1. Recent Holiday Messaging Trends
&
2012 Recommendations

2. Welcome to a Fishbowl Best Practices Webinar
Hosted by:
Caroline Smith
Senior Online Marketing Specialist
csmith@fishbowl.com
Lauren Sadlon
Online Marketing Consultant
lsadlon@fishbowl.com

3. Agenda
Holiday Messaging Trends
•Open Rates
•Click-through Rates
•Purchasing Behavior
Holiday Messaging Best Practices
•Subject Lines • Thanksgiving Weekend
•Segmentation • Social Media
•Creative Design • “Season’s Greeting”
•Soft Benefits Messaging
2012 Holiday Messaging Planning
•Past Performance Review
•Recommendations

4. Executive Summary
Top 3 Items Members look for in a Holiday Email
•Customer Experience, Relevant Offers, Simplicity
2011 General Observations
•Holiday sales increased vs. prior year
•Open rates, click through rates and overall message volume decreased
•Open rates increased during the post-holiday period vs. 2010
2012 Recommendations
•In Q4, every brand is in the GIFTING Business, so think like a retailer
• Also a great time to do things that demonstrate the value of being an e-club member
•Start your Holiday Marketing EARLY to elongate the shopping season
•Email is the #1 driver of online shopping, but it works best when paired with other channels
•Develop a post-holiday strategic plan to take advantage of recent spikes

5. Overall Holiday Messaging Trends: Open Rates
•Open rates dropped 3% from 2010 to 2011
•For the past 2 years, message volume has started to increase around 11/13.
QUICK WIN: Beat the crowd and avoid the election-day push by starting 10/31
*Source data was received from a 3rd party online marketing firm (Epsilon) and are across all verticals, not specific to the restaurant industry

6. Fishbowl Holiday Messaging Trends: Open Rates
• Open rates dropped 1% from 2010 to 2011
• Highest 3-week average mailing frequency was seen from 11/6-11/20 (2,424 mailings sent/week)
*Data collected from amongst all Fishbowl chain clients

7. Overall Holiday Messaging Trends: Click Through Rates
Click through rates dropped by almost 10% in 2011 vs. 2010.
QUICK WINS: Pre-season segmentation survey  Optimized positioning  Animation
*Source data was received from a 3rd party online marketing firm (Epsilon) and are across all verticals, not specific to the restaurant industry

8. Fishbowl Holiday Messaging Trends: Click-to-Open Rates
• Open rates dropped 2% from 2010 to 2011
• Lowest click-to-open rate: Week of 11/6 and 12/18
*Data collected from amongst all Fishbowl chain clients

9. Overall 2011 Holiday Performance: Day-of-Week Messaging
Highest open rates: Tuesdays Highest click through rates: Sundays Highest volume: Fridays
QUICK WIN: Do day-of-week testing to identify your brand’s sweet spot for open rates
*Source data was received from a 3rd party online marketing firm (Epsilon) and are across all verticals, not specific to the restaurant industry

10. Fishbowl 2011 Holiday Performance: Day-of-Week Messaging
Highest:
• Open rates: (22%); Mondays and Fridays
• Click-to-open rates: (12%); Tuesday and Fridays
• Volume: (153M messages); Tuesdays
*Data collected from amongst all Fishbowl chain clients

11. Overall 2011 Holiday Performance: Purchasing Behavior
Summary: Conversion rates rose sharply shortly after Halloween and skyrocketed the week of Black Friday
QUICK WIN: Time more aggressive gift card offers with when consumers are ready to buy.
*Source data was received from a 3rd party online marketing firm (Epsilon) and are across all verticals, not specific to the restaurant industry

12. Holiday Messaging Optimization: Sticking Out in the INBOX

13. Holiday Messaging Optimization: Subject Lines
BEST PRACTICES
•Incorporate a call to action within the subject line that conveys a sense of urgency to act.
•If there is an offer, be sure to call it out at the beginning of the subject line to capture members’
attention.
•Don’t forget to put your offer (or call to action) in your pre-header
•Always think about the “What’s In It for Me” member perspective.
•Top KEY words for getting your e-mail open “Thank You” “Welcome” and “Introducing”
•Utilize “In case you missed it” in the subject line for re-blasts.
•Highlight LTOs within subject line and highlight time remaining to act (Last 5 days to order gift
cards with free shipping, etc).

14. Holiday Messaging Optimization: Audience Segmentation
BEST PRACTICES
•Allow consumers to opt-in to increased holiday
message frequency via a “Holiday Preference Center” or
alert them of upcoming frequency. Increased
Increased
Frequency Alert
Frequency Alert
•Send targeted blasts to those members who have
previously clicked on gift card links within messages.
•Utilize A/B split testing for subject lines and day of
week/time of day testing to determine what drives
member responsiveness.
•Use profile data to customize overall look and feel of
offer and message based upon
gender/age/demographics.
Male Version Female Version
Female Version
Male Version

15. Holiday Messaging Optimization: Creative Design
BEST PRACTICES
•Limit length of message to eliminate need to scroll down for full review
of messaging components.
•Position primary message call-out within top portion of message creative
(“above the fold”) to drive click- through and open rates.
•Re-vamp and highlight the key website links within the header/logo to
have a ‘holiday theme’.
•Increase size differentials for gift card purchase call out/link within main
creative to draw recipient eye and convey need for action.
•Incorporate animation elements to draw the eye and pique interests for
opening and engagement with message.
•Focus all messaging elements on one, common element (gift cards) to
increase conversion to card purchase.
•Add an extended shape to catch the reader’s eye

16. Holiday Messaging Optimization: Soft Benefits for eClub Members
BEST PRACTICES
•Offer gift card bonus for purchases by eClub members (inclusion of
a member-specific promo code within message).
•Free shipping for cards purchased online by members.
•Custom gift card design functionality available for members only
(unlock online options when you opt in to eClub).
•Use Bounceback promotions, “Bring in this email to find out your
special holiday gift card discount code.”
•Promote Holiday Parties by offering discounts/rewards for early
booking.
Soft Benefit Campaign Ideas
•12 Days of Cyber Monday
•Secret Santa Surprises

17. Holiday Messaging Optimization: Thanksgiving Weekend
PROMOTION BEST PRACTICES
•Send out Flash offer to members – promote locations in airports
and on major roads.
•Leverage messaging to members who may be tired of leftovers.
•Incorporate “Family Gatherings” into your content.
•Promote catering and take out.

18. Holiday Messaging Optimization: Social Media & Current Online Assets
BEST PRACTICES
•Utilize messaging to drive members to Facebook for
Gift Card design/purchase application.
•Include opt-in for eClub program as part of online
gift card purchase.
•Incorporation of more aggressive incentive (via
Welcome Message) for those who join program at
time of gift card purchase.
•Post special holiday eClub offers and insights via
Facebook status updates encouraging fans to sign-up
for the eClub.
•Leverage Pinterest as a way of sharing wish lists.

19. Holiday Messaging Optimization: “Season’s Greetings”
Send a “Thank you” or “Happy Holidays” message to your
members. Keep it simple and to the point.

20. Q&A