December 16, 2016

Hive

Hive is a British Gas innovation company which designs wireless products that lets customers control their home from their mobile, tablet or laptop – anytime, anywhere.

 

The Objective

Following the success of its smart thermostat, motion sensor and smart plug, Hive wanted to generate the idea behind the official launch of its Hive Active Light™ product in a straightforward manner to existing and new prospective customers. Customers can set up schedules, dim lights and switch them on and off remotely so the main aim was to demonstrate how this bright new addition to the Hive product family slots seamlessly into the customer’s smart home.

 

The Strategy

Hive enlisted the help of Yes&Pepper, an ideas agency which builds campaigns, brands and propositions collaboratively with clients. It developed the core message, ‘The light bulb moment you’ve been waiting for’, for a launch email, direct marketing (DM) and retargeting campaign. To maximise the impact of the communications, it audited Hive’s customer database, tracking, reporting and coding processes to determine which audience would be best suited to receive each mode of communication.

 

The Process

The launch email was delivered to current and prospective consumers and was resent to soft bouncers and non-openers. A re-targeting test email was issued to control groups who failed to purchase the Hive Active Light™ product the first-time round.

 

The DM targeted specific sub-segments to test response rates. The sub-segments were then flagged as ‘top prospects’- those Yes&Pepper felt would respond best to the DM e.g. multiple product owners, previous Hive offer responders, upgraders etc. The extra space available on the DM was used to bring to life product benefits with captivating headlines and stylish Hive imagery.

 

The results

The email and DM core message, ‘The light bulb moment you’ve been waiting for’ became the lead message on the Hive website and generated a click through rate of 8.51 per cent (the initial target was seven per cent) and a sales conversion of 7.5 per cent (the target was two per cent).

 

The results of the vigorous testing and customer segmentation work is also proving invaluable for future Hive communications.