TWDC E-Mail Marketing
Among Scripps Networks Interactive, Time Warner Inc., and The Walt Disney Company, I only found the option to opt-in on emails with The Walt Disney Company.
As discussed in previous blog posts, TWDC has many
different business segments. As an example, the analysis will cover emails that
I have received from both Disney Studios and Disney Interactive. The basis of
Walt Disney Studios is the segment that produces the feature films and pictures
that we see in theaters. Whereas, Disney Interactive produces mobile, social,
and console games, Club Penguin, original programming, and online web
entertainment destinations.
Below are examples of the emails I have received.
The email from Disney Studios is about the availability of
box office hit Inside Out on Digital
HD and Disney Movies Anywhere, and it’s upcoming Blu-Ray release on November 3rd.
This email follows good direct marketing, considering the customer is acquired
via subscription for updates of products on the website, hence a possible
purchase. Walt Disney has a pretty easy time converting customers considering
the magnitude of the company and all the different segments a consumer can be
converted by. Specifically, this email does not exactly convert the consumer,
considering a prior action (watching the movie), is usually taken before buying
the movie. If the consumer is a Disney regular, the likelihood of retention,
growth, and engagement are high. The majority of Disney fans are avid fans of
the brand and will always be attracted to its products.
 |
| Disney Studios Email |
In the email from Disney Interactive, online games are being marketed. This is an email that must already have had prior customer acquisition and conversion due to the fact that this email is most likely meant for parents who have children that are familiar with the movie or show the characters in the game are associated with. This email is less informational and more interactive, therefore requiring action for the email to be successful. If the email is specifically marketing online games, then it is usually calling for a click at that moment. Retention, growth, and engagement rely on the target audience the email is being sent to.
 |
| Disney Interactive Email |
Email Design Principles
As for email design principles, the emails both motivate a person to take action, reduce anxiety to taking the action, and are easily navigable to convert the consumer. The only thing I would enhance is the actual template of the emails. Considering they are coming from Disney, I feel that they should be a little bit more “magical.” The emails would be awesome if they were a little bit more visually engaging. Evidently, I think that the email from Disney Studios is more appealing than the email from Disney Interactive.
If I were to conduct an A/B test, I would test changing
the subject line. The Inside Out
email had a subject of “Because We LAVA You” and the game email had a subject
of “Play these games before summer ends!” I wonder if the emails would be more
engaging and encourage people to open them if they had subjects about what the
actual content in the email was about.
Because We LAVA You = Bring Inside Out Home!
Play these games before summer ends! = Stay Cool Inside
With These Games!
CAN-SPAM Act
According to the CAN-SPAM Act, the emails are compliant with the following:
1. Don’t
use false or misleading header information
2. Don’t
use deceptive subject lines
3. Identify
the message as an ad
4. Tell
recipients where they are located
5. Tell
recipients how to opt out of receiving future emails
6. Honor
opt-out requests promptly
The Four I's of the Time Warner, Inc. Website
And now onto the Time Warner, Inc. website! Does it, or
does it not follow the incredible four I’s of Internet marketing?
Interactive – Information-driven – Immediate – Involving
The Time Warner Inc. website is interactive in the sense that the Internet allows the consumer and
the company to interact. However, due to the fact that Time Warner Inc. is an
entertainment company, it does not specifically sell products directly to the
consumer since its products are television series and media related
productions. The website allows for interactivity specifically with investors via
its investor relations tab.
Whether the website is information-driven is debatable. It provides information to viewers
and investors about its current and upcoming shows, but I am not sure how it
specifically uses gathered data by viewers to market them. This is probably
done on a broader scale than the website. For example, they most likely use
their viewership and ratings to determine which shows they market ahead of
others or what time slots they place their shows in.
It is unclear how immediate
the Time Warner Inc. website is. They have a “Contact Us” option on their
website, so one can assume that they take the average three business days or
less to reply to an inquiry.
Out of the four I’s, the most evident I used is Involving. No matter what, media and
entertainment is involving, so it only makes sense for the website to be full
of video, social media engagement, and other rich media.
Direct Marketing Strategy: Scripps Networks Interactive
Considering that the direct marketing channel for Scripps Networks Interactive is television, it is difficult to interpret how many viewers actually visit the Scripps website. If a viewer that was interested in Food Network, they are more likely to navigate to the actual Food Network website rather than the Scripps website.
With that being said, the Scripps Networks Interactive website uses the critical strategy elements (acquire, convert, retain, grow, and engage) as successes from the brands that they own. For example, the Travel Channel viewers are more likely to be acquired by watching the show, or by a marketing campaign set out online. Therefore, the direct marketing strategies are evident at Travel Channel's website. In summation, it does not seem like Scripps directly markets to its viewers and consumers, rather its individual brands do so.
Travel Channel acquires the audience via its show, converts the viewer by pulling them in with more marketing campaigns to keep them watching other shows on the network, retains viewers by making them regular viewers, grows viewership with other marketing tactics or word of mouth, and engages viewers via online vacation giveaways, etc.
About A/B Testing Campaigns. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16,
2015, from http://kb.mailchimp.com/campaigns/ab/about-ab-testing-campaigns
CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 16, 2015, from
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business
Disney Interactive | The Walt Disney Company. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 13, 2015, from https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-companies/disney-interactive-media-group
Studio Entertainment | The Walt Disney Company. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 14, 2015, from https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-companies/studio-entertainment
Time Warner Inc., (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from https://www.timewarner.com
Scripps Networks Interactive, (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from https://www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com
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