December 01, 2012
If you were the head of consumer insights at a company, would you turn in a marketing colleague for questionable compensation practices?
September 01, 2012
What's in our mailbox this month? Credit card applications from Target, Discover, American Express, and Sears.
August 22, 2012
Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada are the most active states for direct response spending, while Oregon, Indiana, Tennessee, and Michigan are the least, according to payment processing company Litle & Co., which released its findings Aug. 22.
December 08, 2011
American Express has partnered with Seamless, an e-commerce provider for restaurants, to offer discounts to members of American Express' Blue Savings Program, both companies said Dec. 8.
December 01, 2011
Discover Financial Services will sponsor a holiday-themed expansion of social gaming company Zynga's "FarmVille" game. The sponsorship, which enables consumers to earn gifts by completing virtual challenges, will go live to the public on Dec. 5.
Gamification, the use of game design techniques and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences, can affect the end of interchange fees levied on merchants by credit and debit card companies, Seth Priebatsch, chief ninja (actual title) of mobile app company SCVNGR, told attendees at Geekend, a technology-focused event that was part of the Direct Marketing Association 2011 Conference & Exhibition in Boston.
Barclaycard US, the payments business of financial services company Barclays, has launched a shopping platform for more than 1,000 co-branded card programs. The platform will enable cardholders to automatically earn discounts, rewards, miles and cash back for on- and offline purchases with participating retailers.
If I'm a Visa executive, I'm looking at the mobile carriers as though they're my university-mandated college roommate who's not really my style but brought the min-fridge: "Hey, buddy, I'll grab the beer."
The amount of money spent at US merchant locations increased by 8.8% in June, compared with the prior year, according to First Data Corp.'s SpendTrend analysis for the month. The report measured credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks spending.
June 01, 2011
The United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU), a nonprofit financial institution serving more than 90,000 United Nations agency staffers, retirees and their families, wanted to launch a Visa "smart card" aimed at individuals who travel frequently overseas.
MasterCard Worldwide launched an integrated marketing campaign May 16 to promote new features of its World Elite card. The direct mail, email and print effort highlights new Elite benefits, such as a global concierge service, price assure for travelers and exclusive golf packages. The financial services company worked with McCann-Erickson on the initiative's print elements and R/GA on the campaign's online elements and microsite.
Visa said it will launch an electronic payments platform this fall designed to simplify and secure online, mobile and social networking transactions. The product will also allow consumers to shop across channels without abandoning an electronic shopping cart.
April 18, 2011
The next big change providing utility in mobile devices will be the adoption of the "mobile wallet" technology and solutions.
The results of the Small Merchant Data Security Survey, sponsored by First Data and the National Retail Federation, might leave consumers feeling a bit naked in the wind.
US consumers received approximately 1.2 billion direct mail offers for new credit cards in the third quarter of 2010, a sharp increase from the 391 million received in Q3 2009, according to data from Mintel Comperemedia. The top senders of credit card mail are Chase, Citi, American Express and Discover, according to Mintel.
Bank Freedom, a subsidiary of Prepaid Card Holdings Inc., is conducting a direct marketing campaign for a co-branded, prepaid debit card for the 1 million-plus members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.
Canadian credit card acquisition direct mail volumes dropped 57% last year, totaling just more than 150 million pieces. In 2008, the category saw an all time high of nearly 350 million pieces, according to statistics released April 1 by Mintel Corporation.
Macy's Inc., owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, has partnered with American Express to create co-branded credit cards, which will be issued by Citi in the second half of this year. The partnership was announced March 31.
Credit card-related direct mail volume jumped during last year's fourth quarter. It was the first increase in three years, although the total amount of credit card mail pieces pales in comparison to pre-recession amounts, according to research from Mintel Corporation released January 28.
Rob Borden joined Carnival Cruise Lines as VP of customer marketing on December 7. He is overseeing the company's direct and e-mail marketing efforts, including its loyalty programs and co-branded credit card. Those efforts are designed to grow ticket and onboard revenues across all distribution channels, according to a statement from Carnival.
American Express has launched an analytics and consulting organization, called American Express Business Insights, to help its business customers develop better-informed strategies. The new unit, announced November 19, will study the aggregate trend analysis and spending patterns of approximately 90 million cards across 127 markets to provide business planning and marketing expertise.
Outdoor products multichannel retailer Cabela's has partnered with CHS, an energy, grains and food company, to launch a credit card and loyalty program for CHS' Cenex brand, a wholesaler and retailer of refined fuels. This is the first card Cabela's credit card division, World's Foremost Bank, has created with another retailer. The companies announced the partnership on October 20.
Like most Americans, there has been something missing from my mailbox for months now - countless credit card solicitations.
Alliance Data Systems, a provider of loyalty and credit card services, has signed a multiyear agreement with Pacific Dental Services (PDS). As part of the deal, Alliance will supply PDS with patient financing and marketing services through a private-label credit card program for dental procedures.
Multichannel apparel merchant Charming Shoppes Inc. has agreed to sell its private label credit card receivables to Alliance Data Systems Corp. At the same time, the companies have entered into a 10-year agreement for Alliance Data to assume operation of the private label credit card receivables program. Charming Shoppes said it expects gross proceeds from the deal will be approximately $140 million, of which Charming Shoppes will use approximately $30 million to fund the termination of contractual obligations related to the transaction. Charming Shoppes expects the deal to close before the end of the year.
Company of the week R2C GroupR2C creates, produces, distributes and measures messages that inspire and compel consumers to do something with a brand to drive commercial advantage. The full-service advertising agency specializes in creative, production, media, analytics and performance. |
What's in our mailbox this month: fitness postcards from Retro Fitness, American Woman Fitness Centers, Union's United Taekwondo Academy, and Bally Total Fitness. (We're totally pumped.)
Social data can improve a brand's bottom line and customer relationships. Just ask brands Infiniti and Diamond Nexus.
Here are three must-have data sets that every marketer should include in his or her email strategy.
