CASE STUDY
Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa
In-store spa service sales increased by 25%.
THE CHALLENGE
Help a wellness facility boost in store visits and sales
With 27 locations in Canada and growing, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa is bringing what was once considered luxury services to the Canadian mass market. But to fuel its growth in the Ontario market, it’s had to take a different strategic approach.
Head & Stone Massage, together with its marketing partner Canada Post, tapped trueSCAN to optimize the design of direct mail pieces using predictive eye tracking.
KEY INSIGHT
Attention dominated by facial expression, not call to action
Disconnect between imagery and call to action
In previous direct mail iterations, attention would be focused in a single point: the model’s facial expression. That’s because the human brain is wired to automatically detect faces among other written or imagery content. However, attention on the face of a model does not benefit the promotion details or brand identity. This is especially true in instances where the model is looking straight ahead.
Information overload
In addition, the amount of content makes it difficult to identify a main call to action or “next step”. The mind can only process one idea at a time, so a single and specific message is preferred.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Use faces to guide attention toward a key message and promotion
Use facial expressions to convey personality and also help draw the eye to a key message.
Bring awareness to the promotional offer by having model looking toward the text.
Pair a simple background colour/texture with with large, bold and concise text.
“As soon as the mailers dropped, the prospects started coming in the door” – Anita Wells, Marketing Manager, Hand & Stone Spa
RESULTS
25.2% increase
in total service sales
Hand & Stone launched a new direct mail campaign, totaling 5,000 pieces over nine weeks. Number of facials grew by 25.2% compared to the previous year of sales.