case study - HubExchange

case study
AdStack – Case Study – PCH – 3
28 April 2013
summary.
Customer
» Publishers Clearing House
Industry
» Direct consumer marketing
Challenge
» PCH wanted a simple and effective way to optimize
emails and boost clickthrough rates.
Solution
» AdStack
Results
» 33.9% higher clickthrough rate
» 612,000 more email clicks
» Higher ROI for email marketing
Being able to use AdStack allows us to
spend the same amount of money, but get a
much better return on investment.
» Vicky Hsu, Director of Online Marketing, Publishers Clearing House
AdStack – Case Study – PCH – 3
28 April 2013
Page 1
Real-Time Email
Optimization Boosts
Clicks and ROI for
Publishers Clearing House.
Challenge
Publishers Clearing House is a well-known direct marketer. Consumers have entered its
sweepstakes for decades hoping to win millions of dollars. The company uses
giveaways to build marketing lists, and email marketing is an important channel for
spreading the word.
PCH partners with publishers to help promote its sweepstakes. It emails their audiences
with offers of a chance to win big cash prizes. This is an important source of new subscribers for the marketing team. Every year, millions of people discover a PCH sweepstakes this way.
Vicky Hsu, Director of Online Marketing, heads this program at PCH. She recently
wanted to increase engagement with these emails and attract even more entries. She
knew email optimization could increase clicks and conversions, but she wanted it to be
easy and efficient as possible.
How could PCH optimize emails without segmenting and targeting them manually?
AdStack – Case Study – PCH – 3
28 April 2013
Page 2
Solution.
Solution
PCH researched its options and discovered that AdStack's automated tool was the
perfect solution. AdStack allowed PCH to test and target emails after they were sent, in
real time, as they were opened.
“When I met with AdStack, what really caught my attention is that they said they would
not charge us unless we saw at least a 5% improvement in clickthrough rate,” said Hsu.
AdStack’s guarantee removed any risk of trying the software. PCH worked with
AdStack’s experts to set up the tool and start launching campaigns. PCH began to automatically optimize its emails using AdStack's technology to determine the best content
to show each subscriber to maximize engagement.
“The software was very user-friendly and AdStack provided great training,” said Hsu.
Hsu’s team did not have to go through the usual rigors of A/B testing. AdStack ran automatic tests, selected the winners, and displayed an optimized email to each subscriber
without effort from the team. Once subscribers began opening emails, the system
instantly used device, browser, and location data to identify optimal image content and
deliver it in real time.
AdStack – Case Study – PCH – 3
28 April 2013
Page 3
Solution.
Solution
PCH began to automatically optimize its emails using AdStack's technology to determine
the best content to show each subscriber to maximize engagement. Once subscribers
began opening emails, the system instantly began using device, browser, and location
data to identify optimal image content and deliver it in real time.
Hsu’s team did not have to go through the usual rigors of A/B testing. AdStack ran automatic tests, selected the winners, and displayed an optimized email to each subscriber
without effort from the team.
“With AdStack, I can supply 10 different creatives and they automatically optimize and
show the best-performing one as people open their email,” said Hsu. “I was very
impressed with the technology. It not only gives you the ability to show the email that
gets the most clicks, but it’s actually done in real time.”
AdStack – Case Study – PCH – 3
28 April 2013
Page 4
Results.
Results
AdStack’s technology increased the average
clickthrough rate of PCH’s emails by 33.9%,
which was well above the team’s expectations.
More readers were clicking the emails, hitting
the landing page, and joining the company's
list.
“Being able to use AdStack allows us to spend
the same amount of money but get a much
better return on investment,” said Hsu. “ROI is
higher, and a higher percentage of profitability
is coming from our third-party email program.”
The optimization achieved by AdStack earned
PCH more than 612,000 additional clicks on its
emails. Other people in the company noticed
the great results and wanted to join in.
“First we started using it for third-party lists,
and then it was so impressive that our internal
email marketing folks decided to use AdStack
as well,” said Hsu. “Normally it’s the other way
around.”
AdStack – Case Study – PCH – 3
28 April 2013
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