Continental Airlines-UK Selects Silverpop to Help Engage Travellers with Targeted Email Marketing Programme

LONDON, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- With travellers researching trips and fares more carefully than ever, travel providers must maintain a constant and highly relevant dialogue with potential customers in order to influence purchasing decisions and increase customer loyalty within this highly competitive space.  Continental Airlines has selected Silverpop®, a leading provider of email marketing and marketing automation solutions, as its email service provider for the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"We selected Silverpop based on their excellent track record in achieving great results for clients in the travel industry," said Shelley Hinde, Continental Airlines' marketing manager for the UK and Ireland. "Their ideas and approach to implementing engaging campaigns will be instrumental in assisting us in retaining a loyal customer base and building upon the successes we've seen when communicating locally."

Continental Airlines uses its email program to increase travel from its nine UK and Irish airports to New York and across the Americas by providing special fare offers to subscribers. To remain top of mind, the airline also distributes quarterly newsletters and important updates to its trade and corporate clients—such as increased services from Heathrow to New York and the recent introduction of their BusinessFirst Flat Bed Seat. The airline now plans to integrate several of Silverpop's proprietary features into these campaigns to extend reach and connect with consumers at optimal times.

With sophisticated tools such as Send Time Optimization and Share-to-Social that enable users to send email messages when recipients are most likely to open, and let email subscribers share favorite messages to social networking sites, Silverpop helps travel companies like Continental Airlines, increase customer loyalty and ensure they are top of mind when travellers are ready to book.

"Share-to-Social will be fantastic for increasing Continental's exposure to like-minded individuals and we also look forward to watching Send Time Optimization increase our interaction with customers by reaching them at the right time," added Hinde.

East Coast Trains, another leading travel provider and Silverpop client, has experienced tremendous success with Silverpop's Share-to-Social feature in particular. The company, operated by U.K.-based public transport group National Express Group, significantly bolstered their viral marketing activities and reached a new set of potential customers after placing social network links in their emails.  Seventeen percent of emails that subscribers shared on their social networks were opened at least once, and 33 percent of the people who opened a link clicked on the content. Other Silverpop travel industry clients such as Air New Zealand, bmibaby and Miles Media are also finding value with this tool.

About Silverpop

Silverpop is a leading provider of email marketing and marketing automation solutions.  It helps marketers turn prospects into customers-and customers into fans-through the creation, automation and delivery of relevant, multichannel digital messaging.  Companies rely on the Silverpop Engage platform to create and manage sophisticated email marketing campaigns that reach millions of individuals-one at a time-engaging prospective customers and enhancing lifetime customer value and brand loyalty. Silverpop's marketing automation capabilities enable B2B marketers to efficiently manage leads and drive qualified sales opportunities through scoring and by nurturing campaigns that move prospects from interest to conversion. Silverpop's industry-leading thought capital, strategic counsel, service and support helps B2C and B2B customers with the precise level of training and advice needed to quickly improve campaign results and ROI. With offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, Silverpop's marketing technologies are used by industry-leading brands around the globe. Best practices and white papers are available at www.silverpop.com.

About Continental

Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,700 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 132 domestic and 137 international destinations. Continental is a member of Star Alliance, which overall offers more than 21,050 daily flights to 1,167 airports in 181 countries through its  28 member airlines. With more than 40,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with its regional partners, carries approximately 63 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. For nine consecutive years, FORTUNE magazine has ranked Continental as the top U.S. airline on its "World's Most Admired Companies" airline industry list. For more company information, go to continental.com.

CONTACT: Wyatt Jefferies, Silverpop, +1-770-763-3049, [email protected]

SOURCE Silverpop