Time Management Launch Campaign

Background

The objectives were to drive awareness of the new training programme and generate sales by getting 500 previews of the trailer in the first month alone. A target was set of £11K of revenue in those four weeks. The agency was asked to achieve a 32% open rate and 27% click-through rate from the email with 0.5% of all recipients forwarding the email to colleagues/friends.

Idea

The campaign dramatises how much time is wasted through small interruptions in the work environment. The idea was delivered through an email sent to key purchasers and decision makers within organisations on the Video Arts database. The text-based email, sent at 4.59pm, suggested that it was time to leave work for the evening and directed people to the landing page for a free lesson in time management. This was supported with a bespoke landing page hosting an online preview video of the new programme. A letter was then mailed at the end of the month as a follow up within which highlighted words draw your eye to reading ‘If this is all you have time to read, visit www.videoarts.com/timemanagement’.

Finally, a follow up email offering a free lesson in time management was sent, with a link to a web page. This page’s loading bar deliberately took ages to complete and used notes on screen such as ‘I could have read a couple of emails by now’ and ‘this is slow’. The final screen said, ‘This ends your free lesson in time management’ and then directed you to the landing page for more information and the benefits that the new programme could bring to you and your organisation.

Results

The campaign met all objectives. The trailer was previewed 1,160 times to end June, 34% in the first two days. There were 210 full views (40% online, 60% DVD) and 210 leads from advert. The email had an average 20% open rate and 25% click-through. Through segmenting the database, four targeted emails were sent out to specific groups, resulting in 15%-27% open rates, click-through 50-70%. £31K of revenue was generated in two months.

Our Thoughts

Behind this campaign there’s a real insight – that the more disorganised you are, the harder you have to work. It’s quite a complicated thought but it’s been expressed very neatly – especially in the letter. Everything drives you to the trailer (starring James Nesbitt), where there are tantalising glimpses of how much you’ll learn. I damn near signed up myself. I don’t know if there was a planner behind this, but someone with good plannery-type skills was involved in writing the brief, that’s for sure.