It’s not every day that a retailer encourages customers to try yard sales, thrift stores and comparison shopping to get their children ready for school, but that’s what HasbroToyShop does in a new email tracked this week. Clearly Hasbro, the #2 toy seller behind Mattel, has been thinking creatively about their customers’ experiences in challenging times, along with ways to sell more Play-Doh. Here’s a recap, along with a few takeaways.
Summer “Save-Cation”
Hasbro has been having a “frugal fun” dialogue with its customers all summer. Their “Summer Save-Cation!” series was first tracked in early July with a message telling families how – in lieu of renting a beach house or buying a pool – they could have backyard fun with just a garden hose and a Hasbro Super Soaker. Similar emails followed, ranging from “Backyard Warriors” (buy a Nerfoop instead of sports tickets) to “Girls Rule” (a mother and daughter spa day at home with dad in the kitchen).
All-in-all, it was a nice series that played out like a helpful summer-long chat. And while each email ended with a plug for Hasbro toys, most items did, in fact, represent economical alternatives for family fun.
“Save-Cation” Goes Back-to-School
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Hasbro’s latest email moves the conversation to post-summer, but holds on to the empathy and money-saving advice. Launching from the fateful day when parents receive their child’s school supplies list, Hasbro marks out “Summer” from their old headline and calls it instead “Back-to-School Save-Cation!”
The new email body starts:
“Now it’s official. If you’ve gotten the school supply list, a new season has begun… School Season.”
And then (emphasis added):
“The end of summer doesn’t mean the end of saving, from clothes to supplies there are lots of ways to save. Check your local yard sales for lightly used clothes, make a list and shop around for deals on supplies, and thrift stores may have that perfect ‘new-to-you’ bookbag.”
Of course, Hasbro knows of one school item that is typically not as desirable “lightly used”:
“PLAY-DOH is probably on that supplies list, here’s your first chance to save on school.”
A link takes customers to a variety of Play-Doh offerings, baited with a “Free Case of Colors” premium for buying $25+ of Play-Doh products.
For Consideration
Needless to say, the Hasbro email is not a typical retail message, but there are a few takeaways for any marketer to contemplate:
- Think of the micro-events in your customers’ lives. Plot a course looking for smaller triggers leading to bigger events, similar to Hasbro’s “school supplies list”. One of email’s greatest strengths is timing, and capitalizing on that means more than promoting limited-time sales.
- Even one product can create relevancy. Play-Doh is one of the toy maker’s few back-to-school products, but the email still works due to the overall strength of their brand.
- Advice and tips can help build a stronger, deeper customer relationship. This is especially true in tough times, but similar applications (beauty tips, recipes) have worked well for other categories.
Glenn Lalich is VP of Research & Analysis at PM Digital.
