In this in-depth case study Silverpop tell us how they helped Teletext double its database in less than six months
The Challenge
Teletext Holidays is held in high regard by the British public; originally broadcast as a TV information service, the brand was the definitive destination for booking last minute holidays at low cost. Today it maintains its position as a leading holiday provider, and is still known for its wide range of great value holidays.
Needing to tap into their brand heritage but at the same time reach a new audience, Teletext Holidays worked with Silverpop to implement a new strategy with a new set of goals. Setting a target to double their database in less than a year would be enough for many companies, but Teletext Holidays also knew they had to do all this whilst retaining their strong brand heritage if their new contacts were to translate into new holiday bookings.
The Strategy
Silverpop as a tool for database growth
As a well-loved brand, Teletext Holidays has a strong fan base across social media sites. However despite having a growing number of engaged Facebook fans, the business only had limited means of notifying its community of the latest news or holiday offers. An opt-in page from Silverpop was embedded into Facebook allowing fans to sign up directly for email offers and news; simple yet an effective way to grow their database.
Recognising the social nature of holiday bookings, the brand’s emails feature Silverpop’s ‘share to social’ and ‘forward to a friend’ links; an effective way to broaden Teletext Holiday’s reach and an easy way for the site’s users to manage their search for a holiday.
Other opt in opportunities were also provided to capture visitors to the TeletextHolidays.co.uk site. A number of ‘opt in overlays’ were tested and then implemented throughout the website. Realising that holiday bookers, by their very nature, like to travel, all of the Silverpop forms were optimised for mobile devices to ensure visitors could sign up on-the-go. Clever content marketing such as carefully chosen partner emails and competitions all added to the database’s rapid growth and ensured this well-known travel brand was quickly on track to hit its high target.
Silverpop as a tool for brand growth
Teletext Holidays was once beamed into people’s living rooms through their TV, but it now competes with multichannel media sites including online websites and high street travel agents. It’s therefore important for Teletext Holidays to recognise and reward the brand presence it has, as well as welcome new followers into its fold. No matter which method of sign-up a visitor uses, each new contact is added to an automated welcome programme, executed via email and powered via the Silverpop platform.
Via their welcome programme, Teletext Holidays is able to explain what makes it unique so that every new subscriber knows what to expect and how to benefit from the holiday emails they receive. It means that the brand retains the vast majority of its opted-in subscriber base; and in fact not only retains them, but engages with them from the start, and at the time they’re most interested in hearing from the company.
Silverpop as a database retention tool
Of course, for many subscribers, holidays are an annual event, and not a frequent purchase. Rather than lose contacts who only want to hear about holidays on a seasonal basis, anyone clicking on the mandatory opt-out link at the bottom of a Teletext Holidays email is sent to a ‘preference centre’.
The preference centre allows subscribers to choose the frequency of the emails they receive or even ‘snooze’ their subscription for a short time. It means gone are the days of returning home and clicking unsubscribe to stop receiving pictures of sunny beaches that are out of reach for the next few months.
Silverpop as a multichannel marketing tool
As well as utilising email and social, Teletext Holidays wanted to take full advantage of its multi-channel marketing plan and launched a radio campaign as well as increasing PR and press activity.
The press has been used by the company traditionally to generate brand awareness and traffic, but now their multichannel approach has the flexibility to include data capture mechanics.
The Results
Silverpop as a tool for creating return on investment
Teletext Holidays has had tremendous success with its database initiative, reaching their goal for doubling the database six months ahead of target.
“Data was not just at the heart of our strategy, it was at the heart of everything we do as a business.” Amy Patel, Media Manager at Teletext Holidays
As an additional bonus, all of this was accomplished before Teletext Holidays hit its seasonal peak, ensuring as many people as possible are aware of brands unique offering, right at the peak of the holiday booking boom.