Web/design

1. What sizzled, what stayed the same, and how
marketers can plan for 2016
How 2015 #BacktoSchool email
campaigns got it right
#BacktoSchoolA+

2. Introduction
“Back-to-School” is a key milestone
in the retail calendar. It’s a shifting of
gears into the busy fall season, and it
provides an entry point to additional
customer engagements that can also
include Halloween and the critical
holiday selling period.
In this Back-to-School “Look Book,”
we showcase five 2015 emails,
each from a major retail brand. In
collaboration with eDataSource, Inc.,
Epsilon email experts were able to
review the subject lines, open rates
and creative of these emails, and then
provide commentary on execution
and opportunities for improvement.
#BacktoSchool
Key insights
> Extensive coverage of back-
to-school products this season.
A shift beyond the ‘required
products’ including beauty
products, home goods and
technology.
> Subject lines are vital drivers
of email engagement. Virtually
every subject line in this
analysis included some form of
promotional offer.
> Simplicity is key. The standard
is for clear and relevant offers,
and CTA’s.
> Mobile rendering is essential.
Upwards of 60% of total email
opens occur on mobile devices.
Think mobile optimized for all
devices.
A+

3. Subject Line:
Choose 4 Samples +
Get back to school
looks from NY Fashion
Week
Read rate:
13.73%
Clothes and school supplies clearly are not the only
back-to-school necessities! Aveda hit a homerun
with their back to school campaign of Fall for Back
to School Looks with the promotion of their beauty
products and back-to-school savings event.
The cross promotional feature and the connection
with the New York City fashion week reflects Aveda’s
trending brand. The creative use of symbols in
the subject line enabled the email to stand
out in the inbox driving above average open
rates. Additionally, the descriptive and cohesive
subject line and pre-header text pairing provides a
complete preview of the email content.
It’s a no wonder they achieved a 13.73% read rate!
The greeting in the opening paragraph is an effective
use of personalization while the descriptive CTA
buttons drives engagement.”
Kara Trivunovic
Vice President, Digital Client Services, Epsilon
KARA’S QUICK TIP
SHOP NOW AND SAVE
Increase the sense of urgency by including
an offer end date in the subject line and
email content; include a countdown timer
until the beginning of the school season.
#Aveda
“

4. You had me at the subject line. Love it!
We’re the college experts. Plus enter for a
chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree!
This clever choice of text combined with
the sweepstakes promotion helped to drive
a remarkable read rate of close to 27%.
Wow! With the multiple back-to-school
retailers showcasing their brand as the
‘college headquarters,’ the pressure to
drive engagement is high. The sweepstakes
offering combined with the college registry
option and campaign hashtag all helped to
increase engagement.”
Kiley Robbins
Strategic Consultant, Epsilon
KILEY’S QUICK TIP
ENTER FOR A CHANCE
Consider adding a pre-header text
of “Shop Now!” to complement
your subject line.
#Bed Bath &
Beyond
Subject Line:
We’re the college
experts. Plus enter for a
chance to win a $1,000
shopping spree
Read Rate:
26.75%
“

5. Subject Line:
Kick off back-to-
school at 50% off
Read Rate:
11.07%
50% off a student’s required back-to-
school technology devices equals huge
savings!
The subject line and pre-header text
convey a consistent message and work
together to capture the open.
The email design is well organized with
back-to-school product images spotlighted
and descriptive CTAs --“Shop PCs” and
“Shop Electronics” providing targeted
content messaging versus the typical
‘shop now.’ This campaign was well
targeted and the 11.07% read rate is an
indication of success.”
Jill LeMaire-Redo
Vice President, Strategic Consulting, Epsilon
JILL’S QUICK TIP
SHOP ELECTRONICS
Highlight customer ratings and
reviews of featured products.
#Dell
“

6. Subject Line:
BACK TO SCHOOL:
Gear up for school
with 40% off
Read Rate:
22.74%
There are brands you expect your inbox
to fill up quickly with back-to-school
promotions Shutterfly isn’t one of them.
Because of this Shutterfly creates instant
curiosity for the reader as to how the brand
can help prepare families for getting back
to school.
Once opened, the reader becomes quickly
engaged by an actionable and meaningful
pre-header section that aligns with the
body content - not the typical “view this
message in browser.” Additionally, the
headline with CTA is featured prominently
“above the fold” and making it easy for
reader interaction.”
Kara Trivunovic
Vice President, Digital Client Services, Epsilon
KARA’S QUICK TIP
40% OF EVERYTHING
Optimize the email on the mobile
device by increasing the size of the
CTA buttons.
#Shutterfly
“

7. There’s something to be said about keeping it
simple! Staples did a nice job with the single
stacked layout of the email design. The multiple
CTAs and consistency with the colors and size
allows the reader to easily locate the offer and
stay engaged.
The simple imagery does not clutter the email
and the rendering on mobile devices gets an A+.
The rewards callout provides a good engagement
tactic and the app download feature is a great
customer acquisition opportunity. The multi-
promotion of the ‘daily deals’ and back-to-school
highlighted offers enables readers to plan their
shopping experience beyond the needed back-to-
school items for the household.”
Mara Crisafulli
Sr. Relationship Manager, Digital Client Services, Epsilon
MARA’S QUICK TIP
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
Integrate a time of open content strategy
for the daily deals clock. Include campaign
personalization by leveraging demographic
data of the recipient’s first name, children’s
names, etc. (also, subject line testing)
#Staples
“
Subject Line:
Back to school savings
in store and online
Read Rate:
15.52%

8. Conclusion
As demonstrated, a lot of great creative work went into the back-to-school holiday
planning. And, it’s in no doubt due to the fact that marketers are in planning mode
months ahead of time. Marketers begin with their back-to-school holiday planning
strategy in the early part of Q1. Keep this ebook handy to help you with your
planning for next year. It will be here before you know it!
Want to hear more from our experts about the back-to-school holiday season?
Please visit our Epsilon blog site, a Brand New View.
☛