From Plateau to Performance: How Fusable Transformed Email Engagement with First-Party Data
Automated email campaigns are the unsung workhorses of audience engagement in publishing. The welcome series greets new subscribers and sets the tone for the relationship. The re-engagement series tries to win back readers who’ve gone quiet. When they work, they build loyalty, keep subscribers active, and prove the value of your brand.
But what happens when those dependable programs stall out?
That was the challenge facing Fusable, a media company serving the trucking and heavy-duty construction industries. Despite strong brands and an engaged readership, their automated campaigns had flatlined. Across four flagship titles, response rates had slipped to 1% or less. Something had to change.
The Challenge: Flatlined Engagement
Fusable’s automated series had two critical jobs:
- Welcome Series: Help new subscribers see immediate value and start engaging with content.
- Re-engage Series: Remind dormant subscribers — those absent for 90+ days — why they signed up in the first place.
But over time, the campaigns became too generic. Messages felt one-size-fits-all, and updating the series was a heavy lift for the team. The result? Engagement that had once driven steady results was now stagnant.
The team set an ambitious goal: double engagement rates — and do it in a way that could scale.
The Insight: First-Party Data Was the Key
Like many publishers, Fusable already had something powerful: first-party data via the Omeda platform.
They had invested in building detailed audience personas based on job function — executives, operations managers, safety leaders, maintenance managers, and technicians. Up to this point, those personas had been used mainly to guide editorial decisions.
But what if they could be applied to marketing automation, too?
Instead of treating every subscriber the same, the team realized they could create role-specific email journeys that spoke directly to the unique challenges and goals of each persona.
The Execution: Personalization at Scale
Armed with their personas in Omeda’s Audience Builder and leveraging Omeda’s Odyssey automated journey tool, Fusable rebuilt their automated series from the ground up.
- Segmentation by Role: Executives received strategic insights, while technicians got practical tips for the shop floor.
- Value-Driven Messaging: Emails stopped promoting “what’s popular” and started highlighting how content could solve real problems.
- Tone Shift: A more approachable, conversational style replaced traditional B2B formality.
- Premium Content & Editor Access: Subscribers could connect directly with subject-matter experts and dig deeper into the content.
- Operational Efficiency: A streamlined structure cut down the need for constant updates, keeping campaigns fresh and sustainable.
For lapsed readers, the re-engagement series took a straightforward approach: showcase brand value, make it easy to re-engage, or offer a clean unsubscribe.
The Results: From Plateau to Performance
The impact was immediate — and dramatic.
“We have been thrilled with the results … This significant improvement demonstrated the effectiveness of our tailored content in engaging new subscribers.” — Paul Daniel, Director of Audience, Fusable
🚚 Trucking Welcome Series
- +138% unique clicks/delivered
- +158% unique clicks/opened
- +328% unique clicks/delivered YoY
- +354% unique clicks/opened YoY
🏗 Construction Welcome Series
- +592% unique clicks/delivered
- +2,228% unique clicks/opened
- +136% unique clicks/delivered YoY
- +407% unique clicks/opened YoY
What had been a plateau became a performance breakthrough.
The Strategic Shift: More Than Just a Refresh
This wasn’t just about fixing emails. It was about changing the way the team thought about audience engagement.
- From promoting pre-packaged content → to designing experiences that help subscribers succeed
- From formal, corporate B2B language → to human, approachable communication
- From labor-intensive updates → to sustainable automation that scales
Fusable repositioned its brands from being just “content providers” to being essential resources for industry leaders.
The Takeaway for Publishers
Fusable’s story shows what’s possible when publishers harness their first-party data. Personalization isn’t just about putting a name in a subject line — it’s about using data to deliver content that feels immediately valuable, relevant, and worth engaging with.
By applying the same persona-driven strategy to their email automation that they’d already used in editorial, Fusable didn’t just improve metrics — they transformed relationships with their audience.
👉 Ready to unlock the same results with your first-party data? Book your demo today
