San Francisco-based direct marketing company Intellipost Corp. said that Lester
Wunderman, often considered the “father of direct marketing” and founder of
Wunderman Cato Johnson, has joined its board of directors.
Also joining the board are Tom Newkirk, chairman of Experian Direct Technology
Solutions & Marketing Solutions; and Larry Phillips, managing director of
Primedia Ventures, the venture arm of media and publishing giant Primedia Inc.
Intellipost offers direct marketers a complete, integrated solution to online
direct marketing needs. The company’s BonusMail service
Rewards consumers for reading and responding to personalized, targeted
advertisements by e-mail, and the company’s MyPoints service enables Web merchants to
offer visitors incentives to respond to their online offerings.
Intellipost acquired MyPoints, along with other Internet e-commerce
properties, from
the $1.6 billion information services giant Experian in November of last year.
“The goal of direct response marketing is the response, but in the offline
world the campaign and the consumer’s response have always been two
separate acts–receiving the message and responding by phone, mail or other
means,” said Wunderman. “The Internet is such a powerful direct marketing
vehicle because it removes that obstacle, allowing consumers to respond
without leaving their computers.”
Upon joining either MyPoints or BonusMail, consumers fill out an extensive,
voluntary questionnaire, allowing the company to deliver relevant offers to members and
response rates of up to 25 percent to direct marketers.
Intellipost has more than 1.9 million members registered in its online direct
marketing programs and operates loyalty rewards programs on behalf of such
clients as GTE, NextCard Internet VISA and Prodigy Services Corp.