Case Study - Redspottedhanky.com - Display & Social Media for Facebook

Objectives

In May 2010 redspottedhanky.com engaged bigmouthmedia’s display and social media services to support the launch of its new online travel retailing site, scheduled for July 2010. The launch campaign was going to be based on BTL activities only.

The campaign objectives were to:

• Generate brand awareness for the new redspottedhanky.com brand as an online train ticket retailer in a market segment with established competition
• Position redspottedhanky.com as a reliable and trustworthy train ticket supplier with a fun and price-conscious approach, and differentiate it from the competition
• Build the Facebook fanbase of the redspottedhanky brand
• Build awareness of the redspottedhanky loyalty point scheme
• Lower the high CPA of the redspottedhanky.com brand to below £20




The two main challenges were the established competition within the online train travel retail space, some with several years’ experience behind their brands, and the fact that, as it involved a brand launch, the display and social media campaign couldn’t rely on brand traction or the use of logos and other known imagery for support.

Our Solution

Redspottedhanky’s target audience are UK residents aged 16 to 40 who lived near big cities or railroad hubs. Because of this, bigmouthmedia opted for a joint display and social media campaign on Facebook, renowned for its targeting capabilities, as the best means to engage the potential redspottedhanky.com customers online and encourage repeat purchases.

The Facebook campaign that bigmouthmedia designed for redspottedhanky.com focused on the following elements:

1. An engaging Facebook page

Aware of the importance of the redspottedhanky.com online image as way to communicate the brand’s quirky and cost-conscious personality, bigmouthmedia helped design a Facebook fan page incorporating a regularly updated wall with information on cheap fares, top offers, travel destinations and general information on rail travel.

An important element of the page was based on a social media content planner, which ensured the inclusion of news on upcoming events across the UK (such as football matches, rugby games or music festivals). Shortened URLs pointing directly to pre-populated forms on the redspottedhanky.com site were incorporated so as to facilitate qualified bookings.

The page was also designed in a way that could promote brand advocacy through a Facebook loyalty points scheme. This came in the form of a competition, whereby advocates could earn points which would lead to money off their tickets.

2. Creative and fun social media initiatives

To support the brand launch bigmouthmedia put together the free hanky initiative. Facebook users were encouraged to request a free red spotted hanky via an online form, take pictures of it in a fun situation and post them on the wall of the redspottedhanky.com Facebook page. Contributors were rewarded with loyalty points, which could be swapped for money off rail tickets. This simple initiative encouraged the sharing of fresh, user-generated content and engagement amongst Facebook fans.

3. Highly targeted and relevant Facebook display ads

Given the lack of awareness surrounding the redspottedhanky.com brand, the performance marketing team at bigmouthmedia added a display layer on top of the social media campaign to generate extra buzz around it, drive brand recognition and direct traffic to the Facebook page. The core objective of the display aspect of the campaign was to build up the Facebook fanbase. The Facebook ads that were used were ‘“Like” generation’, a “Like” button within the ad that the users could click on, which was an important factor in the success of the campaign as it helped to build up the prole of the page.

The team used the many targeting capabilities of Facebook display ads to successfully direct the messages of the campaign to an interested audience. The messages were extensively tested and tweaked to ensure they were compelling and attractive to recipients so as to achieve a high click through rate, which would drive them to the Facebook page.

4. Maximisation of online synergies

The display and social media campaign on Facebook was closely aligned with the wider digital strategy employed by redspottedhanky.com, focusing on key destinations and rail routes, and emphasising the value message and loyalty points USP.