Micro email sales campaign

The "problem"
The Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra (RTWSO) leadership came to me with a problem: post covid, seasonal ticket sales for RTWSO were down. Traditional ticket holders (60 years old+) were no longer buying, and there seemed to be no "new blood" in terms of ticket sales amongst the younger (40 years +) age group.

RTWO had an opportunity to market itself to this younger age group via a similar organisation's database. They had agreed to allow the RTWSO to send out a maximum of x2 sales emails to market an upcoming event that would appeal to their audience: RTWSO's Sounds of the 70s!

I was hired to write these emails - normally I'd argue we would need a minimum of 3, and hopefully 5 emails to nurture new readers towards a sale. However, this was a unique opportunity, and not to be missed! I welcomed the challenge.

Research defined the "hook":
The voice of customer research (which was carried out using social media owing to a tight deadline) indicated two things:
1). people were keen to go out again, following the end of the lockdowns, although some admitted to being timid about attending larger social events;
2). some social media users showed a level of nostalgia for the time they'd spent at home - particularly the "kitchen disco", which played perfectly into The Sounds of the 70s theme

These insights resulted in the following subject line for Email 1:
Swap your kitchen disco for the live experience! ! Boogie on down to RTWSO’s Sounds of the 70s

A convenient location:
The research also showed that there were very few similar events of this caliber outside of London. This helped me to position Tunbridge Wells as a convenient alternative.

Keeping it light:
As for the tone of voice, RTWSO couldn't provide a specific brand guide but were keen to play upon the theme of the event to connect with a younger audience in an upbeat, fun way. The resulting language I used referenced many of the era's hit songs (which I knew were on the playlist) to both connect and create desire for the event in a light-hearted way.

The final product:
Email 1 focused on gaining attention and positioning The Sounds of the 70s as a fun, local event following on from a time of isolation. A taste of shameless nostalgia with friends and loved ones.
Email 2 was much shorter, and sought to recap the vital elements of Email 1, but talk directly to the reader as if they were the only person in the room (informal, one-to-one tone of voice).