Case Study: Web Interstitial
In 2017, I helped a Fortune 500 fashion retailer drive email subscriptions by optimizing the email capture interstitial ad on their website.
The Challenge: This online retailer relied on a web interstitial ad on their homepage to drive acquisition of new shoppers on their email list. Unfortunately, declining engagement with their copy led to declining acquisition of high-value customers and decreasing sales for new visitors. The client regularly swapped out the product imagery on the interstitial ad to drive engagement, but copy testing had been limited.
My Role: As the Brand Content Strategist, I worked with Persado’s proprietary optimization technology to design a multivariate test that determined the most impactful language and formatting across all elements of the interstitial ad. I referenced results from past email tests to write the copy for each version and then collaborated with the client's brand and marketing teams to ensure all language was on brand and accurately represented the promotion.
Before:
After:
My Approach: The client's original copy was fairly generic, so I wanted to inject more of the brand's unique and enthusiastic personality into the text. Previous testing the client had performed indicated that highlighting the 20% discount drove more sign-ups, so I took that further by leading with the discount in the headline as well as linking it more clearly to the sign-up action by including it in the CTA button.
The Outcome: The new interstitial ad increased email list sign-ups by 103% and online orders completed after signing up by 112%. Though we did test product imagery as part of the process, we found that the energetic and value-focused headline drove most of the impact.