Creating a cross-channel experience
Digitalisation at Greenpeace e.V is advancing with marketing automation.
Sina Nägel is Digital Agenda Manager at Greenpeace e.V. In her role in the Engagement Team, she ensures that Greenpeace is a leader in the field of digitalisation in the non-profit sector. Greenpeace tackled the issue of marketing automation in 2018. Greenpeace has developed a cross-channel supporter journey with a motivational mailing on the topic of “meat mindset shift”. The aim was to bring more people into initial contact with Greenpeace in the future via a lower entry threshold and to enrich these contacts to high-quality addresses (address/telephone) via a targeted process and finally develop them into donors. A user-centred approach was adopted for this in order to offer the supporters as much added value as possible and to make the interaction with Greenpeace a positive experience.
Sina, how important is the topic of integrated marketing automation for you as part of Greenpeace?
The motivational mailing about meat was the first test of marketing automation, which we want to use increasingly often and for various campaign issues in the future. We see the potential of being able to remain in better and longer-term contact with various user groups and, most notably, being able to send interest-based content with minimal initial outlay.
How do you specifically link online and offline activities, like the motivational mailing on the topic of meat mindset shift?
It is important to us not only to communicate with people online, but also to move them to take action in real life. With our motivational mailing we were aiming to give people tips and opportunities for action that will enable to make their diet healthier and more environmentally friendly. To this end, we offered something different for each step of the journey – from ordering free organic cress seeds, through a poster-sized seasonal vegetable calendar, to our Facebook Messenger chatbot which offers advice on meat packaging seals, or the Tastyvist app which provides daily tips for life with less meat. Of course, we couldn’t miss out recipes which can be simply and deliciously prepared without animal products – as it is often the small hurdles which stand in the way of behavioural changes.
What do you expect from Marketing Automation?
We have also incorporated a two-stage survey into the beginning and end of the mailing, which we want to use to learn about user impact. The response was positive, people found the e-mail series helpful, and they managed to change their daily habits using the many tools we provided them with. Besides the content, it is also important for us to inspire new people about Greenpeace and our causes, and to retain them for as long as possible. Using email automation we have created a way in which we can do this (after a reasonable initial outlay) on a long-term and continuous basis.
Were your expectations met?
We cannot yet comment on the bonding effect, but the survey results on mindset shift are encouraging. The unsubscription rates and individual email open rates are also good.
What lessons have you learnt?
We could have chosen a less complex supporter journey for the start of the automation. It is now more difficult to test and to optimise, because of the many steps.
How did getunik support you in this?
We were advised by getunik during the email automation set-up. Also very helpful were the suggestions for optimizing the content and the time schedule. After the first run-through we revised and improved the automations with help from getunik. It is good to have a competent and experienced partner at our side.
