The Financial Services Forum Awards for Marketing Effectiveness 2006

The Financial Services Forum Awards for Marketing Effectiveness 2006
I’m not sure who said: “There are two things you can guarantee in life, death and taxes” – but they were wrong. There are three – death taxes and change. And managing change is probably the most vital skill in a marketer’s armoury.
Take the media landscape. During this year’s Marketing Society lecture, Professor John Naughton confidently predicted that in five years time a TV audience of 100,000 viewers would be considered a good result, with average viewing figures reducing to 5,000. A worrying thought for those still married to TV advertising.
We have also seen changes in the marketing of financial services. The volume of mailings in the sector reduced for the first time in more than 10 years. This is almost certainly because of the heavy investment in data and data planning, which has produced very rich data sets that enable tighter, more accurately targeted communications. We believe this is an adjustment instead of a trend, because the basic strengths of mail have not diminished. Marketers love mail’s ability to convey a lot of information while stimulating the five senses, which is why it is increasingly deployed alongside broadcast media to create genuine brand impact and generate sales.
Royal Mail’s network is the most powerful advertising network in the UK, connecting your business to all 26 million addresses every day. And another change on the way is Royal Mail’s move away from simply delivering addresses towards delivering audiences. Mail can create genuine customer engagement, Royal Mail will soon deliver a controlled audience, and it couldn’t be simpler to measure.
Change is good, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our support for you, our customer. As our industry changes we remain even more determined to support you, and help you to achieve marketing success far beyond ROI. We are delighted to support these awards, and congratulate all the winning entries.
Alex Batchelor
Marketing Director
Royal Mail
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