Do you remember when credit card companies used to “automatically enroll” you in other programs once you signed up with them? I can distinctly recall hearing the phrase, “…you have been automatically enrolled in…” Well, I thought those days were over. I’m here to report that the “automatic enrollment” has reared its ugly head once again thanks to United Airlines.
I’ve blogged about the airlines in the past - specifically United (Nov 08) and US Airways (Feb 09) - mostly giving them praise for their email marketing efforts. Today’s post will be a bit different.
Over the weekend, I booked a flight on United Airlines for Passover/Easter weekend. Now I have never opted-in to receive any email from United. In fact, in the past few years, I’ve only received a handful of United emails (mostly check-ins and confirmations). Less than 24 hours after I booked my flight, the following email landed in my inbox:
First, it still kills me when major corporations don’t keep it simple. Why is this email from “United Alerts” and not “United Airlines?” Be proud of that brand name that you’ve spend years (and $$) building.
Remember: There are 3 simple rules for from lines.
Second, “EasyUpdate Travel Alert” as a subject line tells me very little about the content of the email. Why should I bother opening? What’s in it for me? Is there a deadline? A special (exclusive) offer? To top it off, I’ve never heard of EasyUpdate.
Remember: a good subject line is like a good newspaper headline.
Third, this would normally serve as a great welcome email; however, normally welcome messages are for programs that one has just signed up for. In this case, I’ve been “automatically enrolled.” In fact, if you read the fine print at the bottom, this is essentially an opt-out email. At least they give me a few ways to unsubscribe - landing page and phone.
Remember: Don’t hide that unsubscribe.
*Sidebar: I wonder if this is considered a transactional email. Is that why they don’t need to follow CAN-SPAM? They are missing the physical address and requiring me to login to unsubscribe. Both no-no’s.
Fourth, I never signed up for EasyUpdate. I never opted-in to receive emails about EasyUpdate. Heck, I don’t even know what EasyUpdate is!
Remember: Setting proper subscriber expectations is critical.
Finally, and most importantly, United Airlines has lost some of my trust. Considering the tough economic environment that we are in today, this is not the time for airlines to be losing customers because of an overly-aggressive email marketing campaign. Now is the time to be smart and strategic about all forms of communication, especially the channel with such a high touch.
Come on, United! You’re better than that.
DJ Waldow
Director of Best Practices & Deliverability at Bronto
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I like that in talking about what is wrong with this campaign, you not only go into specifics, you actually talk about things that are possibly legally wrong with the campaign. It’s easy to simply gripe about the email and the automatic opt-in by itself, but you kept it relevant while being to the point and easy to digest. Let’s hope people that recognize themselves in this post take your points to heart.
Good post.
@Michelle: Thanks for your kind words. To be clear, I’m not 100% certain about the legality of what UAL did…Hoping some others will weigh in.
dj
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DJ Waldow
Director of Best Practices & Deliverability at Bronto
@djwaldow