Creative execution is a strength for us. We work hard to create standout pieces that deliver results. We design, develop, produce, and mail or blast hundreds of creative pieces each month. We provide creative services to clients who want to see data insight brought to life in highly relevant and effective communications.

In addition to designers and copywriters, we staff interactive designers and programmers who write HTML, develop custom code, and build other online tools. Our team has experience with the development of an extensive list of Web sites, online applications, and online interactive loyalty programs. Our focus is developing interactive environments, which are optimized both for ease of use for your customers and to meet your business objectives.

Some of the specific forms of creative are:

• Flat or three-dimensional direct mail pieces
• Promotional e-mails
• Electronic newsletters
• Electronic catalogs
• Microsites and supporting demand-generation components
• Database-driven online applications
• Campaign-specific Web sites and Web tools
• Online games in support of programs
• Management of interactive feedback
• Interactive call queues
• Sales collateral, including library systems with direct access by client sales team
• Web banner development
• Search engine optimization and site usability testing
• Streaming audio and video

Database development and management

Information-rich decisions result in stronger programs with better results. To that end, we use many types of data mining and analytic tools to gain specific customer knowledge.

Last year, Direct Impact processed over 500 million rows of data, much of it simultaneously. We have a data center with 12 servers housing client data. We maintain more than 20 active databases at a given time. In addition to client data, we house five enrichment sources on-site. All of these are used as overlay sources for client databases:

• Dun and Bradstreet's file of all 18.5 million companies in the United States and the enhancement data associated with them
• Market Data Retrieval's (MDR) file of higher education institutions in the United States and the associated enhancement data
• Carroll Directories, which contain federal, state, and local government data
• Melissa Data for geographic mapping data
• Tapestry Data for classifying consumer neighborhoods into demographic clusters

We are a Microsoft shop using industry-standard tools such as:

• Microsoft SQL Server
• Microsoft Analysis Server
• Microsoft .NET development platform

We augment these basics with Trillium, a powerful and flexible rules-based data management tool. We use this tool for data discovery, standardization, cleansing, linking, and de-duplicating disparate files. We invested years in developing rules that allow us to identify customer matches and roll up all the information about a customer into a single view.

Our proprietary geographic tool facilitates easy sales territory management or segmented marketing campaigns. This tool is built using the Melissa Data file that we house. It is available to all our clients as part of the services we provide.

To truly integrate sales and marketing programs, we recognize the need to either provide CRM services to our clients or to seamlessly provide data into theirs. We license Microsoft CRM and use it internally. We also have experience in providing data for Siebel OnDemand, SalesForce.com and Sales Control.

Contact Center

We have a 160-seat, highly specialized B2B contact center that conducts research, makes calls to collect information that fills gaps in customer data, identifies and qualifies leads and sets appointments, and also provides outsourced services to sales and customer care organizations. Our specialists have an average two to five years of experience. They are seasoned and know how to effectively engage over the phone and thru e-mail. We conduct contact center activities as stand-alone services and as part of an integrated market strategy and plan.

C.O.R.E. Action Contact Center services include:

• Research and customer data gathering
• Lead identification
• Lead qualification
• Appointment setting
• Outsourced sales and customer care services