Stein Mart Grows with Interactive Print
New for 2012 is the PODi Cross-Media Application Gallery (Booth 1269) which offers “Best-of-Results” case studies based on whitepapers of print-integrated cross-media applications. These examples provide GRAPH EXPO attendees with what they need to create effective cross-media campaigns. Visitors will walk away with “roadmaps” on how to use these campaigns for their clients.
One such case study in the retail vertical market is Stein Mart, which selected a regional area of stores from Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana to participate in a cross-media direct marketing campaign. Its three objectives:
• Increase store traffic through redemption of coupon offers.
• According to previous campaigns, Stein Mart expected a 2% to 3% redemption rate, which would amount to 400 to 600 redemptions.
• Build a database of potential new customers.
This campaign is an example of how print, combined with interactive components, can drive tremendous response. The redemption rate was more than 13 times higher than Stein Mart’s expected goal. Store owners reported more than 8,000 redemptions from this direct mail campaign. Based on the initial customer database of 20,029, the redemption rate was 40%.
Working with marketing service provider Dukky and its Viral Peer Sharing software, Stein Mart gained national exposure with a direct mail campaign incorporating viral elements.
• Mele Printing, Covington, LA, digitally output the 20,000 postcards on its Kodak NexPress. Due to the integration of social sharing, the campaign drove 30,068 visits to the campaign microsite.
• The direct mail piece drove a 7.8% visit rate, with 1,571 users logging on.
• Of the total visits to the microsite, 5.2% were responses to mail; 84.7% were responses to social sharing (text, email, social networks); and 10.1% were responses to direct sharing such as consumers posting the URL in a blog.
Customers were instructed to log on to their personalized URL (PURL) to access and print their offer and be entered into a sweepstakes. Upon visiting their PURL, customers viewed a customized microsite. Customers validated their information, answered a question about how often they shop at Stein Mart, and were given the opportunity to share the offer on up to 265 social networks, email, and SMS, so their friends could redeem the same offer.
Individuals who visited their PURL and completed the online questionnaire were given a $10 discount coupon off a purchase of $25 or more. Those who shared the offer with their friends through social media, email, or SMS were also entered into a sweepstakes for a $1,000 shopping spree.
Stein Mart customers’ primary sharing outlet was email with 2,564 emails being sent to peers, bringing in an additional 22,155 users to the Stein Mart site. This accounted for 73% of the total response of the campaign. Customers also shared on Facebook, Twitter, and through SMS. An additional 2,623 users came into the site through 880 posts on Facebook. Twitter also brought in an additional 675 users, from only 89 tweets: a 1-to-7 response. After sharing with friends, customers were able to print their offer and bring it into the store for redemption.
Stein Mart reached its primary demographic of customers, and also extended its marketing reach beyond its traditional database. Its primary demographic was women between the ages of 41 to 50, although the demographics of women between the ages of 31 to 40, and women over 50 were close in response. Customer data reported that 2,188 users, over 7% were over the age of 60, with the oldest user being 92. The campaign spread across 11 age segments, shattering notions that social sharing is reserved only for a younger demographic.
