Dear Bloomingdale's: I am not your friend. None of my friends or family members work for Bloomingdale's. So why did I receive six emails in seven days about your "invite only" friends and family offer?
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The email Bloomingdale's sent was pretty generic looking, but not as generic as the promo code "GIFT" which only confirms that this is not an exclusive invite-only offer.
Macy's thinks they are my friend as well.
While this guy looks like a nice enough bloke, I don't think we're friends. I probably would have remembered meeting him. Note that the same promo code "MACYSFRIEND' is used for the generic offer as well as the Polo offer. This means they aren't tracking sales back to the specific email promotion. At least they tied the promo code in with the campaign.
Condé Nast sent this offer to subscribers of Bon Appétit. There's only one problem with that. I don't subscribe to Bon Appétit. I agreed to get one free copy when I made a purchase at Sur La Table three months ago. At least it's a good offer - a year subscription to some top titles for only $10 per year. But this is a subscriber offer, not a friends and family offer.
The one brand in my In Box that got it right was Timberland. The first clue was that it came from someone I am actually friends with, and not the brand itself. She included a personalized note to state why she was sharing the offer.Timberland also used an 11 digit alpha-numeric code which they reference as the sender's "personal event promo code". Great job by Timberland on this one. Plus, at 40%, it's a very compelling offer
(I've intentionally obscured the promo code at my friend's request.)
As for Bloomie's, Macy's and Condé Nast, I prefer to think of us as just acquaintances. But the Polo guy can call me a friend. I'm fine with that.
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