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Does Seasonal Messaging Really Work?
How one company's wrong assumptions led to a 25%
decrease in clickthrough

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We’re sharing on Twitter!
#WebClinic

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#WebClinic
Today’s speakers
Jon Powell
Senior Manager of
Executive Research and
Development,
MECLABS Institute
Ben Filip
Vice President of
Partner Development,
MECLABS Institute

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Experiment: Background
Background: A large financial institution.
Goal: To convince visitors to take out a mortgage or refinance an existing mortgage.
Research Question: Which email treatment will generate the highest clickthrough?
Test Design: A/B sequential test
*Note: Test has been anonymized to protect partner confidentiality.
Experiment ID: TP 2077
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: (Protected)*

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Experiment: Control
• The Control uses a non-
seasonal headline
• The body of the email
features bulleted value
copy

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Experiment: Treatment
• The Treatment
incorporates a seasonal
headline
• Halloween-themed
imagery and seasonal
modifications to the value
copy are implemented
throughout

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Experiment: Side-by-side
Control Treatment

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Experiment: Results
Relative decrease in clickthrough25%The treatment with integrated seasonal style messaging recorded a statistically
significant decrease in clicks.
Click
Rate
Relative
Difference
Level of
Confidence
Control 8.1% -- --
Treatment 6.1% -25.1% 99%

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Why didn’t the seasonal treatment win?

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Why didn’t the seasonal treatment win?
Many marketers assume that seasonal messaging plays
an important role in delivering the right message, to
the right person, at the right time. How can we ensure
that seasonality enhances, rather than sabotages, our
campaigns?

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#WebClinic
Today’s focus
Today we will be looking at
two key principles from this
test that can be leveraged to
prevent similar one-time
campaigns from costing us
revenue.

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Principle 1

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#WebClinic
Seasonal messaging
1. For seasonal messaging to be effective, it must be relevant to
your product and enhance your core value proposition.
Unnecessary seasonality strips away the clarity of the offer and
dilutes your core value proposition.
Key principles

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Which is likely to enhance my core value
proposition during Christmas?
This? Or This?

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Not this …

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But this …

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Experiment: Control
• The Control already
achieved a decent level of
clarity with customers

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Experiment: Treatment
• With the addition of Halloween
copy and imagery in the
Treatment, much of this clarity
is obstructed
• This brings up one question: If
the additional content doesn’t
clarify the value proposition,
does it increase its appeal,
exclusivity or credibility?

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• The Halloween messaging fails to
make the offer more appealing to
the prospect or add exclusivity to
the offer
• In addition, there is no meaningful
connection established between
Halloween and mortgage
acquisition or refinancing
Experiment: Treatment

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Background: A computer retailer.
Goal: To leverage seasonal messaging in order to increase computer and accessory sales.
Research Question: Which page treatment will generate higher conversion?
Test Design: A/B split test
*Note: Test has been anonymized to protect partner confidentiality.
Experiment ID: TP11170
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: (Protected)*
Experiment: Background

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The Control:
Traditional Design
Marquee w/ Featured Products
Product Category Menu
Categorized
Products
4th of July Discounts
Experiment: Which page converted more?
The Treatment:
Integrated Seasonal Design
52%
In conversion (99% LOC)

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Experiment
9%In Open-Rate
26%In Click Rate
Original Subject Line:
Book now to save up to 30% on hotel
stays this December in [City]
Treatment Subject Line:
Holiday Shopping, [Traditional City]
Dinners, Cathedral Concerts and More
[City] Traditions

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Principle 2

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#WebClinic
Seasonal messaging
1. For seasonal messaging to be effective, it must be relevant to
our product and enhance our core value proposition.
Unnecessary seasonality strips away the clarity of the offer and
dilutes our core value proposition.
2. To guard against future one-time campaign disasters, no
assumption should be left untested. As marketers, we cannot
afford to blindly rely on “best practices.”
Key principles

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Assumption:
Responsive design will always
increase mobile clickthrough

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Experiment: Mobile side-by-side
Responsive
54%In Clicks
Unresponsive

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Assumption:
Upfront costs scare off prospects

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Experiment: Sex offender registry
$6 a month for full
access
Control
$6 per month
+ $20 activation fee
Treatment
XNo Difference
in conversion
99%In Revenue

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Assumption:
The call-to-action should always
be placed “above the fold”

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Experiment: Call-to-action placement
Control
• Call-to-action
placed “above
the fold”
Treatment
• Call-to-action
placed “below
the fold”
220%In Conversion

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Assumption:
We should leverage our unique
brand design whenever possible

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Experiment: Local newsletter sign-up
Control
• Simple, traditional typeface
• Standard form field
• Brand-specific typography
• Branded design for sign-up form
Treatment
51%In Conversion

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 Is seasonality relevant to my product or service?
 Do my seasonal campaign elements spotlight, rather than distract from, the
actual product?
 Is my seasonal messaging careful not to detract from the clarity of my offer?
 Does the inclusion of seasonality make my product more attractive or
appealing to the customer?
Checklist: Seasonal messaging

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Live optimization

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Live Optimization: National Parks and Recreation
Primary Audience: Park visitors and
potential park visitors
Page Purpose: Generate sign-ups and raise
awareness of parks and recreation efforts
and national parks

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Live Optimization: Far & Wide Collective
Primary Audience: Prospective customers
of artisan-made clothing and home decor
Page Purpose: Sell artisan-made products
Pop-over
newsletter
registration

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Live Optimization: Bose
Primary Audience: Prospective customers
of high-end audio equipment
Email Purpose: Gather leads in exchange
for promotional brochure

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Live Optimization: 740 Rewards
Primary Audience: B2B — Clients looking
for website support and social media
management
Page Purpose: Lead generation

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Live Optimization: Falcon Social
Primary Audience: Marketers in need of
better social media management
Email Purpose: Encourage download of
software demo

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August clinic preview

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Next Clinic: Test background
Founded in 1973, the Heritage Foundation is a
nonprofit research and educational institution—a
think tank—whose mission is to formulate and
promote conservative public policies.
Every December, the Heritage Foundation sends
out an email to members asking for donations to
help the group reach their year-end fundraising
goals.

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Next Clinic: Control
• This email was sent by Jim DeMint,
the president and most well-known
leader of the nonprofit, asking
recipients for their support with a
year-end gift
• The Control leverages continuity, as
all support requests throughout the
year have come from DeMint
• The tone of the email is formal and
professional

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Next Clinic: Treatment
• The email was sent by Christie
Fogarty, the nonprofit’s much lesser
known Director of Membership,
making the same request
• The Treatment breaks continuity, as
all support requests throughout the
year have come from the president
of the nonprofit
• The email uses a much softer,
informal tone

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Which treatment won?

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#WebClinic
Live August 12 at 4 p.m. EDT
• The exact changes that resulted in a 380% change in response rate
• Why those changes convinced donors to give
• Lessons learned from NextAfter’s nonprofit work that can be
transferred to for-profits
• Key strategies to utilize and pitfalls to avoid when leveraging
personalization
Join us, along with special guest Tim
Kachuriak of NextAfter.com, for the next live
35-minute Web clinic to discover:
To see the results
To join live, register at the link below:
MarketingExperiments.com/personalization
Customer Motivation

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