BBC Studios Interactive Email Campaign
Discover how our innovative email design for Bluey’s extended episode drove a significant boost in engagement and record-breaking subscriber growth.
Problem
Ahead of the first-ever extended episode of Bluey, the BBC Studios team wanted to create noise and excitement through a bespoke email that would resonate with both adults and children. Our central focus was to enhance the user experience by creating an interactive, fun email to improve user engagement and increase dwell time.
Overview
Unlike the other Bluey episodes, this one had a global air date. The extended episode also featured a big moment – the first of its kind – a wedding! This tied in perfectly with an invite-focused design, within which we added a countdown timer to build excitement for the episode’s release date, whilst enhancing the wedding theme even more.
Design
Led by the wedding theme, we created an exciting wedding invitation straight from the Bluey Universe. The distinctive Ludo Studios style is seen throughout the email and features assets taken straight from the TV show. The email displays a wedding invite attached to the fridge in the Heeler household, with magnets and pictures framed around the invite. When the email is first opened, subscribers are prompted to click open the invite.
Once opened, confetti flies out and displays the exciting news of the extended 28-minute episode. An interactive poll allows subscribers to cast their vote on wedding dessert preferences, and a separate banner directs subscribers to more information on the episode.
Development
The main part of the email development process was to create the experience of opening an envelope to reveal the invite. For this surprise element, we decided to use the click-to-reveal method. Working closely with the designers we combined static and animated design elements and coded animation to create a smooth experience.
The build was enhanced with extra features to make the invite more engaging, such as the Save the Date section and dynamic display of add-to-calendar links for each subscriber, to match their specific email clients. Another nice addition was a countdown timer generated with a creative software platform and embedded into the email. Finally, we created an engaging voting experience with another click-to-reveal feature.
To make sure the email is as accessible as possible we’ve tried to code each element separately, including lovely magnets, as well as ensuring the email is rendered well across all email platforms.
Results
The campaign resulted in the highest-ever metrics for the Bluey brand, including a +18.5% Open Rate increase, a +129% uplift in Click-To-Open Rate, and a +171% increase in Click-Through Rate compared to brand averages.
As well as being an inbox hit, the award-winning campaign saw industry-wide recognition and was a huge success with fans, driving a halo-effect of social media growth in the days surrounding its send. The email was even crowned ‘’Email of the Year’’ by the Inboxing podcast.
Client Testimonials
“ActionRocket were an excellent team to work with. We set out to drive awareness of a new episode and its storyline. The team were incredibly supportive and knowledgeable and helped us win our first ever award! We had recognition from many senior staff members at BBC Studios and in the wider world of CRM. Bluey fans around the world were delighted with their own invite to the Wedding and we hope to work with the team closely on future projects following this success." — Richard CRM Executive, BBC Studios
“The wedding invite was a great way of engaging our Bluey fanbase in the run up to the launch of our brand-new episode, ‘The Sign’. The team were great at helping us visualise our end goal and the reaction across our community was incredible. It was a pleasure working with ActionRocket on this fantastic project." — Ellie, Senior Digital Manager, Bluey
