Case Study Sainsbury´s

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury´s addressed each single of its 4.5 million top customers with
an image personalized, fully customized mailer right on their birthdays. Printed digitally with
a volume of about 400 000 pieces each month the campaign reached a conversion rate of 40%.

Client: Sainsbury´s
Printer: Tangent Communications
Agency: TEQUILA\
Target Audience: Shoppers that have a Nectar Card
Software: DirectSmile Generator and Document plus

I. The Task: Customer Care

• Sainsbury´s have 4.5 million qualified top customers in their loyalty
customer database. Of course these customers should visit their outlet at least once a
year!
• Gift vouchers are a good means to attract customers and are frequently redeemed.
• Sainsbury´s sends a mailer to each known customer, right on his birthday – the
information about birth dates comes from the customer database.
The mailer includes a voucher with one of the customer´s favorite products as birthday
gift. These customer preferences are taken also from the customer database.

II. The Features: Outstanding Personalization

• Image personalization
The Sainsbury´s birthday mailers impressed clients at first sight using image
personalization on the front cover. Each customer´s name was integrated in a photo
design in a highly realistic way. Using DirectSmile technology a highly emotional and
personal look could be created, that showed customers at first sight that Sainsbury´s
cares about them.
• Full document customization
Each mailer was adapted to each client, not just by the customer´s name in the image
but also by using different fonts for different age groups and by printing in an
individual product as a present, including both product image and text. Also an
individual e-voucher number allows fast and simple redeeming at the cash desk. The
redeeming is tracked and the data are automatically sent back to the loyalty program
database.
• Asynchronous production
To reach each customer right on his birthday all mailers were produced and sent out
asynchronously.
• 4.5 million pieces printed on an HP Indigo press
For this campaign about 400 000 fully personalised mailers a month were printed
digitally. Thanks to automated and highly efficient personalization and production
workflows made possible by DirectSmile technology

III. The Results: 40% Conversion Rate!

• The redemption rate of the coupons has risen to a stunning 40%! Based on the
experience of previous campaigns, the return-on-investment increased by 25.5 % and
revenues leapt by 110 % and gift redemption by 39 %.