Summary
In a market with more than 200 competitors, Purple needed a way to rise above the noise. The company enhanced its military discount by using SheerID’s Audience Network to implement it, and the new program increased conversions by 6x and generated a 25:1 ROAS. The success inspired the company to launch similar offers for teachers, medical workers, and other groups. Adding these new campaigns helped Purple’s audience marketing program generate 58% of its previous year’s revenue in just eight weeks.
Challenge
Purple’s mattress is widely known for its quality and comfort. But with more than 200 competing brands, the company still needed a customer acquisition strategy to help it stand out.
Military consumers were a natural group to pursue, since they aligned well with Purple’s made-in-USA brand identity, so the company created an exclusive 10% discount for everyone in the military community.
Initially Purple relied on its customer service team to verify eligibility for the discount, but this created friction in the online purchase process. It was also time-consuming for Purple’s team, and made them responsible for preventing discount abuse.
Purple knew the program would see even greater success if it was promoted more broadly. But the company needed a solution that would scale with its vision for expansion and didn’t put its customers—and their data—into the hands of a third party.
Solution
Purple partnered with SheerID to relaunch the military program and it was a smart move. SheerID’s Audience Network instantly verified eligibility for the offer and protected it from discount abuse. Verification occurred instantly and within the online purchase process, so the process was customer-friendly and required no Purple staff.
Knowing the offer was protected enabled Purple to promote it broadly, including through social channels like Facebook and Pinterest, where it targeted relevant groups and used imagery that resonated with the military community. And using SheerID meant that customers would opt into the campaign by providing only basic information. This gave Purple permissioned data it could use to nurture their loyalty without the risks involved in maintaining PII (Personally Identifiable Information).
The program was so successful that Purple began planning similar ones for students and teachers. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, pushing more shoppers online and raising awareness of the heroic work being done by healthcare professionals. In response, Purple expanded its strategy to also include first responders and healthcare workers.
SheerID helped Purple quickly launch those campaigns. And when Purple decided to extend the offer to truckers to honor their essential work, the company turned to SheerID’s Alliance Network to implement the program. Within a week, truckers were also able to instantly access the discount online.
SheerID is helping us increase our revenue, provide a better customer experience, and stand out in our highly competitive space.
Results
Relaunching Purple’s military discount with SheerID delivered incredible results. “Using SheerID to implement our military program has increased conversions by 6x and generated a 25:1 ROAS,” said Colby Saenz, Purple’s affiliate manager. “The success has been phenomenal.”
SheerID also saved Purple time and resources. “Replacing manual verification with SheerID’s Audience Network reduced our support calls to zero and saved our customer service team 49 hours per month,” Colby said. “SheerID is helping us increase our revenue, provide a better customer experience, and stand out in our highly competitive space. It’s a win-win across the board.”
Purple was thrilled with the results, especially when it saw how the new programs furthered the company’s success. Colby oversaw the expansion into other audiences and believes these programs are a great way to directly engage Purple’s audience.
“In just eight weeks, our audience marketing program has produced 58% of the revenue it generated last year,” Colby said. “Altogether, the programs account for 10-15% of all Purple’s online revenue.”
These results and how quickly he was able to achieve them has made Colby excited about the future of Purple’s partnership with SheerID. “In less than five weeks we were able to launch identity marketing programs to students, teachers, first responders, truckers, and healthcare professionals,” he said. “Working with SheerID has been fantastic.”
In just eight weeks, our audience marketing program powered by SheerID’s Audience Network has produced 58% of the revenue it generated last year. Altogether, the programs account for 10-15% of all Purple’s online revenue.