Which messenger - City vs. San Antonio Food Bank - drives higher engagement with emails and surveys?

The City sent 39,421 residents an email from one of two (randomly assigned) messengers—the City or the San Antonio Food Bank—to ask them to share feedback about City Hall to Go in a survey. The City wanted to learn which messenger drives higher engagement with emails and surveys.

Residents who received the City’s email were 36% more likely to open it, twice as likely to click through, and twice as likely to complete the survey than those receiving the Food Bank’s email. Results within subgroups (gender, race, ethnicity, age) mirror the overall results except for Spanish-speaking residents.​ Both email senders performed equally among Spanish-speaking residents. While email open rates were much lower (overall, 28% Spanish vs. 40% English), survey response rates were similar.​