Direct Choice takes home 3 Benny Awards!

June 12, 2012 Leave a Comment

Wow…what a month!  Two weeks ago Direct Choice was recognized by Smart CEO magazine with a Volt Award, for an innovative marketing program we created for Independence Blue Cross, and this past Thursday night we were honored with three “Benny” Awards by the Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association (PDMA)!

The PDMA’s Benjamin Franklin Awards for Direct Marketing Excellence (aka “the Benny’s”) celebrate the best direct response work of the past year in Philadelphia’s direct marketing community. This year’s awards were held in the Shark Tank Ballroom at the Adventure Aquarium, in Camden, NJ.

It was a wonderful evening of seeing old friends – especially former co-workers from the “Devon Direct” days (the agency where most of the Direct Choice team met).

Direct Choice was honored with awards in the following categories:

Category:          Direct Mail – Business to Consumer/Acquisition to Existing Customer – Retail/Wholesale
Entry:               Luxottica Retail EyeMed Traffic Builder

Category:          Direct Mail – Business to Consumer/Brand Building – Retail/Wholesale
Entry:               Luxottica Retail ILORI Luxury Sunglass Collections Awareness Catalog

Category:          Direct Mail – Business to Business/Retention (Customer Loyalty) – Healthcare
Entry:               Independence Blue Cross Smart Renewal (Honorable Mention Award)

As President & CEO of Direct Choice, I am proud of our “Benny” awards, but the real winners are the individuals who made the above entries a reality …Christine Wagner and Karin Krueger for their marketing excellence in heading up the Blue Cross and Luxottica Retail account teams, respectively, Anne Lake, Creative Director Extraordinaire, and Don Draper, Technology Guru!  Special recognition and thanks also goes to all who made the above packages a reality – Scott McLaughlin, Mike Burgoon, Jackie Bofinger, Rosann Grose, Lonnie Bidwell and Beth Harvath.

Thanks to the PDMA for recognizing our efforts over the past year. And a special heartfelt thank you to our wonderful clients, who inspire us to excel, each and every day!

- Nick Lanzi, President & CEO, Direct Choice, Inc.

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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Winning a Smart CEO Volt Award feels great!

May 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

We’re still floating a bit after taking home a very cool trophy last week, courtesy of Smart CEO magazine’s Volt Awards. We won in the “Innovators” sub-category, which is all about organizations pioneering new technologies to help their customers. We certainly hoped we’d take the prize, but were over the moon when our name was called out at the great ceremony held at the Ballroom at the Benjamin Franklin House.

As President & CEO  of Direct Choice, I got to hit the stage and carry the trophy. But the real kudos go to a much bigger group…Don Draper (yes, we have the real Don Draper at our agency), our Technology Director, is the master of all things IT. When someone in our agency says, “What if we…???” – and each and every time, Don makes it happen. That’s the case with our winning applications of Smart Renewal, Lead Machine and Digital Contracts, which are assisting organizations such as health care insurers and others to find, engage, persuade and renew ideal member customers at a killer ROI.  Our super-smart Account and Creative folks dreamed big, and we came up winners as a result.

I’m thrilled for our clients and our staff, and so happy that additional companies can benefit from this 1-2-3 punch of technology-enabled marketing muscle.  Thanks to the terrific crew at Smart CEO, and the hard-working and talented people who made the evening so amazing and memorable. We love the magazine, and everyone we’ve met through our association.

And speaking of awards—we’re on to the PDMA’s Benjamin Franklin Awards next month, and we’re eagerly anticipating those, too.

Keep following us!

-Nick Lanzi, President & CEO, Direct Choice, Inc.

 

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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Direct Choice is a finalist for the 2012 Volt Awards

April 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

Smart CEO magazine honors the area’s highest achievements in technology each year, and this year we are proud to be in the running in the “Innovators” sub-category.  With much of what we do being data-enabled, a key focus for our team is the ability to use data combined with customized communications tools to cost-effectively grow customer relationships.

Our entry is a combined troika of surefire growth applications:

  • Smart Renewal System—a data-driven annual renewal/cross-sell communication for small group health care insurance and other clients, which drives renewals as high as 95% and boosts ancillary product sales by 40%, at no additional marketing cost
  • Lead Machine—a customized acquisition communication system delivering response rates as high as 24%
  • Digital Contracts—a paperless system for clients requesting copies of their lengthy contracts, thereby saving  tens of thousands of dollars

Together, these innovative products—pioneered by Direct Choice’s Technology group, working closely with Creative—provide urgent, irresistible and bottom-line enhancing solutions that are being embraced by clients looking to save money and support green initiatives as they grow their revenue streams.

The Digital Contracts system results in 90% saving in package delivery costs, as well as in-stream environmental waste reduction of 99%. These achievements are in line with goals many CEOs are mandating for their organizations.

Make no mistake—technology and data fuel the approaches. But customized messaging and creative strategy supporting the client’s growth and retention goals implements the technology and makes it hum.

Learn more about Smart CEO [link: http://www.smartceo.com/].

Wish us luck on May 17th, when the Volt Awards winners are announced.

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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