The China Post database was put to the test when it was used to develop a campaign for Bank of China Credit Cards. The target market was high-income, inner-city professionals. The database allowed Bank of China to choose high-quality buildings and communities to establish income levels; choose large, residential communities for high-income professionals; and to use postcode, county and city data to target the most affluent geographies.
While the China Post model might not work in every country, it shows what can happen when the public sector takes on a role the private sector has not yet addressed. Given the boost to the growth of direct marketing within China this database provides, we can only hope a few more countries’ national posts also step up.
Ron Jacobs is CEO of Jacobs & Clevenger, a multi-channel direct marketing agency in Chicago. This article is based on the case study in the recently released eighth edition of “Successful Direct Marketing Methods: Interactive, Database, and Customer Marketing for the Multichannel Communications Age,” written by Bob Stone and Jacobs. He can be reached via e-mail at rjacobs@jacobsclevenger.com.
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