Case Study

Call-In TrackbackMarch 2014

The ChallengePETA regularly sends emails encouraging subscribers to call the corporate offices of major airlines in an attempt to persuade airlines to stop shipping primates to be used in laboratories. This presents several logistical challenges:

Tracking conversion is inherently unreliable because users must leave the email environment in * order to complete the call-to-action (i.e. making the phone call).Historically, airlines stop answering phone lines that were receiving a high volume of calls, so provid-* ing just one phone number to subscribers could result in people attempting to take action (i.e., making the phone call) not being able to get through.Because the call-to-action requires the participation of a non-cooperative third party (i.e., the airline), * user experience is very difficult to manage.Asking users to make a phone call adds a number of steps to completion:*

The subscriber must have a phone available or wait until one is. »The subscriber must be in a situation that allows making a phone call. »Any subscriber not on a mobile device that enables calling from within the email environment »cannot click to complete and must coordinate the information provided with making the phone call.The subscriber might not be comfortable speaking on the issue with a script or prompt. »

AssessmentProviding clear instructions manages the user experience and reduces friction as much as possible.The only information needed for trackback is the number of subscribers who completed the call. No personal information is required from the subscriber. This reduces friction for the user, but any form of trackback would require at least one additional step.Without access to subscribers’ phone records, no trackback will be completely reliable, so the challenge is to find the most reliable method.

Proposal

The control message (Figure 1) includes a link for subscribers to click after calling that leads to a simple

Figure 1 Figure 2

Thank You landing page.In the treatment (Figure 2), the information necessary to complete the call (i.e., the phone number) and some basic instructions are on a landing page instead of in the email itself. This requires subscribers to click through earlier in the funnel and guarantees that nobody will have the information to make the call without clicking through. While not completely reliable, this eliminates the possibility that a subscriber could complete the call-to-action (i.e., making the call) without completing the trackback (i.e., clicking the link), which is possible in the control.Additionally, it de-incentivizes subscribers who might click the link without having completed the call-to-action in an attempt to give the appearance that they have participated.Finally, housing the contact information on a webpage allows PETA to update the contact information as various phone numbers become non responsive. This reduces the number of subscribers who could call without getting through.

ResultsThe most significant result to report is that, during the call-in campaign, the airline officially stopped shipping primates, which put an early end to the campaign.Subscribers were able to report difficulty getting through in real time, although the number did not become large enough to necessitate updating the contact information. This would, however, have been possible and effective.As to the efficacy of the email component, the cumulative number of unique page views to each of the landing pages can give a rough estimate of how many subscribers called overall. The result is a 13.55:1 ratio of subscribers who received the email to those who called. This establishes a baseline for estimating audiences for future call-ins.The results of the test are as follows:

Variant Sent Opened Unique Pageviews Conversion Rate

Control 11,641 5,406 629 11.64%

Treatment 4,946 1,830 595 32.51%

The treatment had a 179% conversion rate.1 The discrepancy could be accounted for by two explanations:Subscribers who received the Control called but did not click through.* Subscribers who received the Control did not call.*

In either scenario, the treatment was more effective. It provided more effective recording and lead acquisi-tion and/or resulted in a higher participation rate. The result of the campaign as a whole is that PETA has now identified 1,224 subscribers who presumably called and can be targeted for future call-in appeals.

Next StepsNow that PETA has established that using a landing page for call-ins does not inhibit participation, this model can be expanded, the user experience can be improved, and the logistical complications can be eliminated.

More information, including a script, can be included on the landing page.*

1 For reliability information, see Appendix

Now that PETA has a means to track the subscribers who participate, this cohort can be used as the * base for expansion.An introductory email can be sent the day before a call-in providing information and asking subscrib-* ers to sign-up to participate. This ensures that subscribers will be available to make a call when the email is sent. The cadence can be staggered to prevent against phone lines being shut down.* PETA can also solicit feedback from subscribers on the landing page to create richer profiles and * more engaged relationships.

AppendixTo ensure reliability, each version of the email was sent twice with nominal variability in group size, and the results demonstrated relatively little variability.

Variant Sent Open Unique Pageviews

Treatment A 2,417 950 357

Treatment B 2,456 906 315

Control A 7,412 3,941 346

Control B 7,551 4,153 357