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CABLE WORLD STAFF
The Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) sponsored a competition for high-speed Internet marketing campaigns. Below are case studies of the winning campaigns, submitted by their respective operators.
"Log on Once for the Rest of Your Life." Cablevision's Optimum Online In October 1999, Cablevision was struggling to boost the sales of its cable modem service, Optimum Online. Their campaign - unveiled in January 1999 - had floundered. With Internet penetration around 40%-50% and competition threatening their first-mover advantage, time was exceedingly important. As an added difficulty, sales were limited to Cablevision's entertainment retailer, The Wiz. The Romann Group was selected to develop a marketing campaign addressing those shortcomings.
Objectives: To rebrand Optimum Online as a reliable provider of the Internet and to reverse the dearth of sales. Cablevision hoped to increase awareness of Optimum Online to 50% of target households.
Tactics: Research indicated that most Internet service providers were marketing speed. Findings also indicated that greater speed was important only among a small portion of early adopters.
Rather than focus on speed, Cablevision attempted to alleviate consumer fears and ambivalence. The Romann Group's campaign tagline, "Log on Once for the Rest of Your Life," spoke to consumer worries about investing in a short-lived technology, as well as the simplicity of access, while the headline "Still using this to connect to the Internet?" (located beside the picture of an antique phone) depositioned phone companies and DSL providers as outmoded.
To alleviate problems stemming from Optimum Online's dependence on The Wiz, the Romann Group advised Cablevision to create Optimum Online Starter Kits. Consumers could now pick up a well-branded box containing all the elements for them to self-install the modem and set up the service.
To deliver the message, direct mailings were combined with bill stuffers, banners in Penn Station, in-store displays at The Wiz, local newspaper ads, radio spots, online ads, e-mails, movie slides, event sponsorship and PR activity. Three 60-second TV ads were also developed.
Results: Cablevision sold more cable modems in the first six weeks of the new campaign than during the previous nine months. Sales exceeded company predictions by over 40%. As of February 2000, Optimum Online's brand awareness exceeded all other competitors'.
"Cable Modems: Setting the Record Straight" Charter Communications In March 2000, Pacific Bell began running a series of broadcast commercials in the Los Angeles market called "Laurel Lane," which dramatized problems cable modem customers had on "best effort" cable modem networks. The ads were extremely well-produced and effective. As a result of the commercials, Charter's sales and sales call volume dropped substantially. The backlog for cable modem installations became very low.
When only proprietary cable modems were available, Charter had invested in "speed programmable" cable modems, as opposed to the "best effort" cable modems which caused the problems described in the commercials, where customers could become "web hogs" and cause their neighbors' cable modem service to slow down. Charter felt it needed to respond to the Pacific Bell allegations in order to earn the faith of potential new customers and, ultimately, get back on track with sales.
The objectives for the response to the Pacific Bell commercials were to: (1) explain how quality of service settings on the new DOCSIS platform cable modems would ensure reliable speeds and service for customers; (2) gain a 0.5% response rate to a large direct mail campaign; and (3) point out deficiencies in DSL system architecture.
Tactics: Direct mail to homes passed: letter from system VP in envelope with insert; bill insert to modem-serviceable cable customers and current cable modem subs; "Topper" insert on Los Angeles Times in serviceable zip codes.
Results: 0.49 direct mail response rate. Callers are no longer asking, "Is it true? Will I slow down on my cable modem if more of my neighbors sign up for service?" Instead, customers say, "I knew Pac Bell was exaggerating." There was also a dramatic increase in sales, measured by pending installation backlog. Three additional installation contract firms had to be hired to handle the volume of installations.
"Increase Your Net Worth" Acquisition Campaign Cox Communications In late 1999, Cox realized the need to drive incremental market share on a rapid time scale. Therefore, the Cox corporate residential data services marketing team set forth an aggressive company-wide goal for their first quarter acquisition campaign.
As part of its continued strategy to target the "Early Majority" consumer, Cox identified a segment that presented a significant opportunity: urban/suburban professionals with/without families with children. It is also a mainstream audience who tend to be more risk-adverse. While the top two HSD product features - always on and speed - are compelling messages, they're not enough to provoke a switch. They are compelling when linked to solving a customer need.
Cox believed it needed to explain broadband capabilities in a meaningful way. By doing so, it decided on a vertical or segmented marketing approach utilizing MicroVision codes and demographic appends to market only to the identified segment.
In developing a sound campaign, Cox recognized some challenges. Specifically, it needed to drive incremental connects during a typically slow time period (February - April). In addition, it needed to drive incremental connects that were fiscally responsible and also needed to create a piece that was universally acceptable to all Cox systems.
Strategies: Drive incremental monthly net gains an additional 5% for the campaign duration; maximize marketing efficiency through the development of a targeted mail campaign as well as cost savings from volume print runs of materials; provide system-level marketing managers with a packaged, turnkey campaign, achieving 50% system participation; analyze customer data to identify target "mail to" segments.
Fully integrated campaign tactics included: direct mail letter package; last chance postcard; bill insert; doorhanger; take-one brochure; point of purchase/retail display; theater slide; magazine and newspaper ads; outdoor ads; TV - :30 demand building and :20/:10 taggable acquisition spots; radio - :50/:10 taggable acquisition spot; Web site (CoxRevolution.com); banner ads; CSR button.
Results: Increased monthly net gain to 24% over previous month. (Exceeded goal by 19%); for the duration of the campaign, approximately 30% above budgeted connects for the same time period from previous year; 90% system-level participation.
Fish Tale Hooks New Customers AT&T Broadband AT&T's Broadband High Speed Internet Service Division wanted to develop an e-mail campaign to hook new customers and counter a competitor's negative ads that falsely claimed its service was bigger, faster and overall, better. What the competitor was saying simply wasn't true; in other words, it was a fish tale.
A strategically designed e-mail campaign would reinforce existing advertising efforts. More importantly, a permission-based e-mail marketing campaign would quickly reach the most qualified number of possible customers - people who are already online. Finally, the results would be easily measurable for number of leads and customer conversions. For this product - hgh-speed Internet access - additional selection demographics such as gender, age, income, married or single weren't necessary. Maximum e-mail coverage of adults in the San Francisco area was key - because all adults in the area who had given their permission to receive e-mail were qualified targets of this campaign.
Brigid Berry, director of AccuData's Broadband Strategy Group, partnered with Brian J. Chang, marketing manager for AT&T Broadband's High-Speed Data Services in the San Francisco Bay area, to develop and launch the permission-based e-mail campaign entitled "A Fish Tale." Strong e-mail copy, from the subject line to the offer of incentives totaling more than $200, HTML graphics and planned timing of the e-mail rounded out the campaign strategy. The campaign ran with the fish tale theme, incorporating the concept into all facets of the e-mail campaign. For example, the graphics featured a phone line connected to a fishhook and accompanied by copy that asked, "Is Someone Feeding You a Line About High-Speed Internet Access?"
Prior to the campaign, AT&T Broadband had been doing standard-text e-mail messages, but they were finding recipients thought these ads were spam because they were just text and included a disproportionately-sized disclaimer and standard subject line. For the "Fish Tale" campaign, Chang and Berry decided some strategic revisions were in order. First, AT&T Broadband beefed up its budget and expanded the number of permission-based e-mail prospects to a database of about 270,000 names. Next, Berry worked with a Web graphic artist to create graphic-enriched information that could be formatted in HTML and opened easily.
The results for the permission-based e-mail campaign to more than 270,000 recipients exceeded expectations. About 10% of the people who received the e-mail responded and 30% of those respondents signed up as new customers.
Further, the cost per sale was around $7 vs. the typical range of $50 to $75 per conversion or sale.
A Special Feature from CTAM
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