Browser Media Ltd delivered a funny and engaging inbound marketing campaign to promote Scribbler, manufacturers of personalised greeting cards. In this in-depth case study they talks us through their work
Brief
Browser Media was briefed by Scribbler to develop a digital campaign for spring 2013 that would deliver measurable results for the company’s online business by engaging Scribbler’s core market: tech and social-media savvy, young professionals with a disposable income.
The challenge was to create an enduring appeal for the brand that would extend beyond the major calendar events and result in repeat purchases.
The aims and objectives were clear; to increase brand awareness, traffic and revenue in a highly competitive B2C market, with a softer goal of positioning Scribbler as ‘a leading provider of designer, entertaining and rude greeting cards for all widely-known occasions and life’s unforgettable moments’.
Strategy
Three key themes shaped Scribbler’s strategy:
1) Browser Media advised that to create brand loyalty and enduring appeal amongst its customers, Scribbler needed to ‘earn’ the attention of its target audience and therefore an integrated inbound marketing strategy was identified as being the most appropriate approach.
In order to harness the popularity of specific seasonal, card-sending occasions the activity was to take place over a six month period, from January to June 2013.
The strategy primarily focused on Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day, and each calendar event was divided into two distinct stages:
a) On-page optimisation techniques to:
• Increase natural search visibility
• Improve customers’ on-site experience
• Provide a more efficient, enjoyable checkout process
• Attract and engage consumers through fun, shareable content
b) Online outreach to:
• Take Scribbler’s brand, and humour, to new customers
• Build a base of brand champions amongst third parties, eg blogging communities
• Provide more captivating content to enhance Scribbler’s existing social channels
2) Competitor research showed that Scribbler’s strength lies in its ability to be outrageously funny and unapologetically rude. Digital marketing activity needed to reflect this unique character rather than one particular type of product.
3) With Mother’s Day already at the forefront of consumers’ minds, Browser Media determined that other seasonal events presented the most opportunity for growth. This resulted in the creation of seasonal micro-campaigns for Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day, bolstering Scribbler’s continual year-round marketing activity.
Execution
Valentine’s Day
Directly promoting Scribbler’s quirky range of Valentine’s Day cards alone wasn’t going to gain the level of engagement required to meet the objectives. A deeper connection was necessary – the first point of contact with Scribbler had to inspire.
Nine free Valentine’s Day vouchers were created, all with a cheeky Scribbler twist, and were posted on their blog in February. Browser Media undertook consumer research to ensure that the tongue-in-cheek would really resonate with the target demographic.
This on-site content was then circulated via Twitter and Facebook, and blogger outreach was used to bolster the exposure even further. A subtle link through to the Valentine’s Day card section in the blog post meant that consumers had the option to view the available products.
The next activity, also launched at the end of January, focused on driving engagement, in the form of the ‘Love Is’ competition. As a modern brand trying to attract a young and tech savvy audience, Browser Media chose to explore the unconventional side of love, and decided that Valentine’s Day presented the opportunity for consumers to share their thoughts on modern day love. Revealed on the Scribbler blog and promoted via Twitter (using the #LoveIs hashtag) and Facebook, consumers had the chance to win an iPad mini in exchange for their thoughts.
The activity provided the perfect opportunity for further content creation. A week after Valentine’s Day, a ‘Love Is’ e-book was produced and shared with contributors, bloggers and other Scribbler followers.
Having already created opportunities for engagement a further piece of content was created, showcasing some of Scribbler’s top X-rated Valentine’s Day cards. As a shareable piece of content published on YouTube on 1 February, the video was used to encourage consumers to embrace an alternative Valentine’s message.
Father’s Day
During April, Browser Media planned the ‘Scribbler Man Chair’ video, which went on to be produced in-house in May. Browser Media executed every stage of the video, which was then released on YouTube and the Scribbler blog in early June and subsequently shared via Facebook and Twitter (using the #mydadsmanchair hashtag).
Playing on the classic ‘what to buy?’ conundrum that surrounds Father’s Day, consumers were encouraged to share ideas for building their own ‘Man Chair’. All ‘manly’ items were sourced from local charity shops to ensure spend was kept to a minimum and Browser Media purposefully embraced the ‘low budget’ theme in the look and feel of the video.
In the week leading up to Father’s Day, supplementary blog posts, ‘10 Worst Screen Dads’ and ‘Father’s Day Man Recipes’ ensured that original and funny content was consistently available. Intentionally avoiding the sentimental side of the occasion, the posts reinforced the Scribbler brand, fortifying their reputation as one of the leading providers of edgy greetings cards.
On-site optimisation
A technical site audit was conducted to identify any errors, violations, or missed opportunities, and the necessary changes were implemented.
Thorough keyword research then was undertaken to ensure the most appropriate keywords were being targeted, and that all pages were fully optimised for natural search.
PPC
Whilst it could be argued that PPC advertising sits outside a traditional inbound marketing strategy, here it played a pivotal role in helping to seed content. During both of the above campaigns, consumers actively searching for rude and funny greeting cards were targeted.
Existing customers were intrinsic to the success of the project and so communication via opt-in email lists was an additional element of the project. Whilst Browser Media created the content, the actual distribution of the email campaign was handled directly by Scribbler.
Result
Whilst Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day acted as the drivers for the project, a direct increase in sales for these specific occasions was not the primary objective. The intention was to make every interaction a memorable one and increase performance metrics during ‘off-season’ months.
Therefore, results were measured during July 2013 following the execution of the project. Data from 1 – 31 July 2013 has been taken and compared to 1 – 31 July 2012.
Comparison of actuals vs targets: targets in brackets
• Increased visits by 135 per cent (50 per cent)
• Increased conversions by 151 per cent (40 per cent)
• Increased revenue by 188 per cent(40 per cent)
• Over 2,500 views on YouTube
• ROI on paid search significantly improved from July 2012 vs July 2013, increasing by 71 per cent (target 25 per cent)
It is clear to see that the work undertaken by Browser Media on behalf of Scribbler significantly exceeded the targets initially set, fulfilling the objectives and aim of the project.
In addition, Hubspot, one of the world’s leading resources on digital and inbound marketing, featured the Valentine’s Day campaign in their article ‘5 Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns That’ll Warm Your Heart’.
“Browser Media understood the Scribbler brand, created some great campaigns which ultimately generated new customers for us. We thoroughly enjoyed working with them,” says Emily Ridgwell, eCommerce at Scribbler.