Agency: Catalyst Direct
Location: Rochester, NY
Year Founded: 1990
Number of offices: One
2009 Revenue: Total revenue: $9.5 million; Digital: $2.7 million (28%); Traditional: $6.8 million
Web site: http://www.catalystinc.com
Key executive: Michael Osborn and Jeff Cleary, Managing Directors
Major discipline/capability: Research, Strategy, Analytics, Creative, Web Sites, Databases, SEM/SEO, Teleservices, Campaign Analysis
Key clients: Eastman Kodak Company, ITT, Aetna, AAA, M&T Bank, Bausch & Lomb, Carestream Health, The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, GE Consumer Finance, Rochester Institute of Technology
Latest trends: Emphasis on building the brand: engaging customers at every point of contact as clients shift more of their budgets to digital and become increasingly willing to test alternative media.
In 2009, fully 28% of our business grew to digital.
The web has changed everything — relationships exist at the customer’s discretion. Direct marketers must be increasingly relevant, accessible, preference-driven, and channel-neutral. The key is to deliver consistent branded experiences and messages across all channels: mail, phone, and web. A holistic 3D customer view and cross-channel integration are critical. The lines of demarcation between digital and direct marketing are blurring — direct is digital, and digital is direct. There is a growing demand for multi-channel analytics: real-time campaign reporting and analysis, custom modeling.
Notable new campaigns: Bausch & Lomb PreserVision Joy of Sight Member Program — information kit, quarterly communications, yearly survey and calendar; AAA — predictive model, direct mail, web; Carestream Health – email, direct mail, web, telemarketing; Sam’s Club Credit Holiday Promotion – email, direct mail, statement stuffers; Kodak D2L Workforce Solution – direct mail, nonresponder email, web, microsite