The phrase ‘time flies’ is testament to my experience at Red C. It’s been six months since I left and I still miss the place!
Before embarking on my annual festival trip to Glastonbury in the summer of 2008, I was elated to find out I had secured the Junior Account Executive placement. However, panic soon struck! As a student with no relevant, practical business experience I was naturally overwhelmed and nervous as to how I could make a positive contribution to Red C. Those insecurities soon disappeared when I realised I was surrounded by people (both in the account and creative departments) who were willing to help, advise and guide me if need be.
We love our lunchtime training sessions here at Red C. Every few weeks, a feast of sandwiches, cakes and pastries is laid out in the boardroom and we’re invited to gorge ourselves, whilst picking up new skills and knowledge from guest speakers or colleagues.
It was at one such day earlier this month that our Managing Director, Adrian Rowe, shared a presentation that he’d previously been invited to give at a conference in Amsterdam. It was an online masterclass, detailing some of the key learnings Red C have picked up during our time creating and implementing web strategy for our clients.
Part of this presentation included 7 ‘killer’ email tips Red C have found to be very effective. I thought it would be a good idea to share them with you here.
It’s no big secret that I’m a bad loser. I hold my hands up and fully accept that my inability to be gracious in defeat is one of my weak points. Yet it is also a strong point too… as it drives me, pushes me harder and makes me ensure I have explored every opportunity for my clients. Simply because I want to create something special that will not only exceed the goals set in the brief… but also deliver some awards because the strategy is sound, it looks damned good, is incredibly well written and has pulled like a freight train.
For me, winning is key to a passionate, productive, purposeful, and prosperous life. If I were to value it less than I do, then I fear I would begin to say goodbye to my talents as a creative. The will to win is what drives me to be the best I can be in everything I do… and I have seen first hand what a winning mentality can do to an agency.
The famous saying goes ‘there is no such thing as bad press’ but is this true? We now live in a society obsessed by celebrity culture. And celebrities are more than just ‘well known names.’ They’re carefully crafted, aspirational brands, as famous for the products they endorse as they are for their ‘talents’. The question is, what effect does negative press have on these celeb brand business.
As you know, over the last few weeks, celebrity scandal has been everywhere. Even the highbrow broadsheets have been dedicating serious column inches to the state of Cheryl and Ashley Cole’s marriage.
In a recent article, Guardian reporter Deborah Orr wondered what Cheryl would now do with the tattoo on the back of her neck, the one that brands her ‘Mrs Cole’ for life? She concluded it would have to be painfully removed and noted: “the pain of breakup can be great to bear. And sometimes it’s the thought of all that rebranding that hurts most of all.”
Here’s a scary fact for you. 20% of legitimate email never actually reaches its intended destination; the inbox. Can you imagine if the Royal Mail only delivered 80% of its mail? Mmmm actually, let’s not go there! Anyway, you understand the point I’m attempting to make. Deliverability is a big issue.
The culprits for this statistic have to be the ISPs, right? Wrong! Well, they are partly to blame as they are certainly making things harder for legitimate email marketers like you and I. However, when 90% of all email is spam then they really do have quite a job on their hands if they want to keep one step ahead of the spammers. I’m afraid if there is any doubt as to the legitimacy of your email messages then you are going to be spammed. You can’t blame them can you? When 9 out of 10 emails are spam then they’re bound to lean on the side of caution.
But the real culprit for this frightening statistic is you and I. We are to blame. It’s our sending practices that determine whether our email message reaches their intended destinations. However, with blame comes responsibility and with responsibility comes the ability to change and improve. We have the power to control our deliverability rates.
Several years ago my art director and I devised a campaign for Rolls Royce that we called ‘whispers’. The campaign was created in reaction to the belief within BMW Innovations (which ran the marketing for Rolls Royce) that Rolls Royce did not need to advertise due to the prestige nature of the brand.
Our ‘whispers’ campaign went like this. We had a new Rolls Royce Phantom that would basically be seen in all the right places. From Yacht Clubs in the South of France, to events around the world held at prestigious places where only the very A-list people would be seen.
A couple made-up of an older gentleman (think George Clooney look-alike) and his younger gorgeous model-like wife, would pull up for lunch at a Yacht Club or attend a party. They would be allowed to leave their Rolls Royce Phantom outside the front entrance or in the near vicinity… before walking into the party, enjoying themselves and then driving home.
On the 7th June 2007 I got the phone call to say…..I had secured the position as Junior Marketing Coordinator at Red C in their London Office. I was absolutely ecstatic as this was a bit of a double whammy for me seeing as it was also my birthday! I will never forget how happy I was to hear such good news.
In August 2007 I began my placement year with Red C. Moving down to a new city, was exciting but also made me very nervous at the same time; however the nervous feelings soon diluted as I began my placement journey. During the start of my placement, the routine of getting up early everyday and concentrating for the whole day was daunting and I did struggle to get into a regular pattern in the first few weeks.
I know… I agree… it does seem strange having the words ‘fun’ and ‘insurance’ in one headline but have you noticed nearly all the leading insurance brands are attempting it? I know that Meerkat has just popped straight into your head but it’s not the only insurance brand to be using a ‘character’ to try and instil more fun (and consequently more brand recognition of course) into the fight for your insurance quote.
We all hate getting them… whether its quotes for home, car, pet, buildings, contents (the list goes on) and all we really want is the lowest price with of course the most comprehensive cover, so is this approach working for insurance brands and how are they achieving it?
Earlier this week I gave a talk on digital video and how advertising agencies are changing to facilitate a wide range of video needs that are required by clients. From high budget brand TV adverts to medium budget DRTV adverts right to low budget web-video… the demand is increasing and now’s the time to invest in skills and training.
I gave the talk on behalf of GBM at ‘Band on the Wall’ in Manchester and have split it into three parts of around 10 minutes each. Thanks to GBM and everyone who came to the talk, I hope you found it informative… I certainly enjoyed putting it together.
Parts two and three can be viewed by clicking the red button below.
I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is you are only a few short words from success in your next email campaign. The bad news is that establishing what those “few short words” should be is a task that takes a great deal of deliberation and consideration. Well, it certainly should be. Subject lines can literally make or break an email’s performance – influencing everything from the opening rate to the click through rate. Obviously there are other contributing factors – the day and time of send to name but two – but without a doubt the key influencer has to be those “few short words”.
Now, I’ll be up front with you. I’m not going to give you a magic formula for “can’t fail subject lines.” For one thing I don’t believe such a one-size-fits-all solution actually exists. However, what I am going to give you is a series of tips and factors that you should always consider, when trying to establish what works for your audience. Bear in mind this is not a something you will complete in an afternoon. It will take a great deal of time and patience, but the rewards can be substantial.
The phrase ‘time flies’ is testament to my experience at Red C. It’s been six months since I left and I still miss the place!
