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May, 2005

Client: Bay Area 02
Project: Swap & Show pre-registration email campaign

Every year Bay Area 02 produces a fundraiser event called the Swap & Show. Bay Area 02 is a vintage car club and the Swap & Show is a combination swap meet and car show. It is very popular among the members and enthusiasts in the Bay Area and beyond. In April we helped this client surpass their goal by over 60%.
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The Goal:
In the past, Bay Area 02 offered online registration but very few people used the service. Most people wanted to register at the event or send a check in using a download-and-print form.

Bay Area 02 wanted to streamline the registration process and get more people pre-registered online. The problem was getting people to use the online registration service.

What we did:
We suggested getting rid of the downloadable form. However, we knew that removing the form alone would not motivate people to pre-register online. We knew that Bay Area 02 had a very specific email list of members who participated in an email forum. Most participants lived in the Bay Area or within a day's driving distance from the Bay Area. It was safe to say that most people on the list would be interested in an email about the event.

We knew that one email wouldn't be enough and that the small discount offered wouldn't be a big incentive for registering early. Our solution was send three consecutive email campaigns the same time each week leading up to the end of the pre-registration period.

To back that up, we also offered a special raffle prize for pre-registrants only. This prize appealed only to the target audience and had a high retail value. The last email contained a "last chance to register" message to remind people they only had a couple of days left.

Success:
After the last email was sent registration went through the roof! Over 80% of the total registrants from past year's events pre-registered online instead of the day of the event.

Relevance was the key to the success of this campaign and the campaign is the reason so many pre-registered. Repetition, incentives and limited time are all factors but none of them would have made any difference without the relevance of the message and the call to action in relation to the audience.

Check out their site: www.bayarea02.com

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