Watch the video breakdown here!
Introduction (What is this?)
From OWA's website: "OWA Parks & Resort is centered around Tropic Falls, featuring year-round island vibes in the region’s largest indoor water park plus outdoor wave pool and 23 theme-park attractions."
The great people over at OWA have asked me to create their Summer Digital Marketing Campaign with the goal of centering OWA as the premier family-friendly destination. You'll find email templates, website update suggestions, social media post examples, data analytics breakdowns, and a complete video walkthrough link in the top left corner. The theme of the campaign is memory.
Email Marketing Campaign
Drawing from the theme of memory, guests will receive one of two starter emails based on if they previously visited OWA or not. Then if the guest does not open the first email, they will receive the Urgent Reminder email, then finally they will receive the Last Chance email. The social media posts and website content updates will also utilize the memory theme so that at any point along the marketing funnel: Email - Social - Website etc., guests will encounter similar language reinforcing the campaign.
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Prospective Guests - This email is targeted to prospective guests. Still playing on the theme of memory, these guests can make this summer one to remember.
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Urgent Reminder - For guests that haven't clicked or converted on the previous emails, this template is shorter and more to the point to inform the guest of the upcoming deadline to purchase tickets in time for summer.
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Final Call - Informational template. Shorter than previous templates, moving the call to action closer to the top.
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Website Content Plan
This website banner could be updated to include a direct call to action that aligns with the email journey’s memory theme. Reinforcing the idea of “making this summer one to remember” helps unify the message across channels and guide users from inspiration to action.
You could link the CTAs to a subpage that keeps in the general theme of the campaign.
This is a simple exit popup that could be utilized on the campaign subpage. These are easy enough to create with plugins but can be done manually as well.
Social Media
Social media posts can fit in with the summer theme we've built towards so far by using similar language. Looks like Kim Barber agrees with me! (I have no idea who that is but she seems nice!!)
Insta posts could utilize similar language as facebook. Maybe choose different hashtags though.
Don't forget to include the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Campaign Analytics Overview
To test the performance of the campaign, we could break down the stats of the previous guest email blast compared to the new guest blast. This is an example of how this may look in the Campaign Monitor Dashboard.
You're able to export data from Campaign Monitor. Making a visualization of that data like this example is a straightforward process. This is a short list of possible takeaways you could have after looking at the data in detail:
- Low Open Rate: Subject line or send time might be ineffective.
Action: Test alternate subject lines with A/B testing and try sending on different days/times to optimize visibility. - High Open Rate, Low Click Rate: The subject line is working, but the email content or CTA isn't engaging.
Action: Rework your copy, CTA placement, or offer. Make sure the button stands out and leads to something clearly valuable. - High Click Rate on Certain Emails: That email’s message, visuals, or layout is resonating.
Action: Use that email as a template for future sends and double down on what made it successful. - Drop-Off Between Emails: Engagement is decreasing across the journey.
Action: Consider adjusting the cadence, changing the content theme, or segmenting audiences better. - Delayed Opens: People are opening emails hours or days after delivery.
Action: Optimize the timing based on when users typically check their inbox. - Certain Links Are Clicked More Than Others: People are more interested in certain content areas.
Action: Prioritize high-interest content or create campaigns around it. - Mobile Open Rate Is High: Most users are reading emails on mobile.
Action: Ensure email designs are responsive, with large CTAs and minimal copy. Hide cluttered layouts on mobile. - High Unsubscribes or Spam Reports: Content may not be relevant or emails are too frequent.
Action: Adjust frequency, improve segmentation, or offer a preferences center.
Best Practices
Ideally I'd be able to bounce ideas off of a team, but in abscence of that I took inspiration from a similar campaign a client of mine did once. The main best practice implemented here is segmentation: splitting the audience based on behaviour. If they've been before, then you can play on the idea that they can recreate a memory. If they haven't been, then you can provide them the opprotunity to make one.
Messaging across platforms was kept consistent. Even if someone comes across a social media post or the website, they can expect to encounter messaging that is broadly in theme with the main campaign.
The email templates changed during the journey. If they are getting hit with the last change emails because they haven't opened the previous emails, then we can keep it brief.
This campaign could benefit greatly from looking at email statistics after the fact to determine which email succeeded the most.
Conclusion
If you've made it to the end, thank you for your time and participation. This project was a fun and rewarding opportunity to combine design, development, and marketing strategy into one cohesive experience. From planning the email journey to fine-tuning the visual presentation, I enjoyed every step of the process and appreciated the chance to demonstrate both creativity and technical execution.
