Manufacturer: Conquering the Channel
A promotion helps a global leader enable its channel partners and change behavior by offering experiential rewards
The Client and Their Past State
The Client
A global leader in power management and automation systems, APC by Schneider Electric.
The Audience
Resellers in client’s channel.
The Objectives
To increase the completion of an online certification pertaining to Edge computing. This certification aimed to enable the client’s channel partners to better sell its Edge computing services, a major company focus for 2019.
The Challenges
Busy channel partners were unmotivated to take the hour-long certification. The solution would have to succeed in changing the behavior of the partners in order to fulfill the client’s goal.
The Client’s Current State and Key Results
Making an Impression
The promotion saw high engagement, with a 62.5% open rate and 21% click-through rate on emails and over 3000 impressions overall.
Certification Boom
While the client averaged only about 11 certifications per month before the promotion, they averaged about 100 certifications per month during the promotion.
Fast Results
In 1/3 of the time, the client experienced a 198% increase in certifications completed
Enrolled and Learning
There was overall an 8% increase in YoY enrollment during the promotion.
“[I]t is a huge motivation to get those that shy away from trainings to take them. I would definitely say that people are more likely to complete certifications when they know they have a chance to win something. I am sure the manufacturers wish people did not need [an] incentive, but the reality is some do.”
“The promotion was fantastic! (Easy to say since I won, I guess) As far as the Edge Certification goes, I always think things like that are super beneficial. The chance to win a prize made it that much better!”
“I know I can always count on working with HMI for additional promotional support. Our newly launched certificate wasn’t gaining as much traction as we had hoped and with the help of HMI we were able to meet our year end goals. Their dedication to ensuring the promotion was successful was key.”
How They Got Here
Marketing
Program Design
To help the client promote the certification and successfully curb the low adoption of the certification, HMI’s in-house creative and strategic teams generated a promotion, backed by extensive marketing and prizing that ran for 3 months, October through December.
Dubbed “Conquer the Edge,” this promotion offered the chance to win a guided mountain tour with flights and stay for two included. After completing the certification, participants were entered into a random drawing. The lucky winner of this drawing was given the choice of traveling to the following destinations:
- The Grand Canyon
- Machu Picchu
- Alaska’s Kenai & Denali Mountains
Also offered as a second prize was one of HMI’s exclusive Experience This! packages, which includes 2 nights in deluxe hotel accommodations, round-trip airfare, and sought-after tickets to events in major cities across North America.
Additionally, a third prize was awarded in the form of another exclusive offer from HMI: a Game On! package. This collection combines the thrill of competition and the excitement of travel into a sports vacation with two tickets to a professional game, race, or tournament.
Finally, to maintain engagement throughout the campaign, the promotion offered point bonuses for completing the certification. If a partner completed the certification during the promotion, they received 1,000 points. Partners who had finished the certification before the promotion were retroactively rewarded with points and entries into the giveaway.
Strategy and Implementation
- Emphasized behavioral modification strategies
- Layered sweepstakes onto an existing program
- Segmented audiences based on:
- Those who had not started the certification
- Those who had started the certification and not finished
- Those who had finished the certification and were retroactively rewarded
- Dedicated incentive program management team
