2013 Bronze Business to consumer

Client Dove Spa

How did the campaign make a difference? Following a launch that sold out an anti-wrinkle supplement in four hours, Dove Spa had to maintain momentum. Strength Within's email strategy not only achieved repeat purchase of over 77%, but against significant customer propensity to stop treatment.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? The launch of Strength Within is regularly cited as one of the most successful product launches in recent years; the first tranche sold out in just four hours following a media frenzy. But what do you do when the media furore evaporates and the story becomes yesterday's news? This was the challenge facing Dove Spa. The solution was to go online and build sales using only email, the website, and customer referrals. Strength Within is a premium product, aimed at a specific niche demographic, and its success relies on a high percentage of repeat purchase. But customers can easily lose faith if results don't appear rapidly, and it takes 14 weeks to see visible improvements. The strategy relied on: precise segmentation by demographic, region and history; key message targeting based on purchase activity; highly accurate address and contact management; integration of purchase data and email content; triggered messaging to maximise interaction and sales; structured analytics and reporting to anticipate trends; automated messaging to ensure timely delivery; integrating web and email content to ensure synergy and consistency; and customer feedback through social media and web.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? Customers need high levels of personal support during the first 14 weeks of taking the supplement. A triggered message approach that linked purchases with emails structured the creative to match each individual customer's journey. Content progresses in line with the customer journey, evolving to add more information and offer more support. For those whose purchase profile suggests that they have missed a purchase, the call to action is focused around encouraging them to keep faith and complete the course. Many of these emails include testimonials from other customers from the same town or county. Customers are encouraged to interact and share their journey though social media or a dedicated helpline. This supports the key content strategy of providing care and nurture for customers.

Results The campaign has reduced the percentage of people failing to complete the initial 14-week course to just 22%. The softer aspects of the campaign, which encourage people taking the course to share their experiences and feedback, have yielded a rich stream of customer endorsements that are being fed back into subsequent emails.