LONG BEACH, CA — Deborah Pine, principal of Valassis' PreVision Marketing, made the case yesterday for her firm's version of optimized consumer response versus simply direct response.
A trademarked term, optimized consumer response combines a knowledge of consumer behavior with learning from exhaustive testing of direct communications, “interpreted for current economic and marketing conditions as well as key segments,” Pine told attendees at the National Center for Database Marketing's summer show.
Direct response is creatively driven, but optimized consumer response is data and behaviorally driven. Direct response focuses on offer response. Pine's suggested methodology focuses on all consumer purchase behavior, both long and short term, and return on investment.
Also, direct response applies to a single promotion, she said, while optimized consumer response applies to integrated consumer communications.
Pine suggested 10 ways to optimize consumer response. These include:
· Create the need and provide the incentive.
· Leverage existing behavior versus creating new behavior.
· Create relevance without limiting appeal.
· Develop focus and provide navigation.
· Provide clarity and specificity.
Attendees also were encouraged to provide continuity and reinforcement. They were told to create exclusivity. Both incremental trips and spending should be created. Barriers should be minimized. Finally, “pay attention to how consumers interpret written communication,” Pine said.
