Case Study: Amazing Spaces
Amazing Spaces was founded 11 years ago. Our readership and click-through rate practically doubled.
“Our readership and click-through rate practically doubled”
Introduction
Amazing Spaces was founded 11 years ago by Managing Director, Julia Finnis-Bedford. They pioneered the concept of a “location agency” in South Africa. Much like a modeling agency markets models, they market locations to the film and stills photography industries for use in commercials, advertising, and editorials. They started with approximately 30 to 40 well-known locations and are now proud to boast more than 1,000 locations in Southern Africa alone. They also have offices in Mallorca and Croatia. The company was formed so as to provide a professional platform where local and international producers could search for all their location requirements, all the necessary details and professional images to fit their briefs; therefore saving them time and costs.
The Challenge
Initially, they were using an external marketing company to design and draft their newsletters, and another company to send them out. Each newsletter cost them R5 000 just for design fees and distribution. Says Dale Bedford, Marketing and business development manager, “Although unlimited, this was astronomical!” She elaborates to say “The design company was never thorough in checking that each link worked, the communication back and forth took time, and because of the expense and delay we were not able to send out brief and instantaneous updates”.
Thereafter, they began researching other methods of communication that were more cost-effective and which would allow them to design and write the material themselves, as well as manage the database easily. After a simple Google search they came across GraphicMail. It appeared cost-effective, although initially not user-friendly. But because it was a South African site and prices were quoted in Rands it seemed to be a better option for them. Knowing that there would be a local person to contact if they had a problem was also comforting. Additionally, they found that GraphicMail is online during their working hours. Initially they used the trial account; it worked so well, they began to use the subscription account. As time passed, they learned how to use the site and their newsletters not only looked better, but were also better received.
The Solution
Once they discovered GraphicMail’s drag-and-drop editor, they began using it quite well and later switched to the 2008 editor. Now that they understand it better and have discovered (close to) all its functions they get great value out of it. Initially they found that they had a good response to the email newsletters, but this started to decline and they were unsure why. They also noticed that downloading was slow and some clients complained that their newsletters simply didn’t open. Says Bedford, “Then we discovered the ‘embed images’ option, and the response was phenomenal! We suddenly received phone calls and emails within hours of sending out our newsflashes, requesting specific locations or asking for more information. Our readership and click-through rate practically doubled. Even though this is costing us more than it did initially, we are getting a greater response than ever and it is still coming in more cost effective than when we had them designed externally. We also have great Reports to refer to, and we’re finding the functionality flexible and very useful”.
Bedford went further to add that, “With GraphicMail, we particularly like the reports and the detail that it goes into, specifically who forwarded or social shared our content. The drag-and-drop editor is a fantastic development”.
About GraphicMail
Quattro Internet Solutions (Ltd) t/a GraphicMail’s hosted email marketing solution is used by customers such as Cosmopolitan, SA Airlink, Europcar and the American Medical Association since 2002. It is available in ten languages and is represented by over 17 offices globally. Follow GraphicMail on Twitter, Facebook and their email marketing blog. Contact: Barbara Ulmi, GraphicMail Marketing Manager, barbara@graphicmail.com