#ffffff

Better customer-led communications for one of the UK's biggest banks.

Signal | Our Work with Lloyds Banking Group

We've given LBG a single customer view across hundreds of products, through intelligent use of data and aggregation at customer level. This has enabled access to the right data at the exact time it's needed. 


For example, we aggregated a change notification that affected 54 million accounts into 30 million packs. 
This lets customers know all the changes 
to their accounts in one pack.

Centralised data processing

We've helped LBG bring together data and content so they can create communications tailored to each customer's circumstances. By using pre-defined templates, we can quickly and easily apply a range of variable messaging for specific customer groups. 

This means we can provide fully composed documents as proofs for approval – so the campaign team are able to see exactly what each customer would receive and check it’s correct.

Data-led Document composition

We've built automated communication capabilities based on customer preferences. This enables LBG to communicate through customers' preferred channels - while also reducing costs and risk. 

The document proofing process is also automated. This means approvers have all the versions they need delivered straight to their secure mailbox, within minutes of their request.

Automated multichannel delivery

We've applied Behavioural Economics insights to help customers make better financial decisions, provide a better customer experience, and increase brand trust and loyalty. Clearer layouts and more customer-focused categories have also been introduced. 

For one project, this resulted in an 80% reduction in complaints and a 40% increase in customers taking positive action. We've also won two Nudge Awards for this work.

Customer-centric content and visuals

Previous production processes meant accessible formats could not be started until standard ones were approved, so we worked with the Group to achieve the best customer experience, no matter the format. 

Using our new 'Compose Once' system, LBG can now confidently deliver the accessible format requirement at the same time as the standard format, helping to reduce workloads and ensure equal treatment of visually impaired customers. 

Accessible formats

We’re working with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) to help them improve their mandatory and regulatory communications. The Group sends millions of updates to their customers each year, each of which needs to be personalised, accurate and timely. 

But a reliance on traditional production techniques previously made it challenging, and this could sometimes mean a poor experience for customers. Plus, if regulatory requirements were not met there could be fines and reputational damage. 

We've been working with LBG for over six years to develop and implement a better strategy.

Group Brands and Marketing, Lloyds Banking Group

Head of Mandatory and Regulatory Communications

"Signal’s expertise has been invaluable in helping us transform how we develop our mandatory and regulatory communications. Working together we’ve taken huge strides in improving customer experience, reducing risk, and streamlining deployment.”

postage and paper savings on a single large scale mandatory campaign.

LBG has saved both money and time as a result of the improvements - with £10m postage and paper savings on a single large scale mandatory campaign, for example.

The benefits for customers have also been significant. We can now send clear, concise and timely personalised communications, using the customer's channel of choice. Our work even won Best CX Innovation at the Financial Services Awards, 2017.

We've worked closely with LBG's marketing, data & IT departments to optimise how we work with them in the following areas:

We also helped roll out the changes across the Group, including an education programme for employees.

How we helped the British Heart Foundation to design and deliver an improved experience for new supporters.

Signal | Our Work with British Heart Foundation

The initial welcome campaign points supporters towards an online landing page where they can let the charity know the areas of work they’re most interested in. 

Then, on the day of a supporter’s first payment, BHF sends them a personalised thank you message. TriggerHub automatically selects the most relevant content and channel for each person, based on the preferences they’ve expressed.

Once the initial rules are written and communication templates signed off, there is no more briefing, processing or proofing. Everything runs automatically. BHF can review results daily and make enhancements to the journeys very quickly.

British Heart Foundation came to us with a big problem. Half their regular supporters were dropping out within the first 12 months.

It didn’t help that it took the charity around three months to send new supporters a welcome message, due to their reliance on manual processes. BHF knew that they needed to do a better job of communicating with their regular givers. They asked us to help them design and deliver an improved experience for new supporters.

PUTTING SUPPORTERS AT THE HEART OF THINGS

Retention Direct Marketing Manager, British Heart Foundation

This new approach is exactly what we wanted. It has transformed the experience of our regular supporters by putting them in control of what happens next, and it’s also saving us a considerable amount of time.

Letting supporters know their donation makes a difference

New regular givers are now sent a multichannel welcome campaign within the first few weeks - a big improvement on the previous three months.  

Supporters can choose whether to watch new videos on the train, or read updates at leisure over their morning coffee. And BHF can send them more relevant, timely communications, based on their actions and preferences.

This new automated approach is also quicker and easier for staff to manage than before, with fewer repetitive tasks to complete. This gives BHF's fundraising and data teams more time to focus on further improvements to the supporter experience.

We worked with the charity to design new welcome journeys that put supporters in control of the process. We also wanted to make it as simple as possible for BHF to deliver them.

First, we used behavioural science to identify a suite of supporter triggers. These allow BHF to send relevant communications when supporters take a specific action.

Next, we programmed our in-house automation tool, TriggerHub, to deliver them.

Putting supporters in control of the communications they receive.

Find out how we helped Christian Aid to improve their welcome experience, using an automated system to deliver timely and relevant acknowledgment of new donations.

The new system receives a new data feed each day from Christian Aid and sends emails to new supporters at 10am the following morning. That means it’s less than 24 hours from initial receipt of data to the welcome message arriving - without anyone lifting a finger.

24 hours turnaround

The automation tool validates, segments and processes data as soon as it becomes available. It then generates personalised email and direct mail based on the results. For example, it recognises gift amounts, payment method, existing relationships and channel preference.

Personalised in real-time

The new system also recognises how supporters respond, using this data to make decisions about what to send next. For example, it will send direct mail to supporters that don’t open emails.

In-built intelligence

Christian Aid were missing out on an opportunity to engage new supporters. 

Each year during Christian Aid Week, the charity receive around 125,000 individual donations. But they didn’t have a process in place to acknowledge or thank people for their gift. New supporters weren’t contacted again until the charity sent them another request for a donation four months later.

Individual Engagement Manager, Christian Aid

We're delighted with the improvements Signal have made to the Christian Aid Week welcome journey. We can now deliver personal messages to new supporters within 24 hours, which has led to more people becoming regular givers without the need for extra work from our team.

of supporters made an additional donation

Christian Aid are now responding to new supporters with relevant content in record time. This provides reassurance that the charity values their individual contribution.

By blending email with direct mail, Christian Aid also has a better chance of reaching people through the appropriate channel. 

As a result, significantly more people are being converted into engaged supporters.

Christian Aid knew this wasn’t the best way to begin a relationship. So they asked us to improve the welcome experience for Christian Aid Week.

To achieve this, we developed an automated system to deliver timely and relevant acknowledgment of new donations. 

The charity can now send a thank you email to new supporters within 24 hours, followed by a direct mail welcome pack. Each message is dynamically composed from a suite of 18 templates to provide a personal experience.

A better welcome for new supporters, automatically.

How we created a powerful film to showcase the transformative work the IMI does and how it’s making a difference.  

Signal | Our Work with the Innovative Medicines Initiative 

The positive message of #CarryTheTorch continues to spread through the IMI and their partner organisations. The campaign has evolved into a wider campaign - #IMITenYears - which supports the initiative’s 10th anniversary in 2018 and celebrates its significant public, social and economic value in a simple and memorable way.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is a groundbreaking public-private partnership which fosters collaboration in healthcare research. It helps speed up the development of new medicines, so more patients in need can receive the treatment they need.

However, the initiative has received some criticism, and there was a danger this would overshadow its achievements. We wanted to change the conversation by demonstrating the difference the IMI is making.

All over Europe there are countless academics, researchers, scientists and clinicians quietly collaborating in order to help patients live better and longer lives. The #CarryTheTorch campaign gave us an exciting opportunity to tell their stories, and to demonstrate how the Innovative Medicines Initiative is supporting these life-changing 21st century innovators.

We created a powerful film, telling the story of how the IMI is carrying the torch of medical innovation from the past into the future. And we supported it with a suite of social content to add more context.

The campaign connects the work that IMI is currently doing with the great medical pioneers and discoveries of the past. And it shows that the work of today’s scientists is just as critical and transformative.

A powerful campaign highlighting medical progress.

Find out how we helped nPower to build better relationships with their customers - despite the energy sector being renowned for low customer engagement. 

Glow also provides supporting content to npower’s above-the-line campaigns and partnerships. For example, it featured exclusive news, articles and interviews to support their role as official Team England sponsor during the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Glow big or glow home

There’s no point producing engaging content without an effective way of delivering it to customers. This is where our In-Life email programme comes in. It has constantly evolved to incorporate complex segmentation, delivery and automation since its launch in April 2016. And thanks to the comprehensive reporting and data analysis process, we’ve managed to test and learn as the programme has matured. 

Emails that people actually want to read

Our content strategy puts three key pillars at the heart of npower's CRM programme - home, family and energy. We’ve worked closely with their team to script, storyboard and direct a suite of video content around these pillars. The films range from the functional to the more emotionally engaging - helping to inform, entertain and retain customers.

Fun films for busy families

The energy sector is renowned for particularly low customer engagement and retention. So, when npower challenged us to build better relationships with their customers, we knew we had a challenge on our hands.

Our strategy? Focus on helping customers rather than selling products. We knew that with a content-led approach, npower could add value to their customers beyond price alone.

Signal's strategic, creative and operational support has resulted in huge improvements to our CRM programme over the last few years. We're delighted with the results.

customers receive tailored, content-led emails each month

npower now has a much more relatable, relevant and engaging reason to talk to customers on a regular basis. The result is better customer engagement, including higher open and click-through rates and an 18% increase in dwell time.

Qualitative research has also shown improved sentiment towards npower from recipients. It turns out customers do want to hear from their energy supplier if they have something valuable to say.

We began by establishing a purpose for getting in touch outside the usual billing cycle. 

This meant making useful and relevant energy-saving information a key talking point across email and direct mail. Over 700,000 customers now receive a monthly email with content that's tailored to their interests.   

We also pointed customers towards a new online content hub, called Glow. This features tips, advice and inspiration to simplify busy family life. 

Nurturing warmer customer relationships with helpful, relevant content.

Nurturing warmer customer relationships with helpful, relevant content

Growing alumni engagement for The Open University with the Tree of Learning

The Open University is an award-winning pioneer of distance-learning. Since it was established by Royal Charter 50 years ago, the University has helped over 2 million people from 157 countries gain higher education who may not otherwise have had access to it.

Best in class

We’re delighted to have been able to support the OU in every aspect of the Tree of Learning initiative, from the initial concept and creative development, through to print production and back-end response fulfilment.

Sculpted for success

We used the OU’s annual alumni magazine ‘Open Minds’ to launch the initiative. It opens with a letter from the Chancellor, introducing the Tree. We also included a colourful printed pack to grab readers’ attention. To encourage donations and re-engage alumni, we crafted our message using behavioural economics insights.

Opening minds to change lives

We have introduced new and improved print production techniques for several of the OU’s other alumni campaigns, including those aimed at making higher education more accessible for disabled veterans. These have resulted in a dramatic increase in response rates, as well as allowing the University to take advantage of Royal Mail discounts that reward Direct Mail innovation.

Innovative print production and postal savings

Our 2018 Blue Planet campaign pack has been extremely successful, enabling the OU to fund vital research into our oceans and 50 more places at residential field schools, supporting students to develop the practical field skills they need to become our future Earth and Environmental scientists.

Funding field researchers

The Open University wanted to do something special for their former students as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. 

They challenged us to come up with a new approach that would engage more alumni than ever before. 

Head of Alumni Fundraising, The Open University

“Working with Signal has provided us with a fantastic opportunity to share some incredible projects and inspiring fundraising packs with our alumni. 

We have found the whole experience of working with Signal incredibly positive and they have played a key role in supporting our work over the last year.”

The response has already far surpassed the OU’s fundraising targets. 7,200 shields have been claimed so far by the University’s generous alumni - more than 7x the anticipated response. In fact, there has been such an overwhelming response that we needed to create a bigger tree!


Through their generous gift, each donor is supporting the next generation of students and will be a part of the OU’s lasting legacy in higher education.


And we’ve seen a significant increase in response rates to our other alumni campaigns for the University.

Our idea was designed to revive alumni’s strong personal connection with the OU by giving them an opportunity to become a physical part of the institution - in the form of a beautiful installation. 


In recognition of donations to the University’s 50th Anniversary Scholarship Fund, we gave former students the chance to have their name engraved onto a bespoke OU shield. We also invited them to share their stories about the impact their OU studies have had on their lives.


Each shield will be permanently displayed on the Tree of Learning, a newly commissioned full-size tree sculpture which will be housed in the OU’s on-campus library. 

Growing alumni engagement with the Tree of Learning.

Cost-savings and efficiencies for a major fundraising campaign.

Signal | Our Work with The Salvation Army

The delivery of all Door Drop, donor and insert media is carefully planned to coincide with the spirit of giving at Christmas. It takes careful planning and supplier management to ensure they all drop during the same timeframe, with a reminder following 2 weeks later. Any delays would miss that window of opportunity and jeopardise the charity’s income target.

Getting the timing right

Our cost model lets The Salvation Army see exactly what we're paying our suppliers. We also provide details of how long it takes for set up, logistics, quality checks and admin for each project. Our strategic production planning services are also itemised, aggregated and split down into a monthly fee, payable across the year. 

A clearer view of costs

We act as an agent for The Salvation Army’s postal services, managing their relationships with Whistl and the Royal Mail on their behalf. This reduces risk for the charity and gives them full clarity on postal volumes.

Postal partners

The Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign is one of the biggest and most complex print campaigns in the UK charity sector. In 2017 alone it comprised of 17.1 million Door Drop packs, 7.1 million inserts and 8.7 million Direct Mail packs.

We've been managing the campaign since 2003. With such big volumes and so many production elements to source, it’s a complex undertaking. Delivering on time and on budget requires close collaboration with the client and their partners, plus precise attention to detail.

Head of Individual Giving, The Salvation Army

“We have a great partnership with Signal. Their reliability and professional concern for getting it right for us, on massive volumes or small specialised jobs is second to none in our experience. A great team and a solid partnership.” 

We are very proud that all Christmas campaigns to date have run to schedule with no major quality issues or unforeseen costs. And we have consistently made savings over the fifteen years we’ve worked with them through format innovation, monitoring and controlling manufacturing costs and early, collaborative planning.

Our approach means we can keep the cost of The Salvation Army’s campaigns down, even as they grow in size and complexity. 

And our transparent cost model means that we can now have far more informed conversations about pricing with the charity. They know exactly what they’re paying for and can see for themselves the value we add.

As the charity’s campaigns have grown, we’ve scaled up our approaches to strategic purchasing and risk management too.  We introduced a completely transparent cost model, to better reflect the increased scope of the work we do. We start to plan the campaign early in the year to ensure the best possible outcome for the charity at the end of the year. This involves:

- Reviewing the previous year’s results with the client in order to support on ROI on roll out volumes for high performing test packs

- Collaborating with a wide range of suppliers as early as possible, to lock down the best rates and secure production capacity

- Careful coordination of artwork, print production and logistics

- Introducing format innovations where possible.

JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN 
DATA, CODE AND CREATIVITY

We work with organisations from a wide range of industries. From charities to financial services, food and drink to major events - check out some of our work highlights.

View our work. You'll find case studies for British Heart Foundation, Nando's, Lloyds Banking Group, European Championships, Famous Grouse, Open University and more...  

JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN
DATA, CODE AND CREATIVITY

Work

Lloyds Banking Group

British Heart Foundation

Christian Aid

Innovative Medicines Initiative

npower

The Open University

The Salvation Army

Cheltenham

Edinburgh

London

JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN DATA, CODE AND CREATIVITY