BUSINESS NEEDS: Columbia Sportswear wants to create long-term relationships with their consumers. They want to engage with them in a more targeted and personal approach than they have in the past. They did not want the messages to seem transactional and needed them to be on brand without being too uniformed.
SOLUTION/STRATEGY: Two separate series were created: one was the and the second was new Greater Rewards members, which is .
New Online Buyer Email- This email is targeted to online buyers who signed up to Columbia.com. It provides an initial touch point via email that shares with the recipient things that they should expect, for example, new product announcements, special offers, adventures and updates, and company news. It is also a vehicle to encourage a new online buyer to become a Greater Rewards member and get free shipping, access to VIP events and more. Because Columbia Sportswear wanted to drive recipients to both the online store and physical stores, we designed a module that would pull in information about the closest store to the recipient.
Greater Rewards Series – This series for Columbia Sportswear’s reward club is a bit more comprehensive. Instead of one email like the new online buyer email, this is a series of three. The first email provides confirmation of their signup to the rewards club. It reiterates all the great benefits of being a CGR member and displays the data that was entered for that specific users profile (username, password, birth date, etc) with an option to update any incorrect information. The second email is an exclusive offer to save 20% on any single item in store or online. Because this discount could be used in-store we felt the graphics should accurately represent a coupon and be placed at the very top of the email to help differentiate it from the first email they received. This email also reiterated the benefits of being a member but stated them in another format in case they missed the first email. For the third email, we included a reminder for the 20% coupon to keep it top of mind and we introduce the recipient to the Columbia community. It includes calls to action for writing reviews, shopping by activity, keeping up with Columbia through their blog, and joining the discussion on Columbia’s Facebook profile. All of these help to further establish the relationship with consumers and keep Columbia involved in the consumer’s online activities.