CMO Council and InfoPrint Collaborate on Loyalty Campaign
BOULDER, CO—May 12, 2009—InfoPrint Solutions Company, the joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council today announced that they will launch a six-month milestone research initiative to determine key areas of optimization and opportunity and develop best practices for leveraging and maximizing loyalty programs. The research will highlight new, creative ways marketers can use retention marketing programs including rewards, loyalty, perk and points programs to engage and grow customers and advocates, a critical mandate for survival in today’s tough economy. Getting a Business Lift from Loyalty™ will audit and assess the operations and innovation in loyalty club programs as well as gain a deep understanding of the value and utilization of customer data to drive response rates and top line growth.
According to research from the CMO Council, more than 75 percent of consumers are members of loyalty or rewards programs and 25 percent belong to two or more. Although marketers continue to spend more than $1 billion on these campaigns, many have not defined clear and precise strategies for optimizing revenue potential through them. Getting a Lift from Loyalty plans to address the value of personal, relevant and contextual communications that can show marketers a defined route to revenue.
“Pinpointing new routes to revenue has highlighted a need for marketers to fully leverage investments in loyalty and rewards programs, yet all too often, these programs neglect to mine, utilize and take advantage of this valued customer engagement opportunity,” said Liz Miller, Vice President of Programs & Operations for the CMO Council. “Our work with InfoPrint has been a very successful and informative experience. The results of our recent ‘Routes to Revenue’ campaign showed that personalized and relevant marketing initiatives deliver impressive, measurable results. Once again, we have best of breed best practices from the pioneers in personalized communications channels as well as a roster of professional experts from the marketing and IT worlds collaborating to find the true dollar value of precise, targeted and timely personalized communications.”
Part of the initiative will be the development of multiple pilots to explore optimized communication within loyalty programs. These pilots come on the heels of two customized campaigns for Best Western International, THE WORLD’S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN® and one of the top five U.S. cable companies, both part of the Precision Promotion (www.precisionpromotion.com) campaign. The pilots highlight key opportunities for companies looking to drive growth and customer engagement through highly personalized, relevant and measurable campaigns.
“It is truly evident by the compelling results of our work last year that loyalty programs within many organizations can drive top line results and, together with the CMO Council, we are helping companies see the true potential of their loyalty and reward programs,” said Lee Gallagher, Manager of Direct Marketing Solutions at InfoPrint Solutions Company. “Our approach is not to jump in and restructure existing processes, but rather to work seamlessly as a team to leverage existing customer data to drive more personalized and relevant marketing programs. Based on our previous outcomes, this collaboration brings quantifiable value to our customers.”
* Best Western Disclaimer
The Best Western International TransPromo results were obtained through a pilot project conducted by InfoPrint Solutions Company for Best Western and the CMO Council and are reused with their permission.
The program was part of the Routes to Revenue research initiative sponsored by InfoPrint Solutions Company and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council. The transpromo pilot was run at the InfoPrint Innovation Center in Boulder, Colo., and output sent to selected Best Western hotel guests on their rewards statements. InfoPrint leveraged their TransPromo Consultancy Practice and software offerings from best of breed partners to design the transpromo statements which were then printed on the InfoPrint 5000 full color, continuous forms inkjet drop-on-demand printing system.
** CSG Systems Disclaimer
The CSG TransPromo results were obtained through a pilot project conducted for a U.S. cable operator by InfoPrint Solutions Company, working with the CMO Council, and are reused with their permission
About the CMO Council
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council's 4,000 members control more than $120 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and it's strategic interest communities include over 6,000 global executives across 57 countries in multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Brand Management Institute, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at www.cmocouncil.org.
About InfoPrint Solutions Company
InfoPrint Solutions Company, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, is a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh built on IBM’s nearly 50 years in the production print space and Ricoh’s excellence in technology innovation. Together, the two companies are bringing to market a portfolio that includes solutions for production printing for enterprises and commercial printers, as well as office workgroup environments and industrial segments.
Operating in 36 countries worldwide, InfoPrint holds more than 200 technology patents in the printing and output related industry including the invention of the Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) Architecture, which is a de-facto industry standard for production printing environments. In 2010, InfoPrint will become a fully owned subsidiary of The Ricoh Company, joining an extensive portfolio of innovative technology brands in the Ricoh family. Ricoh Company Ltd., is 72-year-old leading supplier of office automation equipment and electronics, with fiscal year 2007 sales in excess of $22 billion, a 7.3 percent increase over the previous year.
Visit www.infoprint.com for more information.
