• by editor , June 26, 2018

GDPR is a game changer for email marketers, whose databases are shrinking when re-permissioning efforts are resulting in smaller databases.

In a keynote at EIS EU, Ulf Tiedemann, head of marketing at Thorpe Park Resort, revealed that in a post-GDPR world, it's about quality data and not quantity. "We have lost a big chunk of our data because of GDPR, so this year is focusing on how do we get more data in," he said. The silver lining: "We've seen an increase in data quality, which equates to higher engagement."

The company has been pivoting its strategy to acquisition to help rebuild its database and has been focusing on targeting. Tiedemann said that people are more conscious about giving their data away and who uses their data. "Only 60% of people are willing to give an email address, and only if the offers are tailored," he said. "Targeting and delivering the right content to the right people is the only way to get people to share their data."

The company has been focusing on several elements to achieve these objectives. One such approach is to promote preference centers with the goal to subscribe people to new products once they grow out of an old product i.e. once a customer's kids have outgrown Legoland, the company encourages them to sign up for older theme park newsletters.

They are also using onsite signups on their website, which has been surprisingly effective. In fact, 27% of traffic that comes to the website fills in lightbox data which asks for their name, email address and birthday, among other things. The theme park brand is also running sweepstakes on Facebook and using Facebook lead ads to help acquire email addresses. The app is also a key tool, as the company now puts offers behind a signup page on the app.