• by Staff Writers , August 29, 2006

E-mail Campaign Consumers remain wary of e-mail pitches. Savvy marketers deploy effective targeting and offer quality content to generate decent response rates.

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts/"The Godfather the Game"

David Rosen, Product Manager; Gary Treangen, Assistant Product Manager; Jennifer Armatta, Online Marketing Production Manager; Dino Scoppettone, Sr. Content Manager; Mark Ryan, Direct Marketing Specialist

It's hard to miss with the strength of a classic brand behind you indeed, one of the greatest movies of all time. But Electronic Arts and Blast Radius went one better with an interactive, tailored approach in their e-mail campaign for "The Godfather The Game." To build interest in the launch of the video game, EA's site invited visitors to "Join the Family" of one of four infamous "Godfather" characters: Luca Brasi, Sal Tessio, Sonny Corleone, or Pete Clemenza. From November 2005 through March 2006, personalized messages were created for each family association including copy mimicking 1940s-style newspapers in monthly newsletters. A viral component encouraged users to invite others to "Join the Family." Some of the newsletters had open rates as high as 50 percent and click rates of 34 percent. The buildup of purchase anticipation also created impressive sales when the product was released in March.

Click here to view Electronic Arts' brief.

Nurun/Ant Farm Interactive

Vail Resorts

Caroline Taylor, Account Supervisor; Ashley Angevine, Account Coordinator; Sheree Hill, Senior Designer; Z Gillispie, Associate Creative Director; Travis Sharp, Senior Copywriter; Jacob Griffin, Project Manager; Matt Gilliss, Creative Director; Josh Grapner, Designer

Nurun/Ant Farm Interactive's "Big Snow" campaign for Vail Resorts made excellent use of great graphics, flash technology, and the element of timing to inform and excite skiers and snowboarders about the snow conditions at various Vail resorts. Sent on a timely basis, the e-mail campaign was made up of a pre-snow e-mail, an "it's snowing" e-mail, and a post-snow "great conditions" e-mail. The landing pages had actual shots of the "big snow" at the resorts and an updatable "snow meter" that showed the snowfall at each resort. Besides being gorgeous, the e-mails reinforced the only message that winter sports enthusiasts want to hear. As the agency noted on its contest application: "Historically, snow is a huge driver of bookings and revenue."

Only Natural Pet Store

Only Natural Pet Store

Melissa Grosjean, President; Julie Dye, Director of Online Marketing; Dr. Larry Siegler, Veterinarian; Abby Radbill, Product Marketing Manager

An excellent example of how a targeted, opt-in-only, customer-centric e-mail campaign can benefit a small business, the "Year of the Dog" campaign for Only Natural Pet Store in Boulder, Colo. helped raise sales by 660 percent. An online and catalog retailer selling natural pet-care products, the company relied on its e-mail newsletter to inform customers about new items. The first purely product-focused e-mails saw low response, open, and click rates. That changed with the new newsletters, which read like a helpful consumer magazine, complete with user-friendly health articles (written with the help of a holistic veterinarian) and customer product reviews. The store used StormPost, an e-mail solution from Datran Media, to make the newsletter more targeted and responsive. Open rates increased 18 percent and click-throughs by 9.3 percent. Subscriptions rose 16 percent after the launch and continue to grow by 900 new subscribers per outreach. Customers have even sent the company thank-you e-mails.

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