waiting in line)
Circuit City, 8/17 — Save on campus must-haves (beverages not included)
Cooking.com, 8/18 — Back-To-School Ready? Recipes for Easy-Pack Lunches, Desserts and Snacks
J. Crew, 9/6 — the back-to-school list
HPshopping, 7/24 — HP's Back to School Buying Guide
Read previous back to school Season Finales: 2007, 2006
Explore Back to School tag.
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SEARCH... By Post Category / By Selling Season / By Retailer / By Topic / Monthly Archive
Start to finish: The first reference to back to school was on June 25 by Abercrombie & Fitch. The final reference was on Sept. 22 from Buy.com.
The distribution curve: The biggest day for back to school emails was Sunday, Aug. 3, followed by Sunday, Aug. 10. Retailers sent the majority of their back to school-themed emails after Aug. 7.
Most interesting email: Going to college is rite of passage, a big step toward adulthood. Looking to capitalize on this in a July 24 email, Sam’s Club debuts their Collegiate Membership. The message: “Stop mooching off your parents’ membership and get your own.” The copy might have being better if it spoke to parents rather than the kids, since the parents are the more likely subscribers, but strategy was smart as Sam’s Club looked to start a direct relationship with the children of their customers.
Both Macy’s and Bed Bath & Beyond created back to school checklists to help their subscribers shop. Macy’s promoted theirs in a July 13, while Bed Bath & Beyond promoted theirs in a July 23 email. These checklists are not only nice service pieces, but are also a good way to get customers to buy things that they might not have thought of.
Unexpected relevance: Petco got in on the back to school season with this Aug. 14 email that plays on concerns that your pets will be lonely when your kids go back to school. Why not buy a new toy to help ease the transition?
Email 2.0 angle: There was some strong video content featured in this year’s back to school emails. On the humorous side, there was OfficeMax’ Aug. 14 email that highlighted their Penny Prank Videos. The videos are hilarious and a great compliment to their Penny Deals campaign. They even have a send-to-a-friend link under the video player to encourage viral pass-alongs after you watch a video. After being criticized for the very viral but not OfficeMax-relevant ElfYourself microsite, this looks like it will be a much more successful viral campaign because it dovetails with their promotional campaign.
On the more serious side, Buy.com had a nice series of “man on the street”-style video interviews that they featured in several emails. They interviewed several teachers (including Justin) and parents (including Kelly) about their back to school shopping plans and recommendations. In an Aug. 1 email, Buy.com brought those angles together with written recommendations from some students (including Michael). No one else was highlighting video testimonials like these.
Standout subject lines:
Road Runner Sports, 8/8 — Save Gas With Cool Back-to-School Savings
OfficeMax, 8/28 — Exclusive Penny Coupons for Back to School
Sports Authority, 7/29 — Best Brands for Back 2 Sports
Home Depot, 8/4 — The Home Depot + Back to School = Great Values
Lands’ End, 8/24 — 10 back-to-school essentials (no waiting in line)
Circuit City, 8/17 — Save on campus must-haves (beverages not included)
Cooking.com, 8/18 — Back-To-School Ready? Recipes for Easy-Pack Lunches, Desserts and Snacks
J. Crew, 9/6 — the back-to-school list
HPshopping, 7/24 — HP's Back to School Buying Guide
Read previous back to school Season Finales: 2007, 2006
Explore Back to School tag.
_____________________
SEARCH... By Post Category / By Selling Season / By Retailer / By Topic / Monthly Archive
Labels: Back to School, Bed Bath and Beyond, Buy.com, Macy's, OfficeMax, Petco, Sam's Club, Season Finale, Video
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posted at 8:27 AM by Chad White
I love Smith-Harmon's enthusiasm. It's so great to have a connection with people who really "get" and get excited by email marketing. (Truly, there are not that many of us out there!) I count myself very lucky to have found such accomplished enthusiasts to collaborate with on the REI program. They are helping to bring amazing opportunities to fruition with panache.
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