Yule Flip Peppermint Chip. What’s that? A holiday Blizzard flavor from Dairy Queen.
Sorry if you missed it. But a million ice cream fans were in the loop, thanks to the chain’s 20 month-old e-mail newsletter.
Dairy Queen has learned what many brand marketers already know: E-zines are an effective communications tool. For one thing, they have low development and transmission costs. They’re easy to measure. And the information collected at registration can be used to create versioned editions.
For brand marketers, the format is a fine vehicle for dispensing promotions. Dairy Queen thought it was doing a good job with its e-zine until subscribers began grumbling. “Thanks for the e-mail,” they said, “but we want — and deserve — a discount.”
The chain quickly complied. Its newsletter now includes coupons for any Blizzard beverage, and will do so through February. And the buy-one-get-one free offer is hyped in the subject line in an effort to bring up the open rate even higher than its usual 38%.
But that’s only the start. “Next year we will be really dialing up with rewards and incentives, coupons, contests and sweepstakes, so they feel like they’re getting more,” says Patty Halvorson, director of national promotions for International Dairy Queen, Minneapolis.
In October, Dairy Queen launched a campaign to snare its one millionth Blizzard Fan Club member. Membership then stood at 902,000. How long did it take to hit the mark? Seven days. Moreover, customers made 40,000 referrals, delivering 100,000 new members, Halvorson says. “They are very loyal and avid customers,” she says. “It’s been very interesting to witness this.”
Six Flags theme parks also learned the power of newsletters, but in the reverse way. It had been offering ticket discounts on its Web site, but no details about park events. And customers were unhappy.
The company launched an e-zine, and created different versions based on its 13 U.S. locations. They now have millions of subscribers.
The e-mails focus on happenings at specific Six Flags locations, and are mailed to subscribers within a certain radius of each park, And yes, discounts are offered.
Moreover, Six Flags has several niche newsletters including one tied to its Carrothead Club for kids, featuring puzzles, photos and carrot recipes.
Procter & Gamble used e-newsletters to improve “hundreds of products” by inviting its subscribers to comment on them, says Paul Beck, executive director, interactive marketing and advertising for Ogilvy Interactive Worldwide.
How? The brand poses questions and waits for feedback. Then, it follows up by telling the customer what it did with the input.
“By engaging the audience about the brand, you’ll get insights on how to improve products while (encouraging) advocacy,” Beck says. “People who feel connected to a product or service are more likely to recommend it.”
And Newcastle Brown Ale uses its e-zine to find out how customers engage with its product.
“People on your mailing list are the strongest ambassadors for your brand,” says Bill Wetmore, customer marketing director for the brewer. “We want to use them as counsel.”
And what do readers get out of the newsletter? “These people are probably more passionate about the brand,” Wetmore says. “We want to make them feel that they have the inside scoop as to what we’re up to.”
Getting Started
For many marketers, the first hurdle in launching an effective e-newsletter program is getting subscribers, no easy challenge in this day of inbox glut.
For its part, Newcastle Brown Ale has built its 50,000-name sub list largely through its Web site, which offers details about the e-letters and a registration page.
And how does Newcastle drive people to the site? Through a sweepstakes supported by online media buys.
In a recent test to determine the true impact the media buys had on response, Newcastle sent an e-mail blast to promote its Best of Both Worlds sweepstakes, but did not support the effort with an ad. About 15,000 people registered, the largest response to an online sweepstakes program without media support.
Another way to drive response is print advertising. Sephora ran a full-page ad in the October issue of Oprah magazine, showing beautiful women in gold makeup. “Golden Opportunity!” read the copy. Sign up for Sephora e-mails to score deluxe sample offers, a first look at new beauty and seasonal beauty trends.”
“This ad was a great stride forward for e-mail,” says Jeanniey Mullen, senior partner, senior director of e-mail marketing for OgilvyOne Worldwide, New York.
And sites like YouTube.com and Gather.com can also be used to drive subscriptions. Beck calls this uncharted territory. For example, a brand rep can join into an ongoing conversation related to a specific product or activity — cooking or traveling, say — and encourage people to sign up for a related newsletter.
“If the conversation is already happening, this is a much more natural way of acquiring new customers” Beck says. “Brands who are willing to take the risk to work within social networks are the ones that are already giving it a try.”
Anyone using search had better have a dynamic landing page. And that space should have details about the firm’s newsletters and a subscription mechanism. It may sound obvious, but too few firms are doing it.
“Many companies still have subscriptions to newsletters hidden,” Mullen says. “You have to go and look for it.” But the travel industry does it right, she adds.
At Marriott.com, for example, a link to membership in its rewards program is prominent on the home page. And cruise line Royal Caribbean has a link to sign up for its newsletter right in the center column.
Customer service or transaction e-mails can also be a vehicle to prompt customers to sign up for an e-zine. DHL, a client of OgilvyOne Worldwide, saw double-digit growth in opt-ins for its newsletter after it added a simple line of text and a link to the bottom of its customer confirmation e-mails, which, in general, have a high propensity to be opened and read, Mullen says. “This is an untapped market,” she says. “And, it’s free.”
Network
