Birthday Specials From the Email World
Posted by Dave McCue on July 24th, 2009
My approach to saving money has changed drastically as the economy has entered into its current recession, and my recent birthday provided further evidence that I’m becoming a Grade-A tightwad. As the big day approached, rather than plan a party, I consulted my email inbox in an effort to unearth the best birthday deals I could find.
Of course, no one emailed me a coupon for a shiny new bike, but I did get a few offers that got me interested. Here are a few of the brands who reached out to remind me that not only is it okay to get older, it’s okay to be a cheapskate:
Cold Stone Creamery:
Subject line — Happy Birthday from Cold Stone Creamery
Offer — Coupon for 1 free Cold Stone Creation™
My reaction — If you like ice cream, what could be more inviting than a giant waffle cone staring back at you from your inbox? It was a little annoying to have to visit their site and login before I could print the coupon out. In addition, the coupon was only valid at one franchise location (specified on the coupon) and expired one week after my birthday—this seemed a bit limiting. However, at least they remembered that “free” shouldn’t be followed by a bunch of fine print. No other purchase required, just a free treat—a nice approach during tough times.
Maggiano’s Little Italy:
Subject line — A Birthday Present for You!
Offer — $10 off next meal (of $30 or more)
My reaction — If you want me to take advantage of an offer, make it easy. Maggiano’s did exactly that, allowing me to simply print the email and present it at the restaurant. In addition, the coupon was valid for an entire month from the date they sent it to me, allowing ample time to plan a night out. While this coupon is of the “Happy Birthday — you have to buy something to get your gift” variety, such offers are acceptable when the item in question is of a higher quality than, say, the local fast food drive-thru. Like the classy design of the email as well.
Dairy Queen:
Subject line — Happy Birthday, enjoy a Blizzard on us
Offer — Free Blizzard (with purchase of a second Blizzard)
My reaction — Dairy Queen does a really good job with their email, and this one is no exception. I like the touch of using the ubiquitous red DQ spoons in the form of birthday candles, very clever. The offer itself isn’t great, due to the “buy-1-get-1″ nature. Ice cream would not exactly stay cold on the long drive home in the middle of July, so I’d either have to eat both Blizzards myself or plan it so I had somebody else with me when I redeemed my coupon. Again, I had to visit their site to print out the coupon, and while a location was listed on the coupon, it did not specify that it was only valid at that particular location. Ambiguity on a coupon is never a good thing.
Dave & Buster’s:
Subject line — $10 Game Play from Dave & Buster’s Rewards
Offer — $10 worth of free game play
My reaction — Again, I liked the fact that all I needed to do to use this coupon was print out the email itself and present it at Dave & Buster’s to get $10 worth of the many games they offer. In addition, not only was the coupon valid for 31 days after my birthday, but it was sent a week before my birthday, providing plenty of time to make use of the offer. Of course, $10 at Dave & Buster’s can go pretty quick, but at least no other purchase was required. One major complaint was the subject line, as I would never have known this was a birthday message if I hadn’t opened it and seen the birthday greeting contained within the body of the message.
Wendy’s:
Subject line — Happy Birthday Dave from Wendy
Offer — $1 off a Wendy’s combo meal
My reaction — Wendy’s is probably my favorite fast food burger joint, so I was hoping for a nice surprise when I opened this email. Unfortunately, $1 off an already pretty cheap meal isn’t enough to have me looking for my car keys. I did like the personalization in the subject line (despite the mild creepiness of Wendy’s insistence that there really is a person named “Wendy”), and the email itself has a nice, festive design. Unfortunately, even if I had wanted to take advantage of this offer, it wasn’t easy. Not only did I have to visit the Wendy’s site to print the coupon, but after clicking the print button, I was brought to yet another screen where Wendy’s informed me that I needed to “Install Coupon Printer” in order to print the coupon. This was a clickable option, but sorry, it takes a lot for me to click any link of the “install” or “download” variety. A nice Happy Birthday gesture, but this wasn’t at all user- friendly.
Using birthdays as a method of personalization can be a very effective email marketing strategy. A special birthday offer or coupon is the type of human touch that can build loyalty and keep your brand in a positive light in the minds of your audience. Not everyone likes the thought of being another year older, but everyone can appreciate a kind gesture from the brands and products they support.
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