January 2009

Marketing budget slashed?
For UNICEF Canada, the answer is personal. By Cosmo Mariano

ately with all the fear regarding the credit crisis, global market declines and talk of recession,
I’m seeing a lot more marketers making personalization a must-have component of their plan. Let’s face it. Having enjoyed over a decade of continuous economic growth, most marketers have been relatively flush with cash. And even though ROI has been the buzzword in marketing boardrooms
everywhere, trying to create ultra relevant communications that are customized to audiences has generally been an elite player’s sport; done more to show off than out of any real necessity. So, why make the effort to be a content customizing, customer focussed marketer when you can make decent numbers using traditional product driven messages? How does “global recession” sound as justification?

Size matters
Many marketers are facing their upcoming year with a smaller budget and a harder sell, so the search is on for tools that will maximize the persuasive power of every marketing dollar and help pry clenched wallets from petrified consumers’ grasps. And if the last two weeks of calls to our
agency are any indication, personalization experts are going to be in about as much demand as Home Depot’s shovel inventory during a blizzard. Inquisitive marketers are suddenly asking questions such as:

• How much data do we need to personalize our direct mail piece?”
• “How much higher can we expect response rates to be?’
• “Where do we get the personal information from?”
• “Is there a minimum we would have to spend to do something?”
• “Can you get us an e-mail list?”
• “Can we make it personalized and viral?”
• “Oh, and can we incorporate Facebook somehow?”

Quantum leap?
All this added activity reminds me of something an agent friend from Louisiana once told me: Cosmo, quantum leaps are event driven.” It was 1999 and Ronnie was representing one of merica’s leading
power grid experts. When the Y2K scare hit, everyone suddenly wanted a radio interview, sound byte or television appearance from his client “Mr. Power Grid.” Everybody wanted to know whether the lights would go out on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve Times Square extravaganza. And Ronnie was happier than a Zydeco ditty to provide the man with the answers. These two “low profilers” rode the Y2K scare right into the bright lights, big dinners and fancy hotel rooms of the glitterati. Dare I say “Aiyeee?” So, is this what is happening now? Is personalized marketing making a quantum leap thanks to our current economic challenges?

Feeling the pinch
To answer this question, I contacted expert “personalizer” Jennifer Schnare, Direct Marketing anager at UNICEF Canada. Having worked agency-side at Cossette, client-side at TELUS, and now happily
ensconced in a not-for-profit situation, Jennifer is an experienced direct marketer who is quick to see the big picture. “We’re already noticing a tightening of the purse strings,” she admitted. “Unfortunately, charitable donations may be one of the first things to be cut when things get tight. People aren’t about to give up their cell phones or cancel their cable T.V. subscriptions. We are lways trying to be data-driven marketers, but in ’09 it is going to be that much more important. We’re definitely re-thinking our entire strategy – and personalization is a part of that.”

She emphasized that Canadians are renowned for their generosity to the most vulnerable members of society. Because of the tighter economy, she expects donors to become more selective—opting for
organizations that truly deliver on their promise to significantly impact those in need.

Shifting plans
She also explained that getting the most out of UNICEF Canada’s spend will probably require a multi-faceted approach. For starters, there will definitely be a shift in messaging. UNICEF asserts that investing in the health of children and their mothers is one of the surest ways for the world to set a course towards a better future. Ceasing to support society’s most vulnerable and at-risk members
actually exacerbates the cycle of poverty and hinders the sustainability required for all of us to prosper. Next, in an effort to spend marketing dollars on the most productive audience, Jennifer plans to dive into UNICEF Canada’s database to find the most loyal donors and focus in on “best donor profiles” that can be used for optimized targeting. Lastly, she will be using personalization to make the content to these individuals as relevant as possible. “Not-for-profit direct marketing 101 says
that you always personalize to get better results,” she emphasizes. “And simply using a person’s first name doesn’t count. Obviously, based on our experience we will go beyond that as much as data allows us.”

Tipping point or baby step?
How far is that? In December, we dropped a direct mail campaign for Jennifer that had over 384,000 different version possibilities, not counting “first name” and another that used imbedded Personalized
URLs (PURLs) that led responders to a dynamic campaign micro-site (www.unicefvaccination.com). Although the jury may still be out as to whether rapid mass adoption of 1:1 personalization is underway, it is safe to say that marketers are definitely looking at better targeting methods—including personalization—as a way of weathering the oncoming storm. Over the next months, as the extent of economic downturn is revealed, we will see if this increased activity
is simply another incremental step on the personalization adoption scale or the actual tipping point. In the meantime, should I encounter the book’s author Malcolm Gladwell or my old friend Ronnie poking
around the agency, I will let you know.

Cosmo Mariano is a personalized marketing strategist and partner of LIFT AGENCY, a leading personalized integrated marketing agency based in Markham, Ontario. He can be reached at 647-880-9468