Email marketing

Email marketing is a very popular way of promotion for organisations to promote their organisation or event and is a quick and easy service to reach a potential customer either through sending spam or sending updates and newsletter after a customer has registered for e newsletters.

I have found out that Crufts provides customers with e newsletters but before receiving e newsletters from Crufts, visitors have to sign up and register with the Kennel Club through any easy step by step form to fill out online which visitors have to chose which type of news you would like to receive such as news from the Kennel Club or updates for the Crufts exhibition.

The email marketing that I received from Crufts on the 04/03/2010 at 23:44pm was an email which welcomed me and thanked me for signing up to the Kennel Club for latest news updates providing me with a direct link to the Kennel Club.

This email clearly clears shows to the visitors that they are now signed up and do not need to worry about missing out on updated news on Crufts and the Kennel Club. Also a direct link is provided for me and other guests to be able to log in straight away to find more exclusive news and information instead of on the official Crufts website.

After logging onto the official Babyshambles MySpace site I found out that Babyshambles offers fans to sign up to their mail list offering the chance for fans to gain the latest news on the band, gigs and to win goodies.

After signing up (08/01/2010) through an easy step by step guide and process of filling in my personal details and entering a valid email address, I was expecting to receive some email marketing from the band straight away of a confirmation email thanking me for joining the mailing list and expect some more email marketing from updates of the band, But I have not received anything since I first signed up. I found this very disappointing especially as I am a Babyshambles fan expecting gig news and updates about the band. Also this looks bad on the band and promoter of the MySpace as they promise fans if they sign up they will receive news etc which is misleading people to sign up and lying to them.

Therefore it is shown that Crufts provides a more active and updated direct marketing approach to remind their customers and fans compared to the band Babyshambles by sending personal direct mail to previous customers and providing a direct link to a special section of exclusive news etc. As well Crufts provides a confirmation email straight away confirming guests that they are now signed up and registered for updates. While after signing up to receive news and gig updates from Babyshambles, guests do not receive anything making it misleading and disappointing for fans.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is a type of marketing tool which attempts to send its messages directly to consumers without the use of media such as television and radio. This involves commercial communication for example direct mail and e-mail with businesses and consumers. Also direct marketing focuses on driving a specific “call to action” making sure the direct marketing is measurable and has a positive response from consumers.

Direct mail

Direct mail is the most common source of direct marketing and is also known as junk mail. Organisations send paper mail to all postal customers in an area or to all previous customers that have previously attended an event or similar event before.

The only direct mail that I received out of the two chosen events was one direct mail piece from Crufts which I received on 14/11/2009 which was quite a while back.

The direct mail was personally addressed to me with my home address since this was where my Crufts tickets from past years after attending the exhibition had been delivered to, so I was guessing that I am still on the customer list record for sending out direct mailing from the Crufts organisation to update me for the Crufts exhibition 2010.

The first thing that I noticed before even opening the direct mail was the envelope, It was not just a normal plain white envelope that you normally receive in the post, it was a colourful bright envelope with the same colours which were used on the Crufts website. Also I recognised that the mail was going to be Crufts as the logo and main sponsor was directly bold in the top left corner of the envelope and at the side was a massive picture of the dog who won “Best in Show” last year in 2009. When I turned the envelope over to open it I could see that the Kennel Club logo was on the back promoting the Club and the Exhibition.

As for the direct mail the first thing I came across was the logo and main sponsor again but also which caught my attention was in bold were the dates of the exhibition and where it was taking place and the opening times.

After opening up the mail I found that it was a two sided piece of colourful advertisement of all the information broken down from the official website with the use of lots of pictures of dogs and people from previous events. Also quotations were used such as “We had a fab day out, and we hope you will too!” from past customers experience and the use of different wording of the quotation to entice and attract customers to go again.

I found out that Crufts were personally addressing this to me to get me to attend Crufts again by using the sentence “Hi Miss Tovey, we look forward to seeing you again at DFS Crufts 2010”. This is a great marketing tool for organisations as it is making the customer feel more special and appreciated as they are marketing a certain person using that customer’s personal name to get them to attend the event again.

Last of all I did find that they were using the direct response advertising approach for customers to take a specific action after reading the promotion by providing potential customers with “Visit a website for advance and saving on tickets” or “to find more information out about Crufts or call a phone number to book your tickets in advance and save money”. This approach is to entice the customers in to either look on the internet on their official page for more information or to get the potential customers to buy tickets from the hotline to save money and before they sell out.

Social Networks- Facebook

Crufts have designed an official facebook page for advertising and talking about their event for social networking.

Facebook is very similar twitter as you will find updates and news posted on the wall about Crufts. Also fans can leave comments and postings on the wall to give their opinion on what they think.

As well as a wall there are direct links to photographs and video links on which viewers can look at of previous Crufts shows and also pictures of people’s dogs that have took part in the competitions over the past years.

There is a separate section in the information tab at the top of the group page which clearly provides fans with information about the 2010 Crufts exhibition providing ticket prices, dates of the event, where the event is taking place, different dog breeds which will take part on different days etc.

On the left hand side of the page is a picture of the 2010 Crufts logo representing to fans that this is the official facebook page.

Also on the left hand side is a short summary of Crufts providing key points such as dates of the exhibition for fans and customers to see straight away and a promotional logo for a direct link to the Crufts official webpage for more information and a direct promotional link for buying tickets online.

Lastly on the left hand side shows different people (fans) that have joined the group page which viewers can then click onto their profiles and maybe socialise with as they might have similar interests such as dogs. Also there is a favourite page section which is recommend by other fans which certain fans might be interested in and other links outside of facebook such as YouTube to watch videos.

Babyshambles provides an official facebook page but similar to twitter there is not much updates for fans to see on the group.

The layout of the facebook page is the same as the Crufts one but has fewer details than Crufts. The facebook page provides a mini biography of the band, list of band members in Babyshambles and what instruments they play with a direct link to Babyshambles official webpage.

Also there is a special section for photographs of the band which the band have downloaded and fan photographs which fans have downloaded onto the group page of photographs of pervious gigs.

On the right hand side is the same layout as Crufts with a picture in the top right hand corner of the band representing that this is their official webpage and a short summary of who they are and what record deal they are signed to.

Also it shows the different fans which have joined the group and who are fans of Babyshambles. Also there has been one favourite page which the band has joined which is the Adam Ficek page who is a member of the band who has designed his own facebook page.

So in conclusion I have found out that both organisations provide to fans and visitors an official facebook page for fans to socialise and find updated information about the two events.

Similar to twitter, Crufts updates their fans with more current up to date news than the band Babyshambles being that Babyshambles last updated some news on the 07/02/2010 at 4.28pm while Crufts updated news on the 04/03/2010 at 10.00am making Crufts more reliable.

Finally there are 16,695 fans which have joined the Crufts facebook group compared to 86,115 fans for Babyshambles page making a difference 69,420 more fans for Babyshambles showing that more fans have joined up to facebook for news and updates instead of twitter for Babyshambles and that the band’s fan page is a bigger hit than the Crufts fan page.

Social Networks -Twitter

Crufts provides an official twitter page called the KC Loves Dogs made by the Kennel Club who are the organisers for Crufts for dog fanatics and tweeters (people who are on twitter). Tweeters and visitors can follow the direct link to the official Crufts twitter page through the official Crufts website by clicking onto the twitter logo on the right hand side which will then direct you to the twitter page.

Here visitors and fans will be able to see recent up to date news about the event and also see other twitters opinions on what they think of Crufts and past Crufts exhibitions. Also twitters can also comment on other twitters opinions of what other twitters have said.

So far the Crufts twitter page has:
· 2,769 following meaning who the Crufts twitter page is following
· 2,787 followers meaning people who are following the Crufts twitter page
· 87 listed means lists which the Crufts twitter page is on
· Tweets : 1,372 meaning how many updates have been tweeted on the page and also comments people have tweeted (commented) on the Crufts twitter page as well

The band Babyshambles provide twitter fans and fans with an official Babyshambles twitter page found under the name Babyshamblesuk. Here Babyshambles can update fans about what they are doing etc. The only problem is compared to the Crufts twitter page is that the bands twitter page has not been updated since August the 19th 2009 when they were advertising their 2009/10 tour around the U.K meaning fans do not know what they are up at present and if the band are producing anymore material or doing any extra gigs etc.

So far the Babyshambles twitter Page has:
· 1 following
· 1,731 followers
· 50 listed
· Tweets: 5

So in conclusion it is clearly shown that both the twitter pages use this kind of social network promotion material to advertise their exhibition and tour but the Crufts twitter page is more current and recently updated compared to the Babyshambles one, as Crufts was last updated 04/03/2010 at 4.00pm while the Babyshambles twitter page was last updated in 2009 on the 19th August at 2.42pm clearly showing that Crufts is more up to date with their twitter fans compared to Babyshambles.

Lastly the Crufts twitter page has more twitter followers than Babyshambles with a comparison of 1056 followers more maybe this is due to the Crufts exhibition targeting different types of target audiences compared to the Babyshambles just targeting one certain audience being music fans and also the Crufts exhibition being an exhibition while Babyshambles is a live music band which are totally different events.

Crufts Television, Radio Station and Podcast

For 2010 Crufts will be providing an online live television channel for viewers to watch live footage of the event on the different days. Visitors will need to register first to become a member to be able to watch the exhibition. After registering, visitors will then be able to watch different breed competitions, agility contests and most of all “Best in Show”. Lastly visitors can also watch previous Crufts exhibitions from 25 years ago-present.

http://www.dfscrufts.tv/

Crufts will be providing radio listeners with live coverage through 87.7FM and live radio access through the Internet which means different countries all around the world will be able to listen to the show through the Crufts official website.

Here guests will be able to catch up on the latest action from the show and there will be a news desk every 20 minutes once the results starts to come in with reporters in every halls bringing all the news. Also there will be interviews with winners and live guests and will be competitions broadcasting live and a daily podcast available to download each morning.

I have also found out that Crufts have been using the television for advertising their event, As a Crufts advert was seen in between a break schedule for the programme The Bible: A History which was aired on Channel four from 7.00PM-8.00PM on the 7th March 2010, Sunday Night.

They may have decided to advertise between this programme as this programme is targeted at adults as it talks about the bible, also it might appeal to the high working class people as this is a more likely type of programme that they may watch and be interested in such as history.

I think it is an ideal day to advertise on especially at night as Sunday has always been known to be the “day of rest” for people to stop in their homes, Also on a Sunday night it is known to be prime time slot for advertising as this is when most people and families sit down and relax at night to watch television before starting another week’s work again on the Monday morning.

Here is the official 2010 Crufts advert which was created to be aired on television:




Lastly Crufts FM will be live on air from the afternoon of the Wednesday 10th March 2010, catching all the build up to the show right until around 9.30pm on the Sunday 14th March and will be broadcasted 24 hours a day to cater for listeners in America and Australia.

MySpace Babyshambles- http://www.myspace.com/babyshamblesofficial

The Band Babyshambles provides fans and visitors with an official updated MySpace page where visitors and fans can be updated with news from the band compared to their official webpage which was last updated over two years ago. It is proven that the Band update their MySpace regularly and check their page as their last login onto MySpace was the 02/03/2010 and the last bit of up to date news which the band posted on their online blog was an up and coming gig on February the 15th 2010 at The Blues Kitchen, Camden. Also this was where the Babyshambles 2009/10 tour was being promoted as well:

As well as just promoting their 2009/10 tour and other gigs on MySpace, fans and visitors can also see pictures, listen to the band’s music and watch videos of the band on MySpace.


Also the page provides a mini biography of the band and fans can post live comments and messages to the band and other fans through friend’s comments. Lastly the bands MySpace provides a lot of links to other sites related to Babyshambles such as Babyshambles Facebook page and You Tube videos, other band MySpace pages etc.

Crufts does not provide an official MySpace page

Official Venue websites:

Because Babyshambles have performed their 2009/10 tour around the U.K at different venues around the country it has led to the venues around the country promoting Babyshambles on their official webpage such as the O2 Academy in Birmingham and Rock City Venue in Nottingham.

While Crufts is only being promoted on the NEC Group under the section NEC Birmingham as this is the venue where Crufts will be held. Here the website provides a small section about what Crufts is, How much tickets are and links to the official online ticket provider (theticketfactory.com) and ticket hotlines for customers to ring up for tickets.