2011 Bronze Best use of email marketing

Client Virgin Trains

What is wonderful about this work? Virgin Trains’ revenue dips every summer as fewer business travellers make First Class journeys. We addressed this by making First Class an appealing and achievable option for leisure travellers, imagined in their own status update. This was the strongest performing email over the last two years, with an open rate 58% higher than the previous sale email.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? We set out to change the perception of First Class as solely for suits and the wealthy to address the annual drop-off in revenue over the summer holiday period. We achieved this with tactical emails; the content sells in the luxurious benefits of First Class in a creative and very personal way, breaking down the perception that it’s an unnecessary luxury. We then made First Class a viable choice for leisure travellers by reducing the price in the sale. By following up with a second email, we were able to reiterate the key messages and up the urgency, playing on the fear of missing out.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? With social media posts created as if sent by the recipient during an enjoyable train journey, we got recipients to picture themselves enjoying the benefits of First Class. We also used customer data to personalise the departure destinations. We used an informal tone and played on the meanings of ‘status’ in the headline. This was the ideal medium for repositioning First Class as a treat for leisure travellers, not a perk for business types. There is a hint of self-satisfaction and bragging in the posts, as the recipient uploads pictures of their comfier seat and free drink, tapping into the natural desire to brag about a bargain or a bit of VIP treatment. A direct link to Facebook at the bottom of the mail meant generous souls could share details of the seat sale with friends.

Results This email successfully changed customer behaviour, selling First Class tickets to leisure travellers who wouldn’t have considered upgrading in the past. It generated more revenue in a traditionally quiet period than the usual high profit mailing slots of September and January. The success is down to two things: the engaging nature of the creative, with its link with social media and the cost-efficient follow-up email. Engagement (clicks/opens) was 58% higher than the previous First Class Seat Sale email.

Team Ben Clapp, John Treacy, Mat Prime, Matt Daymond, Chris Clausen, Tom Duckham, Rosalind Mair, Paul Becque.

Other contributors CreatorMail – ESP, thetrainline.com – Database management.