2022 Bronze Email

Agency: Team ITG and Emerald Thinking

Client: Wickes

Campaign Name: Mission in Motion

Campaign Overview

Wickes was experiencing strong customer growth. The brief was to capitalise on the bigger base by engaging and growing relationships to drive incremental revenue.

Strategy

Data analysis uncovered a more complex challenge: customers purchase one or two products from Wickes, but the retailer wanted them to shop the whole project.

This meant predicting customer missions, anticipating their needs and responding appropriately. A shift from product-focused communications to appeal to the more emotional, intuitive side of the brain where behaviour change happens was required.

Using motivational theory, the campaign team knew it could only make people 'want' Wickes by showing how the retailer would help them achieve their goals in life, shortcutting their 'wanting circuits' by prompting an emotional response.

Creativity

Enter Mission in Motion, an immersive, emotive, hyper-timed, hyper-personalised experience designed to get more customers considering Wickes for more of their mission.

It was powered by machine-learning model, the Mission Motivation Engine (MME). The MME decodes transactional and digital behavioural data to allocate a mission and a deeper more implicit motivational context for every customer.

The creative concept was a distinct identity, different from BAU designs to signal a change in thinking and role. It used bold and vivid colours, eye-catching imagery and Bauhaus-inspired shapes to grab attention and give a sense of action in a fun and engaging way. To ensure relevance, templates were created to match the customer's mission.

The mission theme was continued throughout using mission-relevant iconography and the inclusion of appropriate products throughout the design; an effect that was used to guide the reader down the email to engage with more content.

Results

Mission in Motion has exceeded performance expectations. The challenger campaign is measured against BAU, and all KPIs - conversion rate, average transactional frequency, average transactional value and category breadth - have improved, with conversion rate 216% higher.

The MME has revolutionised Wickes' marketing strategy and influenced trading decisions. It is now seen by the Board as a differentiating IP and strategic growth lever for the business.

The Team

ITG - Robin Jung, Business Director - Michael Loh, CX Strategist - Sophie Broughton, Account Director - Saul Montoya, Account Manager -Nico Friis, Creative Director - Tom Sheahan, Senior Digital Designer

Emerald Thinking - Claire Aldous, Data Strategy Partner - Clare Kelly, Data Planning Director - Tamara Hart, Senior Data Scientist - Dean Straw, Senior Data Scientist