2020 and 2021 have been unique years. The beginning of 2022 is the perfect opportunity to reconnect with consumers and get the new year off to a strong start. We’ve compiled some examples of the Axle Agency’s work to illustrate how to activate Q1’s energy moments to connect with your audience.
The Olive Garden decided to take the initiative to connect with diners whose New Year’s resolutions included healthy eating. The Olive Garden ran an email campaign encouraging subscribers to discover Italy’s lighter side with Olive Garden’s Tastes of the Mediterranean menu items – each under 600 calories. This campaign hit program goals with a unique open rate that was 55% higher than the industry average and a unique click to open rate that was in line with the industry average.
The Superbowl is one of America’s biggest cultural events. Every year, we gather to watch football, drink beer, eat wings and discuss the most creative commercials. Visa launched their product, “Checkout” to give consumers a secure and easy way to pay for their online purchases. With a Visa Checkout account, customers can store their card information (any credit or debit card, not just a Visa card) and address information in a single place and then make their purchase on any participating merchant’s website with a few clicks; without being redirected to another website.
To promote “Checkout” Visa created a visually striking, unforgettable offer to entice Checkout users to opt-in to Visa’s promotional emails and become an email subscriber. Those who opted-in could enter to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to Super Bowl 50. This successful email message had a delivery rate of 99.73%, an impressive 1.2 million recipients opened the email, and more than 100,000 opt-ed in to become subscribers.
One of the biggest spending days of the year, Valentine’s Day is a holiday where brands can get creative and show their playful side. The Yard House got creative with their Valentine’s Day email campaign. Using imagery that set pictures of beer in dating app Tinder’s interface, they joked: “No valentine this year? No worries. We are playing matchmaker this year. Take home one of our beers tonight!”
Celebrated the day before Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s is a way for women to celebrate the platonic friendships in their lives. Amy Poehler’s popular TV show, Parks & Rec is credited with starting the woman-centered holiday. See’s Candies decided to connect with their female audience through a colorful, heart-filled email campaign promoting delicious chocolates that women could send to friends to ‘bring a smile to their faces.’
St. Patrick’s Day is a day for merriment and drinking beer. The holiday is another cultural touchstone that allows advertisers to get creative and appeal to their audiences’ sense of fun. The Yard House took advantage of St. Patrick’s to establish their brand voice with a fun play on words to celebrate the holiday.
As Content Marketing Manager, Natasia is responsible for helping strategize, produce and execute Data Axle's content. With a passion for writing and an enthusiasm for data management and technology, Natasia creates content that is designed to deliver nuggets of wisdom to help brands and individuals elevate their data governance policies. A native New Yorker, when Natasia is not at work she can be found enjoying New York’s food scene, at one of NYC’s many museums, or at one of the city’s many parks with her two teacup yorkies.