Design Rewards Program Lifecycle Emails

Project Overview - We are seeking a creative partner to develop a cohesive design system and lifecycle design strategy for our Rewards Program email communications within Mailchimp. The goal is to move beyond individual, disconnected emails and create a consistent customer journey that communicates the value of being a member while providing timely reasons to visit our stores. The final system should be designed to be practical for ongoing use by our Marketing team and scalable as the Rewards Program evolves. Primary Objective The primary objective of this project is to use email to drive incremental in-store traffic and ultimately increase sales and average basket size. The email lifecycle should: • Increase awareness and perceived value of the rewards program • Encourage new members to make our stores part of their weekly routine • Increase shopping frequency • Re-engage customers who have become inactive • Promote weekly rewards savings and monthly savings • Encourage customers to explore additional departments and products • Increase use of member-exclusive offers • Build stronger customer loyalty • Increase average basket • Create clear and compelling reasons to visit Target Customer The primary audience is someone who values natural, organic, clean-ingredient, and better-for-you foods but is also increasingly value-conscious. The customer base includes health-conscious adults and households who appreciate: • Natural and organic products • Clean ingredients • Fresh produce • Chef-prepared meals • Quality meat and seafood • Bakery products made with carefully selected ingredients • Convenience • Local and community-oriented businesses • Meaningful savings and exclusive offers The creative should balance health, quality, discovery, and value without making the Rewards Program feel overly promotional or discount-driven. Scope of Work The selected partner will create a cohesive design lifecycle for the following nine Rewards Program email communications. 1. Weekly Rewards-Only Savings Create a flexible, repeatable email template highlighting the current week's exclusive savings. The template should be designed to accommodate featured products and offers from the Monthly Ad, allowing the weekly Rewards email to extend the reach and value of existing promotional content. The design should: • Clearly communicate that these are Rewards Member-only savings • Create urgency and a reason to shop during the promotional period • Encourage multiple-item purchases where appropriate • Incorporate relevant Monthly Ad features • Provide a strong call to action to visit the store 2. Rewards Sign-Up: Welcome Create a welcome email for new members. The email should clearly explain the value of membership and create excitement around becoming a member. Content should introduce key benefits, including applicable: • Rewards savings • Weekly member-only offers • Birthday benefits • Exclusive promotions • Personalized offers • App functionality • Other relevant program benefits The objective is to move the customer from sign-up to repeat purchase. 3. Seven Days After Rewards Sign-Up Create a follow-up email designed to engage a new member approximately seven days after joining. The purpose is to reinforce the value of membership and provide a compelling reason to make their first or next visit. The email should potentially include: • Reminder of Rewards benefits • Current savings opportunities • Featured products • Store departments • A compelling offer or reason to visit • App/rewards functionality • Clear store-visit CTA 4. Thirty Days After Rewards Sign-Up Create an email for members approximately 30 days after joining. The objective is to deepen engagement and encourage continued shopping behavior. The creative should reinforce: • The ongoing value of membership • Savings available every week • Exclusive member benefits • Reasons to shop multiple departments • Opportunities to discover new products • A clear reason to visit the store 5. Profile Completion Create an email encouraging Rewards members to complete their customer profile. The email should communicate why completing their profile benefits the customer and should make the process feel simple and worthwhile. Potential benefits to communicate include more relevant offers, personalized communications, birthday benefits, and a better Rewards experience. The creative should include a strong, prominent CTA to complete the customer's profile. 6. Haven't Shopped in 30 Days Create a re-engagement email targeting Rewards members who have not made a purchase in approximately 30 days. The objective is to remind the customer why they shop at Mustard Seed and provide a compelling reason to return. Messaging should focus on: • What they may be missing • Current savings • New products • Popular departments o Market Kitchen o Fresh produce o Butcher Shop o Bakery • Other compelling reasons to visit The tone should feel like a personal invitation to come back, rather than a generic "we miss you" message. 7. Haven't Shopped in 60 Days Create a stronger re-engagement email for members who have not shopped in approximately 60 days. This communication should recognize that the customer has become significantly less engaged and provide a strong incentive or reason to return. The email should: • Reintroduce the value of our stores • Highlight compelling savings or benefits • Feature products or departments • Create urgency where appropriate • Encourage the customer to return to the store • Support a potential win-back strategy 8. Birthday Brownie Create a birthday email celebrating the member and promoting their birthday benefit. The communication should feel personal, celebratory, and consistent with our brand. The design should make the Birthday Brownie benefit highly visible while also creating an opportunity to encourage a store visit and potentially additional purchases. 9. Weekly Flash Sale Coupon Create a reusable, high-impact email template for a weekly Rewards Flash Sale coupon designed to create urgency and drive same-day store traffic. The email will be deployed at approximately 7:00 AM on the day of the Flash Sale, with the objective of motivating Rewards members to visit Mustard Seed that same day to take advantage of a limited-time offer. Example: TODAY ONLY: 20% OFF PRODUCE The creative should immediately communicate: • The offer • That the offer is exclusive to Rewards members • That the offer is available TODAY ONLY • The urgency to shop that day • Any applicable restrictions or redemption requirements • A clear call to action to visit the store The design should be visually distinct from the standard Weekly Rewards email while remaining clearly connected to the overall Friends of the Seed brand and email system. The template should be designed to support a variety of Flash Sale offers, including: • Percentage-off discounts • Dollar-off discounts • Department-specific offers • Product-specific offers • Limited-time promotions Because the email will be deployed at 7:00 AM, the creative should be optimized for immediate consumption. The customer should understand what the offer is, why it matters, and why they need to shop today within seconds of opening the email. This email will create a sense of urgency that motivates Rewards members to make a same-day visit, while using compelling, member-exclusive savings to generate incremental sales and increase basket size. Design System & Lifecycle Requirements The nine communications should function as one cohesive Rewards Program experience, not nine unrelated email designs. The selected partner should develop a consistent system including: • Email design framework • Visual hierarchy • Typography for emails • Color usage • CTA • Promotional offer treatment • Headline and messaging hierarchy • Footer and brand elements • Mobile-first design considerations Templates should be designed to allow our Marketing team to update content without requiring a designer to rebuild each email from scratch. Mailchimp Requirements Partner is responsible for designing only. All designs must be developed with Mailchimp implementation in mind. Deliverables • Cohesive Rewards email design system o Nine email designs/templates • Weekly Rewards Flash Sale reusable template • Monthly Ad integration recommendation for Weekly Rewards Only Email • Mobile-responsive design • Mailchimp-ready templates in Adobe (so we are able to revise if necessary) Proposal Requirements Please include the following in your proposal: Overview • Company/Contractor name • Primary contact • Years in business • Relevant experience Relevant Experience • Experience with grocery, retail, CPG, loyalty, or rewards programs • Experience developing email lifecycle programs • Experience with Mailchimp • Examples of comparable work • Case studies, if available Approach • Recommended approach to the project • Recommended customer lifecycle • Design philosophy • Strategy for driving store visits • Approach to increasing average basket • Recommended testing methodology Scope & Deliverables • Specific deliverables included • Items not included • Number of design revisions Timeline • Project start date • Discovery/strategy timeline • Creative development timeline • Review/revision process • Final delivery date • Mailchimp implementation timeline, if applicable Investment Please provide: • One-time project cost • Cost per email/template, if applicable • Any additional anticipated costs