Ruth P. Stevens Articles and Columns: EXPO MagazineApril 2005 Promo Pointers The challenge: To make email work as a profitable audience acquisition medium among very senior executives — a hard nut to crack. The audience: CEOs in the financial services sector. The solution: Copy that stressed the benefits of finding out what fellow CEOs in the industry — i.e., their competitors — are doing. The strategy: To promote the 10th annual Best Practices in Retail Financial Services conference in Carlsbad CA, in March 2005, Mary Long, director of marketing at Source Media (formerly Thomson Media), decided that compelling copy was the key. She hired a professional copywriter, Karen Gedney, who based her strategy on a classic direct-response technique: story telling. Gedney planted the hook with an action-oriented subject line: "Umpqua CEO on Next Moves: Retail Financial Services Symposium." Umpqua, an Oregon bank with a funny name, is well known throughout the retail banking world as an innovator — serving lattes at its branches, for example. So senior banking execs have heard of it — and want to learn Umpqua’s techniques. Gedney then opened the email body with a grabber: "The remarkable Umpqua Bank success story is already a classic..." that draws the reader to the next part of the story, about the café latte service. Then, very quickly, Gedney got to the point. In the second paragraph, she began selling the conference as the place to hear the Umpqua president share his secrets. "Now the 2nd chapter unfolds... You are invited to hear the author — Raymond P. Davis, President & CEO of Umpqua Holdings Corporation on what happens next …" To create a sense of urgency, Long included a banner at the top stating the "best-rates" registration deadline of January 10 and giving a strong call to action. This email went out on January 4. Why it works: One of the secrets to this campaign’s success was the use of a dozen different email drops, over the 6-month period, and integrated with print advertising and direct mail. This email was released about 2 months before the event. The other secret, according to Gedney, was the power of long copy. "Forget the short copy myth," she says. "If you have a compelling story, a long email will out-perform short, every time." The results: The Retail Financial Services Symposium grew 20%, year on year. Advice to others: Give yourself enough time in market before the event. Make sure the event itself contains strong content — all the marketing the world can’t help a weak product. Talk to prospects in a way that grabs their attention and resonates with them. One size does not fit all. ........................................................................................... © 2008 Ruth
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