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About Lilly Pulitzer
Lilly Pulitzer is a well known women’s retailer that serves women of all ages. For
over fifty years, Lilly Pulitzer has offered brightly-colored dresses, shift dresses,
swimsuits, sportswear and accessories to women. The company also offers a
children’s and men’s line.
In this case study, we will look at how Lilly Pulitzer partnered with
Pontiflex to expand its email marketing and social media initiatives.
Specifically, we will examine how Lilly Pulitzer:
1. Connected with potential customers.
2. Doubled the size of its in-house email marketing database.
3. Built online and social communities using email marketing.
Connecting with New Customers
Lilly Pulitzer’s marketing team has three goals – connect with potential
customers, double the size of its in-house email database, and build a
community on Lillypulitzer.com and social media sites, such as Facebook and
Twitter, using email marketing. In this section, we will concentrate on the first two
goals.
In order to grow its email database and acquire new customers, Lilly Pulitzer
runs a variety of marketing programs. They constantly evaluate each marketing
channel to see which one delivers the greatest number of new and qualified
prospects.
To connect with new prospects and customers, Lilly Pulitzer runs search engine
marketing and optimization programs on Google. They also run remarketing and
display ad campaigns, affiliate marketing programs, and contests on social
media sites including Facebook and Twitter.
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Recently, Lilly Pulitzer added signup ads to its marketing mix. Advertisers use
the Pontiflex technology platform to create, manage, and optimize signup ads
across digital channels. This includes campaigns that have mobile, email, and
social marketing components.
By using signup ads, Lilly Pulitzer was able to double the size of its in-house
email marketing database in just three months and reach new customers.
“Including signup ads in our marketing mix has allowed us to reach new
customers interested in our products who aren’t actively searching for them on
the web,” said Rachael Crews, Senior Manager, E-commerce, Lilly Pulitzer.
“And the best part about it is that we pay only for new-to-file, qualified signups.”
About Signup Advertising
Signup ads are a new form of brand performance marketing used by Fortune
500 brands and national non-profit organizations, including Kimberly-Clark,
Tommy Hilfiger, and ASPCA. With signup ads, consumers can opt-in to connect
with advertisers they like, all without leaving a publisher's web site or mobile
app.
Usually in online advertising, a user clicks on an online banner or search
advertisement. The user is then taken to a landing page where he or she fills in
his or her contact information.
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In a signup ad, advertisers collect the user information of the consumer (such
as first name, last name, email address, etc.) within the ad itself. They can
also collect user information on a publisher’s site or in a mobile app in a
100% opt-in and transparent way.
With signup ads, marketers pay only for qualified and new-to-file signups.
There’s no money spent on wasted clicks or impressions.
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Advantages of Transparency
Lilly Pulitzer used Pontiflex to run signup ads. A primary factor driving this
decision was transparency. With Pontiflex, Lilly Pulitzer was able to see where
their ads were running. This helped Lilly Pulitzer in a number of ways:
• Protecting Brand Integrity: Lilly Pulitzer was able to ensure that their ads
weren’t appearing on less than optimal sites.
• Acquiring Interested Consumers: Unlike most retailers, Lilly Pulitzer does not
generally offer product discounts or incentives. For this reason, the company
knows that people are not signing up because they have received an
incentive, but rather, because they are genuinely interested in the Lilly Pulitzer
brand and product offering suite.
• Optimizing Ad Campaigns: Lilly Pulitzer is able to allocate more of their
advertising budget to sites that have a higher composition of visitors that have
proven to award them the best conversion metrics.
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Building Online and Social Communities Using
Email Marketing
Lilly Pulitzer aims to both double its fan base on social media sites, including
Facebook and Twitter, and build an online community of women on its web site.
According to eMarketer, 51% of women use online communities to learn about
new products and make purchase decisions. With this in mind, the ultimate
value of building online and social communities of women is to help educate and
engage them with the Lilly Pulitzer brand and product suite.
To build online and social communities, Lilly Pulitzer uses a number of email
marketing techniques to keep consumers involved with its brand.
These include:
• Product sneak peaks
• Featured inventory items
• Other product-driven emails
• Contests and giveaways
The company also uses email to drive traffic to social networking sites. On a
quarterly basis, Lilly Pulitzer sends out an email driving consumers to its
Facebook fan page to help increase the number of fans.
To better engage consumers and prospects, Lilly Pulitzer extends the
conversation with people acquired through signup ads on social
networking sites. This includes sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which are
becoming an increasingly important part of the company’s marketing mix.
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On social networking sites, Lilly Pulitzer runs contests and giveaways. For
example, they will partner with a travel company, such as a hotel chain or airline,
to give away a free trip. The contest is promoted via email, on Facebook, and on
the Lilly Pulitzer blog. Consumers are driven to the Facebook page and the Lilly
Pulitzer web site where they can enter to win.
“We really see the value of online and social media communities,” said Mrs.
Crews. “Lilly Pulitzer is a brand that is passed down from generation to
generation of women. What better way to reach like-minded and connected
women than on Facebook and Lillypulitzer.com.” Lilly Pulitzer plans to add more
social features to its web site this year to enhance the community feel, such as
review and recommendation features and other social elements.
In 2011, Lilly Pulitzer also plans to add mobile advertising to its digital marketing
mix to continue to grow and build online and social communities. The company
will be able to increase the reach of its digital ad campaigns by adding mobile
signup ads, which run on the Android and Apple platforms. "Pontiflex signup ads
allow us to add reach to our digital campaigns and talk to consumers via in-app
mobile ads that are respectful of user experience," said Mrs. Crews.
“In today’s digital world, a marketer’s biggest challenge is to practice
accountable social marketing,” Mrs. Crews said. “Pontiflex has proven to be an
effective solution that helps solve this problem.”
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About Pontiflex
Pontiflex is the industry’s leading mobile, email, and social acquisition platform.
Pontiflex’s patent-pending technology enables online and mobile publishers to
monetize their sites and apps, and serve ads to visitors where they are most
engaged. With Pontiflex, people can submit their information to advertisers
within the ad unit itself without having to click away from the site or app. Advertisers who use Pontiflex include Fortune 500 brands and leading non-profits like
Kimberly-Clark, Disney, Tommy Hilfiger, and the ASPCA. Publishers who use
Pontiflex to connect with these advertisers and increase revenue include
Monster.com, Evite.com, Cafepress.com, Brisk Mobile, Demand Media, and
thousands of mobile, content, and e-commerce sites. To find out more about
Pontiflex, please visit www.pontiflex.com. You can also reach Arun Krishnan,
Vice President, Marketing at arun@pontiflex.com or by calling 718.801.8483.
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