Creating a Positive Customer Connection for the New Year
Reading: 5 mins
The internet has fundamentally changed the way we communicate with each other but one thing that has remained reassuringly constant is the sending of cards and gifts during the Holidays.
Why is this? Because everyone enjoys getting cards and gifts during the Holidays. Everyone.
This is a great time for reconnecting with the people we know and showing that we care about them. It's also a time when people reflect on the previous year and look forward to the next one (and certainly for the last two years we've been hoping for better ones!).
As an example of that, here in the Czech Republic we have the long tradition of sending Pour Feliciter cards or Happy New Year cards (yes, it's a French word, and no they don't exist in France but if you want to learn more about them, try here). It's a shame it hasn't caught on in the rest of the world as it is an easy and heartfelt way to wish your friends and colleagues all the best.
Of course the Holidays are also a time when we are bombarded with advertising and offers, as the public's collective wallets are open, and people are looking to buy presents and bag a bargain for themselves.
So how can brands cut through this cacophony of marketing and connect with their customers in an effective way? Several companies are discovering that maybe the solution is to simply send a positive, feelgood message. Ceska sporitelna and HBO Europe worked with Motionlab to create highly successful campaigns that weren't selling anything. Each took a slightly different approach but both needed to address the issue of Covid and also send a positive message that reinforced the brand and made their customers feel special.
Pour Feliciter messages are a great way of doing this and personalized Pour Feliciter videos are the perfect solution to deliver the message on this exclusive level at scale. In this blog we'll be looking at these two compelling campaigns and then look at how a personalized video can work just as well for you.
HBO Europe
The highly successful and respected video-on-demand streaming service created a meme-generator that captured a playful and nostalgic sense of comfort with their Happy New Year message.
HBO viewers were asked to fill out a simple questionnaire on a microsite, which reflected their daily lives in 2020. By choosing from 3-5 predefined answers, the viewer was then assigned scenes from some of HBO's favourite content to make up the final video.
With this data, Motionlab produced a personalized video that was sent back to them to watch and share. The video combined clips of HBO shows with some dark humour to remind us it was a year in which our initial plans didn't quite turn out as expected.
The campaign resulted in over 300,000 visits to individual websites and 109,018 unique videos generated across 14 European territories. The average conversion ratio across all landing pages was 11 times higher than usual.
Almost 25% of people used the opportunity to share their video on social networks or downloaded it to their device - proving that an innovative campaign that captures the public's attention can easily go viral.
The campaign has been shortlisted for three awards and in July 2020 it was awarded first prize in the category for Best Video and its Use at the Fenix competition.
Check out the full case study here
Ceska Sporitelna
One of the major Czech banks used a fairy tale theme and format to deliver a personal video that told each viewer the story of how they became a customer, how many interactions they had with the bank during the last year and a reminder of the location of their nearest local branch. Then, a personal message from the company director spoke about the challenges we had faced together in the past year and the hope of better times ahead.
Each unique video was delivered to 500,000 customers and Ceska sporitelna registered an increase in key results comparing it to the AB test. The click-through rate of e-mails increased by 37% and average finish view ratio was almost 60%.
Customer feedback showed that they really appreciated the video which made them feel special.
Check out the full case study here
Ringing in the New Year!
The end of the year is one of the best times to create or strengthen bonds with your customers. Most of us are in a good mood, thinking about friends and family, and holed up at home in our cosy nests.
As we flick though our mobile devices, you might not respond to yet another offer of 10% off a product you don't really need. But it's more likely that your interest will be piqued if you get an email with a unique personal message directed to you from a company or service you use. That's where personalized videos can be so effective – by grabbing your attention and making a message stand out from the noisy crowd. In some cases, like with HBO Europe, this has resulted in a greater conversion rate of up to 11x.
With enough customer data, a customized video message can be created that reminds the customer of what they have been up to that year as well as offering some potentially helpful advice or suggestions for the future. The keywords here are reassurance and trust rather than the need for a hard sell.
It's also an excellent way of delighting and surprising them, as well as reminding them that they are a valued customer. It's human nature that people are more likely to react and connect to a message if it is about them. Subtlety and authenticity are also needed to show that companies have a human side as well. Successful personalized videos work best when the viewer doesn't even realize they have been personalized and has been made just for them.
A well-crafted story with a clear message and the right tone can tap directly into the festive spirit using themes of nostalgia, goodwill and tradition. This sense of tradition and nostalgia also provides an opportunity to use some strong, creative visuals.
Conclusion
The Holidays are the perfect time to create an emotional bond with your target audience band cement customer loyalty by giving them a truly personalized experience. Offers, CTAs or upsell can also be included in such communication but results have shown that people really respond to the human side of a personal message that captures the festive spirit.
Motionlab has extensive experience with such campaigns and with Motionlab Platform, is able to create authentic videos with truly personalized elements.
Danny Holman, Motionlab