B&Q pilots new 'kinetic' email campaign

Oracle Corporation has announced a new email marketing campaign created with B&Q, and available on both smartphone and tablet devices. Using Oracle Marketing Cloud software services, the interactive campaign ‘kinetic email’ will be the first of its kind in the industry, enabling subscribers to access and interact with more in-depth content without moving away from the initial email in their inbox, the company claims. This more immersive, content-centric service aims to improve the overall user experience and ultimately boost customer engagement and click-through rates.

The pilot is the first of three seasonal campaigns to be rolled out across the year and is currently unique to B&Q. The interactive email will allow smartphone and tablet users to view sliding panels with inspirational imagery, products and advice without having to scroll down the email. The campaign will be measured by an increase in open durations and click-throughs to the website, comparing the static desktop view to the kinetic smartphone and tablet views.

By condensing the email content into one screen for tablet and smartphone users, B&Q said it is offering a more user-friendly way of accessing product content, increasing the customer experience by simplifying their journey to product information. Mobile devices currently account for over 50% of the open rate for B&Q’s email campaigns, highlighting the importance of producing optimised and visual content which encourages the user to click through to the website.

“We are extremely excited to pilot the interactive email campaign with Oracle Marketing Cloud. We are offering our customers something they have not been able to do before – access this level of information within the email template, without being directed away to the website,” said Christina Heaver, e-mail planner, B&Q.

“We already see high open rates for our emails, but we are looking to increase the click-through rate for our growing mobile audience, and to increase email engagement. The benefit of this would be twofold: we can understand much more what information our customer base wants by testing the engagement levels, and in return we can send our customers relevant content in a design which is more visually creative and compelling.”

The five-click panel module will allow customers to scroll between images and explore information and advice within the email, without being directed away to the website. The module has been designed as a responsive solution, with a different view for desktop, tablet and smartphone devices. The interactivity engages when the email is opened in iOS or Android mobile devices, allowing the user to touch the screen to navigate through the panels. On desktop computers, the email will not be interactive but customers view the same visually led email content in their email.

Simon Robinson, director of marketing & alliances, EMEA, Oracle Marketing Cloud, said: “Today’s customer is using more devices than ever to access online content and we are seeing over 50% of customers open email communications from brands on their phones and tablets. It’s important to reach them on the device of their choice and sending generic content is no longer enough to drive customer engagement. By using our kinetic methodology to design high-impact interactive emails, B&Q is giving their customers a chance to engage with the brand like never before.”

Source: Fiona Briggs - Retail News - Retail Times
http://www.retailtimes.co.uk/bq-pilots-kinetic-email-campaign-oracle-marketing-cloud/