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Compton & Woodhouse Case Study

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Client Name Compton & Woodhouse The Organisation Compton & Woodhouse is the UK's largest mail order jewellery company. A long-established company, it has a core audience of older, mass market women. Its business model had been reliant upon repeat purchase with the majority of margin from returning customers. It has traditionally been a large spender on acquisition (£5 million+ per annum), but only in press (mainly weekend supplements), television listings and mass market women's magazines. The Challenge Results had declined as core media vehicles saw a reduction in circulation and readership. mc&c were appointed in December 2008 to review acquisition strategy and generate new growth. The Insight By profiling current buyers and benchmarking against broader market opportunities, three key segments were identified:
  • Jewellery buyers who buy from print media (current audience)
  • Jewellery buyers who buy from broadcast media (new audience)
  • Jewellery buyers who buy from digital media (new audience)

Overlaps between buyers from each channel were also identified.

Our Solution
  • New media channels were introduced: buyers with profiles identical to current customers were targeted to ensure back end profitability
  • These channels included new press titles, regional media, search, email, and television
The Results
  • Improvement in cost per new customer of c40% year on year
  • Volume growth
What we did Generated new growth for a long-established mail order company
Client View "mc&c buy media very well: they are competitive and have the toughness and skill to deliver to agreed target cost per thousands. However, I almost take that for granted now: the real benefit we get is a relentless pursuit of agreed strategic targets, reviewed and refined weekly, with major director level assessments every quarter ...

... Compton & Woodhouse regard this as a consultative partnership, with mc&c very much operating as an extension of our marketing team."

Mark Dugdale
CEO
Compton & Woodhouse

 

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