Campaign of the Month

Segmentation and crowdsourcing help Historic England get fantastic email engagement

This strategy achieved a 56% open rate and 22% click-through rate.

When it came to finding the 60th and final Londoner to be part of their special photography exhibition, email proved a great engagement channel. Not only that, but it resulted in great publicity for the event too. 

Brand: Historic England
Designed and developed by: Rachel Prothero 
Website: historicengland.org.uk

Campaign details

Subject line: I am London: New Exhibition Celebrating the City
Opens: 59%
66% clicks to ‘Plan your visit’ CTA

Context

Who is the campaign targeted at?

Historic England subscribers who live in London.

Objective

  • Encourage subscribers to be an active part of a special exhibition organized by Historic England

What makes this a performing campaign?

To celebrate the cultural diversity and complex identity of London, Historic England put together a free photography exhibition called I am London based on locations that 60 selected Londoners find significant for them. But in order to find the final photography subject, the organization resorted to engaging their email audience.

To make the email more relevant, the marketing team segmented their list based on location to make sure they only communicate the opportunity to Londoners. The content of the email explains what the exhibition is about and how subscribers can apply for the chance to be a part of it.

The Results

The subject line ‘I am London: New Exhibition Celebrating the City’ combined with segmentation succeeded in attracting the attention of 59% of subscribers. By using this strategy, Historic England not only encouraged subscribers to be more actively involved with the organization, but also created awareness of their exhibition and encouraged subscribers to attend. In fact, the majority of clicks (66%) went to the ‘Plan your visit’ call-to-action demonstrating the active interest in the exhibition.

The success of the strategy can also be seen in the fact that the follow-up email announcing the winner of the competition and giving more details about the exhibition achieved a 56% open rate and 22% click-through rate.

The impactful design and clear, relevant message make this email a great example of the power of crowdsourcing and segmentation.