About the client company
- Part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, Elsevier B.V. is a world leading publisher of scienceand health information employing 7,000+ people, across 24 countries with revenues of £6 billion.
- The Elsevier name has been synonymous with prestigious literature works – including Galileo – since its origins as a small Dutch publishing house in 1580.
- Today, Elsevier has evolved from publishing academic journals such as The Lancet and Gray’s Anatomy, to developing web-based tools that address the complex problems shaping the scientific research landscape.
Strategy
Executives in academic research departments are facing new challenges and access to reliable research intelligence now plays a critical role in scientific discovery and funding.
Elsevier identified that its postion as a content provider was being challenged by new market entrants with aggressive pricing strategies, and even offering content for free. To address this, and an increasing trend for multidisciplinary research and collaboration, Elsevier revisited its strategy and set about the launch of SciVal Spotlight in FY09. As the first in a series of new ‘tools’ to be promoted under the SciVal brand, Spotlight allows research institutions to view and analyse the structure of science at global level. This effective online interface provides insights that assist strategy, collaboration, funding, recruitment and strategy decisions. But while the product was well received by focus groups, a key challenge remained – to convince ‘buyers’ of the business case for a six figure investment.
Objectives of the campaign
Goals:
- To plan and execute a new product launch for SciVal Spotlight across EMEA, US and AsiaPac.
- To educate and engage an untapped target market.
- To balance educational outreach with lead generation.
- To introduce an integrated campaign theme to assist brand product awareness and recall.
Objectives:
Marketecture was tasked with generating the following targets through marketing activity alone by the end of the campaign launch period (end Sept. 2009).
- Measured brand engagement with 4,000 individuals.
- 120 institutions showing purchase ‘interest’.
- 50 institutions at ‘consideration’ stage to purchase the product.
Media, channels or techniques used
Centred on the proposition of ‘Unlock the promise of your research’ the campaign tapped into feedback from a pre-launch customer research programme.
The call-to-action across the integrated campaign centred on the offer of a personalised product demo. Elsevier could only offer a limited number of demonstrations in phase 1, so there was an element of exclusivity and selectivity in the campaign targeting. Prospects were driven to one of three sites to register their interest, with all routes ultimately leading to the campaign hub.
The target audience
A tool to aid strategic decision-making, SciVal Spotlight is principally aimed at C-level executives responsible for the research future of the world’s most prestigious academic scientific research institutions.
Campaign Tactics
Different engagement strategies were trialed throughout the campaign. The data was segmented into tiers according to institutional size, significance and propensity to buy.
A team of Elsevier sales professionals were focused on telesales follow-up to direct activity following intensive internal product training.
Example campaign tactics
Tier 1 – ‘Book safe’ mailer
Top tier prospects received a time critical parcel via FedEx. This contained a metal ‘booksafe’, which looked like a hard backed book. Titled ‘Unlock the promise of your research’, personalised print showed the author as the recipient. Inside the front cover was an envelope which contained the key to unlock the booksafe, in which sat a personalised URL (PURL) microsite address e.g.
www.joelharrison.unlocksresearch.com
Following Marketecture’s recommendation, all engagement with the PURL was tagged using Eloqua – the start of an automatic product / brand reinforcement programme. This is believed to be the first Eloqua installation with a third party PURL platform
Tier 2 – Die-cut personalised print DM (low unit cost piece)
A low unit cost print DM piece was produced using a die-cut in the shape of a keyhole. Recipients could see a screen grab of the SciVal Spotlight interface through the keyhole to create intrigue and all variable data was personalised with known information.
Tier 3 – Email
A series of segmented emails were distributed to pre-identified lists (included multi-variable testing).
Advertising – On and offline
Print and online advertising supported launch activity in key trade journals. A series of ads was developed that took the theme of turning inanimate scientific objects into items which tied into the theme of ‘unlock’.
Response levels from each activity were carefully monitored and Eloqua was used to automate follow-up communications to all prospects, to push them along the buying cycle.
Timescale of the campaign
Phase one of the campaign was launched in July 2009 with roll-out across the US and from September onwards the campaign extended to AsiaPac and EMEA. The project team (Marketecture and Elsevier) held weekly conference calls with stakeholders to review, evaluate and adjust campaign activity in line with results.
Campaign testimonial from Elsevier
“The SciVal Spotlight campaign was highly effective in delivering genuine commercial outcomes and measurable ROI. We managed to create enough intrigue without alienating our academic audience and the PURL in particular, out-performed on every front. Marketecture’s input was invaluable throughout the launch phase and the agency continues to help shape the SciVal success story through 2010.
As a client-agency team we worked in true partnership; developing the brand platform, hitting tight deadlines and addressing real strategic marketing challenges head on. Marketecture excelled themselves in terms of campaign measurement, commercial insight and intelligent thought.
Indeed, the results quite clearly speak for themselves – a near 90 per cent increase on our sales lead target is phenomenal. The bespoke dashboard tool developed to manage campaign ROI effectiveness at a tactical level was simple yet genius, and really helped to engage senior stakeholders throughout Elsevier. In fact, it’s prompted us to rethink best practice for ROI and metrics across the business.”
Neal Katz, senior solutions marketing manager, Elsevier (NYC)
