How a Personalized Offer to Nurses Brought in 8,000 New Customers

April 30, 2020

Tony Coray

Nurses deserve our support—now more than ever—and leading brands like AT&T and The North Face are giving them personalized offers to say thank you.

Honoring nurses is a smart marketing strategy because it supports people we count on and helps brands acquire new customers. When CheapCaribbean launched its personalized offer to nurses, it had 2x engagement, received 85 media pickups, and brought in 8,000 new customers.

The company’s story offers a roadmap for marketers who want to stand up for medical workers and see the same kind of success.

CheapCaribbean’s Strategy

CheapCaribbean is known for their low-cost, luxury vacation packages. The company recognized that nurses are a consumer tribe that aligns particularly well with its brand. They earn good incomes, tend to have flexible schedules, and often work long hours, making them perfect candidates for relaxing, getaway vacations. And with 4 million nurses in the US, there is a huge market opportunity.

CheapCaribbean created a personalized offer for nurses and used it as the keystone of an identity marketing campaign—a form of personalized marketing rooted in deep-seated attributes like a buyer’s career or life stage. The company invited nurses to join its ER&R Club for a chance to win one of 50 trips with free round-trip airfare to a locale of their choice.

The campaign paid off by quickly bringing in more than 8,000 nurses into the travel club. Joining the club gave nurses the inside track on exclusive travel deals, and gave CheapCaribbean a way to nurture long-term brand engagement.

“We knew that rewarding nurses with a personalized offer would be a great way to win their business—and their loyalty,” said Dana Studebaker, Senior Director of Marketing for CheapCaribbean.

Creating personalized offers for nurses was a smart move from the get-go. Research shows that 99% of nurses want to hear about discounts that are exclusively for them. And when asked what brands can do to help them, 65% of nurses said “offer more discounts.”

4 Reasons CheapCaribbean’s Campaign Worked

01 An Attractive Offer

The chance to win a trip to a balmy vacation spot was a creative promotion that captured lots of attention in the press and on social media. More importantly, it was enticing to nurses. When asked what kind of personalized offer would be most appealing, 53% said a free gift.

02 Deep Personalization

Recognizing core aspects of a nurse’s identity— their high-stress job and need for a break—was key to the campaign’s success. Giving 50 nurses a free trip to a tropical climate acknowledged the challenges they face and expressed gratitude for their work. This created the kind of authentic engagement that moves nurses. When given a personalized offer, two-thirds of nurses feel valued and thankful.

03 Instant Verification

CheapCaribbean had tried a similar campaign for teachers in the past, but they used a manual, in-house verification process that took up to 10 days to complete. Not only did this lead to a poor customer experience, it also resulted in high levels of discount abuse.

This time CheapCaribbean wanted to streamline the process while reducing their vulnerability to fraud, so they used digital verification, which instantly verified that everyone redeeming the offer was a nurse. Digital verification created a user-friendly experience, saved CheapCaribbean time, and protected the offer from being abused.

04 Guaranteed Exclusivity

Digital verification also drove the campaign’s success because it ensured nurses that the promotion was truly exclusive, which made it more appealing. It also created tremendous goodwill—a response any company marketing to nurses can achieve. Ninety-six percent of nurses said a personalized offer would positively impact their brand relationship.

“Digital verification greatly simplified our verification process and ensured only nurses could redeem the offer, which increased its value in their eyes,” said Jordan Clegg, CheapCaribbean’s brand manager, integrated marketing. “It also made it easy for us to truly reward them.”

Word of Mouth and Media Coverage Drove Engagement

Identity marketing campaigns to nurses deliver results. CheapCaribbean saw:

85 media pickups in high-value publications like Travel & Leisure as well as targeted nursing media outlets like nurse.org. The broad-based coverage also generated a halo effect. People love supporting nurses!
700 social media comments that generated significant word of mouth because nurses have strong networks. Ninety-seven percent of nurses say they would share an offer with other nurses.
2x higher email open rates than typical campaigns. Nurses want to hear from brands that honor them.
8,000 new nurse customers ready to enter CheapCaribbean’s nurture campaigns, which include surveys and specially-designed vacation packages.

CheapCaribbean saved time and revenue savings, too. By using digital verification to implement the program, the company:

Reduced fraudulent applications 36%,
Saved 117 hours that staff could now devote to planning other campaigns.
Reduced by 6 hours per week the ongoing program management workload of their staff.

CheapCaribbean’s successful campaign demonstrated that rewarding nurses is not only the right thing to do, it’s good for business. And now, as the awareness of the essential role nurses play in our society is higher than ever, brands that embrace nurses with personalized offers can reap the halo effect of a grateful public as well.