Analysis of a 12 month email campaign

The table below shows how the Persona Creative newsletter performed over the 12 editions in 2006

One of the most effective ways to analyse the success of an email campaign is by looking at the percentage of people who opened it.

Anything over 25% is generally considered to be good, with 30% being the benchmark we should all try to achieve. Over the course of 12 months, the Persona Creative email averaged over 50% - 20% higher than the benchmarks! Not only this, but the open rate never dropped below 40%, so the average is based on consistent performance rather than a few good months bumping up the statistics.

Due to the positive feedback we receive on each email, we believe the high open rate is due to the quality of the content and also the high build quality of the HTML; reducing the number of spam filters it triggers.

The chart below shows our open rate performance against that of industry averages.

With printed Direct Mail, it is commonly accepted that a 1% response from a campaign is what we should aim for. For example, if we send out 10,000 flyers in the post, we should hope to get 100 people to respond in some way.

With email, the percentages for response a bit higher, but are dropping all the time as email overload becomes more of a problem for our inboxes. Over the course of 2006, the industry average is 15%, but the Persona Creative average click rate is over 25%! Again, this is an excellent sign that the content we produce for the email not only engages our readers, but encourages them to read more.

Email campaigns produced and managed by Persona Creative for our clients produce similar statistics, so if you want to make the most of this marketing channel, it's worth talking to us.

You can also have a look at the industry tables below to see what benchmarks you can aim for in your own campaign. Of course, we can help you get there if needed.

Gallery exhibition of Persona work

To combat the post holiday blues and also celebrate the start of our third year, we're taking over The View from the Top gallery in Nottingham City Centre to hold an exhibition of our creative work - with a VIP-only preview party on the 30th of this month.

The exhibition will showcase all the different types of communication work we produce. Everything from web sites, brand identities and publicity events will be on display and you can get a real sense of how Digital, Brand and Media make up an integrated marketing strategy.

Anybody can come along to the exhibition itself between 31 Jan and 4 Feb, but if you haven't received your VIP invite in the post for the party, be sure to email viv@personacreative.com to request one. Hurry though, as spaces are very limited indeed.

Look forward to seeing you at the party, but if you can't make it - feel free to drop by the exhibition between 31 Jan and 4 Feb anyway.

Marketing predictions for 2007

Just like we did 12 months ago, we're making three predictions for the year ahead - which should help you focus your 2007 marketing plans.

Poor quality digital marketing will no longer be acceptable

The Internet and the associated outlets for digital marketing are well and truly mature. Any organisation who thinks they can either use it as a place to experiment or cut corners is far behind the times. All of us who consume digital media (such as Internet, Email and mobile content) do so on a regular basis - and we switch off from anything of poor quality quicker than any other area of media.

Because digital content gives us so much control, we can choose to consume it or avoid it very easily. The old marketing concepts of forcing the marketing message in front of the public just don't work online. A poorly designed web site that never gets updated is as useful to a brand as a home made brochure that's 5 years old. Similarly, email newsletters or direct campaigns that are badly constructed, trigger junk mail filters and don't comply with data protection are a huge risk to those who think amateurism is acceptable. Not only can your recipients unsubscribe from your mailings, but they can report you for abuse and also get you blacklisted on a global scale. A scary thought, but only if you don't take the delivery seriously in the first place.

The advice we are giving for 2007 is this: If you're not going to do a professional job with online media, don't bother at all. Poor quality will no longer just be ignored from customers, but it will simply not be acceptable for any organisation wanting to be taken seriously.

Depending on whether you are a 'cup half full' or 'cup half empty' type of marketer; you'll see this as either an opportunity or a set back. Which one are you?

Companies will start to take their brand seriously again

Over the last few years, there has been a lot of talk about branding being a dead end - consumers are so fickle that they have no loyalty to anybody. This is not strictly true; yes we are less brand loyal than before, but the main concepts of branding are as important as ever and professional organistions are re-investing in their brands in droves.

There is no denying that people like consistency, familiarity and value - something that your brand activity can help you deliver either consciously or subconsciously to your audience. If you haven't made any specific steps to build your brand before (or it's been a while since you took a look at it), 2007 is a good time to give it some thought. As your organisation has no doubt grown and evolved, have the brand values changed? Maybe the emotional response your branding provokes doesn't match up with where you are heading, or you need your brand to drive you forward rather than hold you back.

Brand value is something we are always passionate about at Persona, so we'd be more than happy to discuss your brand with you to see where you can take it next.

Online PR will become even more sought after than printed PR

Most of the large media groups are falling over themselves to be seen as pioneers and leaders online. Rupert Murdochs purchase of MySpace has given News Corporation a massive lead in the social networking space, with everybody trying to copy and catch up. Googles purchase of YouTube and ITV snapping up Friends Reunited are another two examples of media might and their attempts to 'buy' public interest.

However the so called "Web 2.0 boom" shapes up, online PR outlets are plenty; with publications such as the Sun reporting over a billion readers last year! Column inches in print will always be important and add that extra level of credibility compared to online, but organisations hoping to actually get value from their publicity (rather than an ego boost by seeing their name in print) would be well advised to focus on Internet based publicity.

We recommend developing your PR strategy to include consistent submissions to RSS news feeds and web publications. Making sure you are syndicating your regular news via your own RSS feed is also very easy now, so make sure you are giving people access to this. Online PR also allows us to easily track the coverage you are getting; by using search engines to keep on top of where your content is being indexed and linked from.

But what of last years predictions? Read on...

Did mobile marketing actually come of age?

There is no denying it now - nearly everybody in the UK not only has a mobile phone and most of them are Internet capable. The only problem seems to be the network providers are still charging a small fortune for getting online whilst on the move. More and more of us are adopting PDA style phones (such as a Blackberry or Windows Mobile) and whilst mobile web hasn't quite taken off, the importance of email in your pocket is an area not to be ignored - and is the best place to start thinking about your mobile marketing strategy.

For many businesses, SMS/MMS marketing campaigns just aren't practical. The message costs and the lack of data can be prohibitive and most people just don't want to get messages sent to their personal phone. Email however is a little different. If you already have a well managed email contact database (You do have one don't you?) then these recipients are already warm to campaigns you send out; all you have to do now is tailor the content to be a little more mobile friendly.

Some quick tips on how to do this include:

• Keep your opening quick and to the point. Many mobile email clients default to the first 5kb of the message (or just the headers) - make is stand out!
• Pay attention to your text-only email - many mobiles won't display the pretty HTML version, so make sure you are getting the most out of your content by making it accessible to all.
• Use a simple, clear layout for your text-only email; this will prevent any ugly formatting appearing on different phones.
• Provide a link to your web site; even better if it browses well on a mobile!

There is enough momentum and user take up to start testing the waters with mobile marketing in 2007 and those who do will reap the benefits. It's a great way to show your customers and contacts that you are innovating and working to keep your services relevant and accessible to them.

A few other things you could talk to us about include:

• Mobile-friendly web services and content
• Text and Multimedia Message services
• Building your mobile database now, for campaign delivery later

We're already working on our own mobile marketing strategy as well as a few pilot projects, so if you want to stand out from the crowd, come and join in the discussions by dropping us an email/call.

Is ethical marketing and consumerism being taken seriously?

2006 was a big one for eco-friendly issues as well as ethical consumerism in general. Jamie Olivers well publicised lobbying for healthy meals wasn't the only major shift. The Conservative Party have adopted a Tree for their new logo, fast food advertising has been kerbed and supermarkets are falling over themselves to distance their brands from plastic bags and anything that doesn't suite our GDA for food consumption.

It's not just the retailers getting in on the act either. Bio-fuels and recycling are now accessible to all of us; in business and at home.

In 2006, we worked with a number of our clients to promote their ethical brand values. East Midlands Centre for constructing the Built Environment (EMCBE) gave huge support to sustainability in the construction trade and we helped them publicise the agenda. Urban Planters, the UK's largest interior landscaping company also flexed their ethical muscles by promoting the health benefits of planting in offices and are now making big strides to help publicise their impact on reducing carbon footprint. We're also working with another client to help publicise their long history in professional products that deliver the results - whilst being environmentally friendly as an added extra. Sustainability is a buzz word we keep coming across these days and the public are opening their ears to it.

Along with a major launch by the Carbon Trust, there has been some major happenings in this subject over the last year and we predict that not only will the trend continue in 2007, but consumers will genuinely start to adopt ethical brands, products and services as a viable alternative.

Given that we backed this idea from the beginning, we're in a good position to help advise you on both how you can adopt a more ethical approach to your communications as well as provide the same assurance as we do with all of our advice - that it's based on our experience, facts and ability rather than personal or biased opinions.

Has the boom in digital marketing led to more integrated campaigns?

Undoubtedly! the lines between digital campaigns and traditional media campaigns (above, through and under the line) are blurring more and more all the time. It's commonly accepted that the digital space will become the centre piece of almost all media activity and some would argue that this is already the case.

Most companies taking advantage of digital marketing are not limiting their campaigns to online only. The upsurge of YouTube has allowed small and large organisations alike to produce and distribute video content to the masses; often using this as an extension to TV adverts or printed campaigns that lead people online.

The message is clear - integrating your campaign across all the available media helps gets better results. Brands that are seen to have a consistent message and encourage their customers to engage with them are seeing their customer loyalty and retention stay strong.