4 keys to successful trigger marketing campaign creative

So, you’ve aggregated trigger data from multiple sources, and determined the role each channel will play in your campaign. But what about the actual creative?

According to Alexandra Moss, vice president with Deluxe Data-Driven Marketing, effective campaign creative for lifestyle event trigger programs includes some common features. Here are four simple things you can do right now to make sure your campaign creative is set up for success:

1. Make a competitive offer

“It's extremely important—especially from a direct mail perspective, because it's a conversion tactic—that there is an offer of some kind,” says Moss. “If you do not have an offer, it is not going to do very well.”

If you’re promoting checking accounts, cash is king. If you sell mattresses, you could offer a meaningful discount off the retail price. Regardless of product, you want to make sure that whatever you’re offering individuals who are being triggered is better than any of your business-as-usual acquisition tactics.

2. Include a call to action that aligns with your program’s KPIs

It’s critical that you be clear about the action you want your customer to take upon receiving your offer, and that this action is in service of the key performance indicators to your campaign.

“If the KPI is to go visit the branch and you don't put an address of the branch there, or if you don't tell them how to get to your branch, it's probably not going to do that well,” says Moss. Likewise, “If the KPI is to open something online, you need to make sure that you have that online CTA on the piece.”

3. Add a map to the nearest location

A consumer who has recently moved may not be familiar with their new neighborhood, and including a simple map with your offer can help drive them to a physical location. “This is very important, especially for movers, pre-movers, anything that involves moving,” says Moss. “They might have no idea where your business is.”

(Note: This step doesn’t apply if you are promoting a completely online experience and not driving consumers to a physical location.)

4. Avoid referencing trigger events directly

Personalization is a wonderful thing, but proceed with caution: Highly specific messaging creates unnecessary risk for your campaign. Due to the sensitive nature of some life event triggers, “You want to allude to the fact that there’s been some type of transition, but not explicitly state what that transition is,” says Moss.

The one exception: “The only instance where we would recommend clearly and explicitly saying the trigger event is with movers, because even if you get it wrong, there isn’t a high risk of alienating a customer."

For example, new mover creative often includes a general welcome message and stock photos of people carrying moving boxes or repainting a room. “Hopefully we get the trigger right, but if not, most consumers will not be offended by pictures of people holding moving boxes,” says Moss.

Key takeaways

Successful life event trigger program creative will:

• Promote a competitive offer for opening a new account/purchasing a product
• Have a clear call-to-action that supports your KPIs
• Include a simple map or address to highlight the nearest location (if applicable)
• Allude to sensitive/private events with respectful messaging and visuals