Test, learn, repeat: How pilot marketing campaigns help drive success

Consumers face a constant stream of marketing content across various platforms – an estimated 5,000+ ads per day, in fact. With such a barrage of messaging, it’s imperative that brands continually challenge channel messaging and other marketing strategies to ensure they cut through the chaos.

On top of that, marketers face another significant challenge – reduced budgets. In May 2024, a Gartner study of 300 CMOs found marketing budgets dropped 15 percent when compared to 2023.

Given these obstacles and the other challenges marketers face, innovative solutions are a must for maximizing outreach and conversions while still preserving the bottom line; enter pilot campaigns.

Like test-driving a vehicle before purchasing, pilot campaigns allow marketers to start small while gathering information to make informed decisions. By leveraging data, marketers can implement data-driven pilot programs that provide key insights to help efficiently and effectively grow their business.

What is a pilot marketing campaign and why is it helpful?

A pilot program is a small-scale campaign designed to check the viability of a specific marketing strategy – whether it’s marketing channel efficacy, audience selection or offer and promotional testing. By selecting a narrow marketing focus, pilots strategically offer a controlled environment and budget to properly vet marketing concepts and tactics. This plasticity allows marketers to quickly fine-tune their efforts as learnings funnel in.

How to implement a pilot marketing campaign

Step 1: Identify the objective
First, marketers should identify the problem they’re solving for, plus their desired outcome. Is the pilot set up to prove or disprove a theory? It’s crucial to understand what is being tested and why its success or failure is imperative for the outcome of any pilot initiative.

Step 2: Build a strategy
Identify levers that can be used to test and learn. What offer, call-to-action, channel, dataset and/or creative should be used to reach the target audience? Keep in mind that the more tests are put into a pilot, the muddier the results. Ideally, the pilot should only test one to two hypotheses, allowing the program to deliver actionable results.

Step 3: Run the pilot program!
Marketers should spend time thinking about measurement prior to execution – this ensures the campaign is built to produce the right metrics.

Step 4: Develop a measurement schedule and KPIs for benchmarking purposes
All the data needed to make intelligent decisions won’t be aggregated at once. In the beginning, the more immediate insights achieved will be more directional than absolute, which allows for some adjustments to be made. Once the campaign is fully cured, rigorously measuring the results will allow the team to make bigger refinements and take advantage of new learnings.

What metrics matter in a pilot campaign?

 To achieve an effective pilot, measure relevant data points, including:

• Return on investment: How much money did the campaign cost, and how much revenue did it generate? Other important metrics can be Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) or Cost Per Incremental Order (CPIO).
• Performance efficiency: How can the campaign be fine-tuned for a larger-scale launch? Leverage consumer and business population data to find behavioral or geographical traits to distinguish responders from non-responders.
• Response rate: How did the response rate compare to prior campaigns? What was the percentage lift or decrease and how does that compare to the marketing budget?
• Conversion rate: It is important to understand the difference between engagement and conversion. Can insights be used to help narrow the gap between the two?
• Channel strategy effectiveness: How well did the selected marketing channel perform? Was direct mail, digital, social, connected TV or email the clear winner (especially when channel cost is factored)? It’s important to test the channels against initial assumptions.

Pilot programs in action

Pilot campaigns are a great way to identify promising strategies and channels. Here are some real-world examples where pilot programs have led to significant outcomes, showcasing the power of strategic planning and data-driven insights:

Communications provider sees major boost in response rates

When a global communications company was struggling to identify and acquire new customers in smaller, rural markets, while keeping acquisition costs low, it selected Deluxe to activate a life event trigger campaign focused on new movers. Deluxe developed a direct mail strategy which involved delivering first-class mail to new movers every week. The pilot campaign tested nine different sources, with a goal of determining which sources and markets were most effective.

Based on the nine-source pilot results, Deluxe recommended a new program using data from only the top three providers. This recommendation resulted in three times more incremental response rates, maximizing the communications provider’s budget.  

Mattress retailer's pilot program boosts orders

A leading online mattress retailer wanted to expand into the brick-and-mortar retail space to grow revenue and increase brand awareness. The company had prior experience testing new mover data, but felt they were not reaching potential customers fast enough. In fact, by the time they reached new movers with a marketing message, many had already made a mattress purchase.

Deluxe recommended a pilot program testing its new mover data against multi-sourced, “first to the market” pre-mover data, allowing the company to reach movers earlier in their shopping journey.

The campaign targeted 50,000 households (e.g., new movers, pre-movers who were under contract, pre-movers who had their homes listed for sale and a control group). This campaign was deployed over a four-week period, each week featuring a coupon code for 15 percent off any purchase. Pre-movers generated an impressive 45 percent lift in orders generated compared to new movers, leading to more units being sold, increased sales revenue and improved ROAS.

Implement best practices to accomplish objectives

Identifying and implementing proven best practices can help marketers save time and money for critical campaigns. The old adage of “keep it simple, stupid” is a great way to start, such as focusing solely on the marketing channel with the best performance; others can be added post- pilot. Testing multiple channels simultaneously can blur results and distract from achieving the objective.

Additionally, be patient; allow for enough time for the campaign to perform. Take a wait-and-see approach, giving the audience time to respond and build enough sample for statistical validity. In most cases, data collection usually takes up to 60 days after the campaign ends, but reporting can be shared throughout the campaign. 

It’s also important for marketers to keep measurability at the forefront of any campaign. Consumers’ responses will help identify what worked and what didn’t. However, using other data, such as the home type, income or geography, can help enhance performance.

The bottom line

With all the messages being delivered daily to consumers, layered in with reduced marketing budgets, pilot programs can be a real secret weapon in a marketer’s toolkit. With a bit of thoughtful strategy and planning upfront, the results can be incredibly valuable for lead generation, customer acquisition and overall business impact. In sum, pilot marketing programs provide critical insights to help avoid costly pitfalls and are an essential tool for effective campaigns.