DIRECTV Email Program
Enticing customers to experience entertainment like never before. Whether it’s mind-blowing HD on your TV or your favorite shows on whatever screen you have handy, DIRECTV is the ultimate source for everything you love in entertainment.
Project Overview
Everyone get’s ‘em and nobody reads ‘em – that’s the main problem with email marketing. DIRECTV needed their messaging to target and convert new and returning customers at key points in the marketing funnel. Through creative copy, timely messaging and compelling creative, DIRECTV’s email marketing steadily improved.
My Role
As Senior Designer, I was responsible for the conceptualization and design of DIRECTV’s regular email outreach. Working closely with the Rosetta account and tech teams, we were responsible for turning around 2+ emails per week (on average). Timelines were tight and assets were limited but the messaging always went out on time – not the sexiest work but someone has to do it.
Targeted Emails
Now with a purpose
Rosetta’s approach to email marketing allowed DIRECTV to focus on specific markets at specific points in time to increase open and click-through rates. From the subject line and hero copy to the graphics and CTA, now DIRECTV’s emails didn’t just look good – they have a purpose, too.
Building an Email
The DIRECTV way
Every email in the DIRECTV ecosystem followed the same general principles, simplifying production and allowing time to focus on specific areas of concern. Messaging and hierarchy came from the brief and copy decks and general templates and style guides provided basic structure. From there, the constant struggle was catching the viewer’s attention, pulling them down the page and soliciting some interaction based on targeted content.
Working with Supplied Assets
Beg, barrow & steal
Even with a regular rotation of work and almost constant supply of creative, there were times when the correct assets never made it to us. Working with such tight timelines often meant using what we had and improvising the rest.
rebuilding key art
More often than not, assets provided were flattened JPGs pulled from some lousy resolution. While not ideal (even for an email) it often took too much time to request new assets (if they were even available). Like the example shown, it was very common to either edit or rebuild key art that eventually found it’s way into the hero section of an email.
When in doubt, build it
In certain circumstances, reference art was the only supplied asset. When this was the case, we were often required to build our individual assets or entire hero images using stock images, found material or vector art.
Finding Assets everywhere
One benefit of working on so many different email campaigns at once was the ability to reuse assets in different ways. It was not uncommon to repurpose key art or screen captures featured in previous emails to make another message more robust.
1 Email, Many Variations
Saying the right thing at the right time
Many email campaigns target specific users and various points in the marketing cycle. In order to speak to everyone differently, specific messaging and layout options were created while staying within the general framework and style of the overall campaign.
From left to right: 1. Browse, 2. Abandon Cart, 3. Pre-Trial Offer, 4. Post-Trial Offer, 5. Tips & Tricks
