Ways to Create Valuable Experiences for Your Customers

Elixia sent emails and postcards to members which contained a personalized URL (PURL). The PURL was to be used solely for the purpose of friend referrals. Members were incentivized with up to six months free membership for referrals.

The campaign generated a healthy return for Elixia via one-to-one cross-media, said Carone. Here's a sample of the results:

• 27.5 percent of the PURLs were visited;
• 2,500 new members signed up; and
• Elixia's annual revenue increased by 1.5 million euros.

Maine's Office of Tourism wanted to know how a personalized, one-to-one conversation with consumers would impact its business. So it tested two direct mail pieces: its regular tourism book served as the control vs. a personalized mailer customized to the interests of recipients (e.g., included photos of activities they'd be interested in if they visited Maine) based on preferences given to the state on its tourism department website.

To the surprise of none of the direct marketers in the audience, the personalized piece won hands down. It generated a 24 percent increase in response, and a 23 percent increase in Maine's tourism revenues.

And What Not to Do
Carone concluded her presentation by providing a couple of examples of personalized, one-to-one cross-media campaigns gone wrong:

Proving to be a good sport, Carone took her own company to task for its immediate infatuation with Second Life. Do your research to determine if new technologies are fad or function before investing in them, she said. As for Xerox's status on Second Life, Carone joked, “Customers want conversations in their first life.”

Next on the chopping block was the marketing team for movie Saw V. It decided to make personal phone calls to scare people, and at the end of the call let them in on the fact that it was a promotional call for the film. Needless to say this campaign didn't go over too well, as frightened consumers never made it to the sales pitch.