Case Study - Top-Tier Wireless Communications Provider

This client is the second largest mobile voice and data communications company in the United States, dedicated to providing wireless technology designed to enrich customers’ lives. Especially important to this specific email marketing program, the client is dedicated to offering wireless plans that "fit you best.”

Program Description

The client's prepaid services division sought to maximize Return on Investment (ROI) by approaching its two primary target audiences using two distinct, precise direct marketing messages. The first message offered a monetary incentive to the company’s prepaid customers who had never refilled their minutes online; the second message was directed at prepaid customers who had previously refilled minutes online, simply reminding them (with no monetary incentive) about the convenience of online payment.

Program Objectives

• Drive incremental revenue through online refill purchases
• Meet or beat Return on Investment (ROI) goal of 224%
• Reduce costs by only offering 10 percent airtime bonus to customers who were new to online prepayment
• Extend service and corporate brand via email

Target Audience

• Youth market - high school and college students
• Cost-conscious customers who redeemed rebate coupons in the past
• Credit challenged, past Prepaid customers
  
  

Strategies
The client leveraged creative work from a previous eROI email campaign, altering and augmenting the copy (for both the bonus and reminder emails) to reflect a strong call to action to refill prepaid minutes online.

The primary objective of this electronic marketing program was to drive email recipients to a landing page where they would log in and refill their minutes online, either on a one-time basis or through automatic, monthly re-charges. Upon login, the client’s database would automatically recognize which recipients were eligible to receive the 10 percent airtime bonus and which recipients would not qualify to receive the bonus. The reminder email also had a viral marketing impact to "Tell a Friend" about the offer.

Results

• Within eight days, the client received a 845 percent Return on Investment with 1095 online orders
• Within one year, the client will realize a significant cost savings through online sales
• 21.5 percent of people who clicked-through converted to customers
• Surprisingly, both the bonus email and reminder email performed almost identically with 13 percent click-through (bonus email: 13.3 percent click-through vs. reminder email: 12.7 percent click-through)