Best Marketing Case Studies & Campaigns

Silver Star Brands is one of America’s largest direct-to-consumer companies, it was founded in 1934. Silver Star was known as Miles Kimball Company, however, it was rebranded in 2013 in order to signify its evolution from a mail cataloger to a multi-channel retailer.

More about Silver Star, it consists of six brands selling gifts as well as wellness, health, along with household products. Silver Star’s target audience is women age 50 and older. Based on insights, 34% f consumers order products via mail orders, along with 34% do so via phone, besides 32% via the internet.

PROBLEM

Silver Star underwent a major overhaul, and that produced an immediate increase in profitability and beat forecasts. Moreover, Silver Star rebalanced its investment into strategies, technology, along with people.

Anyhow, this revitalization included selecting a single partner, Data Axle, to transform its database along with email marketing initiatives.

According to Data Axle, Hecht, and her team, Silver Star company was mailing too many catalogs to unresponsive customers. The findings:

• More than 50% of new Silver Star customers place orders in response to the second or third catalog they receive
• Less than 9% place their first order after receiving their eighth catalog

SOLUTION

How Silver Star Went From Cataloger to Multi-Channel Retailer:

Data Axle's test included randomly dividing customers into three segments to determine through which channels they should be messaged:

• Catalog and Email
• Email Only
• Catalog Only

Moreover, the experiment revealed:

• Adding a catalog to an email stream lifts conversion by 42% and adding an email stream to a catalog increases conversion by 81%. Overall, the combination segment produces the most revenue and total marketing ROI.
• The “Email Only” segment generates more revenue and marketing ROI than the “Catalog Only” segment.
• The “Catalog Only” segment yields the highest average order value (AOV), but the results don’t offset the relative underperformance in terms of conversion.

RESULT

Successfully, Sliver Star went from cataloger to multi-channel retailer and achieved success by adopting a Data Axle- designed mobile-responsive email template. The new email program has enabled Silver Star to beat annual email-driven sales predictions by 2%, making a 25% year-over-year increase.

The new improved email marketing program has also resulted in:

• The number of orders increased almost 3.5 times
• The number of orders per click increased by 41%
• Revenue per click increased by 24%
• Revenue almost tripled

“Data Axle’s digital and direct marketing expertise enabled us to automate triggered email campaigns, eliminate excess spend on inactive customers, and ultimately increase revenue.” Jennifer Heim Marketing Retention Manager at Silver Star Brands