A Stronger Approach
How Filter helped a major outdoor retailer improve the power and efficiency of its expanding email campaigns
The Challenge
For several years, our client – a leading outdoor brand – outsourced management of its rapidly-growing to a digital marketing technology partner. While key performance metrics like delivery service and data management were solid, other data strongly indicated that creative, content and design work for its myriad campaigns and promotions needed stronger support and tighter business collaboration in order to drive increased engagement and returns for this vital marketing channel.
Bringing the creative work in house was one option, but due to strong organizational growth, our client had neither space nor appetite to add headcount for these kinds of tactical marketing roles. Finding a quick fix was further complicated by the need to coordinate among many different groups across the organization who had a stake and a say in their email marketing strategy.
Our Approach
Filter’s ability to provide outsourced digital marketing support had a strong appeal for our client. Even more critical was our ability to build a solution custom-fit to their needs.
Our solution architects worked with over a dozen stakeholders at the company to deeply and thoroughly understand how email campaigns impacted and intersected with the success of their various business groups. In a key step of the solutioning process, they integrated and synthesized these myriad requirements back to the client’s management, providing actionable insights in ways the company didn’t have before.
Based on this framework, Filter modeled a set of distinct options and worked with the client to evaluate the merits of each – ultimately crafting a solution ideally fit for the unique needs, constraints and character of this leading outdoor retailer.
Our Solution
Filter built and deployed a team of creative, design, content and production specialists, led by a program manager who oversees the day-to-day operations of the team as well as the ongoing health and performance of the program.
Part of that collaboration includes an ongoing analysis of workflow and capacity for this program, with regular, detailed reporting to the client. Filter periodically revisits and revises the team, the solution and the supporting workflows for continuous improvement as the scope of work changes and increases, and as our own knowledge of their landscape broadens.
Though the team is located in Filter’s own offices, key practices and processes were built into our solution framework to foster high levels of collaboration and communication with the client stakeholders. As a result, “the client really views us as an extension of their own capacity,” said the team’s program manager.
The Impact
From early on, the team not only provided expert, efficient handling of the client’s email campaigns – they also identified ways to optimize this work and add further value to their engagement. Thanks to these additional insights, the overall process gained significant efficiencies and the client has realized a higher ROMI for the program overall. Other key results include:
- 50% reduction in time/cost per email, totaling over a half-million dollars in program reinvestments in 2018.
- Filter has consistently over-delivered on its forecasted productivity by over 20%.
- Filter is driving more program value for the client, with new, more strategic and complex areas of campaign creative services now added to the team’s scope of work.
- Less rework, more timely delivery, improved imagery and messaging, increased relevancy and stronger customer relationships are other benefits highlighted by the client.
SNAPSHOT
• Perform ongoing analysis of workflow and capacity for this program, with regular, detailed reporting to the client
• Filter periodically revisits and revises the team and deliverable outcomes for continuous process improvements
• 50% reduction in time/cost per email, totaling over $500k
• Team has consistently over-delivered on forecasted productivity by over 20%
• Less rework, more timely delivery, improved imagery and messaging, increased relevancy and stronger customer relationships