From: Victoria's SecretSubject Line: Our Way of Saying Thank You: Special In-Store Offers.
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
From: Victoria's Secret - FacebookDate: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
From: Victoria's Secret - SMSDate: Friday, November 27, 2009
Victoria's Secret is leading the way with their strategy for integrating cross channel campaigns to engage their audience at multiple touch points. Case in point, their Black Friday free bag giveaway message was delivered via email, mobile and social. However, in order to be successful, great strategy needs to follow through with great execution. Timing is everything and their timing was off.
Their email should've been a specific Black Friday reminder. The email was sent out Wednesday and included offers for the whole weekend. It's important to map out the timing of your marketing messages against the timing of when your customers are shopping, while also giving them enough time to plan in advance if the call-to-action is a retail store.
Once I received their SMS message, I was already done with my shopping for the day. Don't they know that people start lining up at 4am to get the best deals and by noon most people are back home taking a nap? As for Facebook, they should've talked about the in-store offer for Black Friday, not the Fashion Show. I realize they posted content on the 25th, but a reminder on the 27th would've been more important than the Fashion show, which was several days later.
Overall, they need to close the loop. The SMS link does not take you to a mobile site, nor do they have a mobile store app. There are also missed opportunities with the email and Facebook pages - both are prime locations to encourage mobile sign up, but the only place I could find mobile sign up was on their website. (I understand they do have in-store signage but I've never seen it - and I shop there often).
A great cross channel strategy will only get you so far - the key is making sure the execution ensures the success of the campaign.
Blogger's note: Hours after I finished this blog post, I received an SMS message that Victoria Secret has now launched a mobile website. Glad to see they're headed in the right direction!
