DMW Wins Four Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) Marketing Methods Awards

Warren Hunter, president and CEO of DMW, announced the agency has been honored with four Marketing Methods awards. The prestigious Marketing Methods awards, which honor the “best of the best” in insurance direct marketing, are presented annually by the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA). The 2005 awards presentation was made at PIMA’s MarkeTTechSM Symposium held in Pittsburgh, PA in November.

Of the five Gold Awards presented, DMW went home with three.

DMW and client BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina won a Gold Award in the “Mail Solicitation for Guaranteed Product” category for the “Coming Up” one-step direct mail sales package. BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina relies on a once-a-year special enrollment in the beginning of the year to generate sales for its traditional Medicare supplement product. To combat wearout of the existing control effort, DMW created a package that focused on spring — the growing season — with the message that “now is the time to plant seeds for savings you can enjoy all year long.” The package, which included a packet of Money Plant seeds, beat the control in overall response by more than 48 percent.

In the “Mail Solicitation for an Underwritten Product” category, DMW and client Response Insurance won a Gold Award for the “What They Don’t Want You to Know” direct mail package. DMW created this package to develop a sustainable source of qualified direct mail leads where Response Insurance had little-to-no brand recognition and a pricing structure that was competitive for top-tiered customers only. The creative execution called out key competitors in nine target markets as holding onto a “secret,” and also highlighted savings and service. The package beat all previous mailings, generating substantially higher qualified leads with no decline in gross response. Leads converted at a 27 percent higher rate than the control, while slashing cost-per-sale by 75 percent.

DMW and client The Hartford earned a Gold Award in the “Other Media” category for “Pulled Over,” a direct response television commercial targeted at AARP-member drivers ages 50 plus. DMW had three hurdles to overcome in developing this creative. First the target audience didn’t believe it could save money by switching to the AARP Auto Insurance Program. Second, many were satisfied with their current carrier and coverage. Finally, even if AARP could save them money, they may be reluctant to join this “retired persons” organization. By using a universal experience — being pulled over by a police officer while driving — attention is gained. Benefits are cheerfully explained via dialogue as the driver learns he is paying too much for auto insurance. To overcome the AARP stereotype, a younger on-screen announcer and contemporary backdrop are used. Initial response was overwhelming. New policies issues and revenue generated far exceeded all forecasts. The cost-per-inquiry was 250–300 percent less than the target. As an added bonus, 40 percent of call volume came from prospective members for AARP.

In the “Customer Cross-Sell and Upgrade Marketing” category, DMW and client Citibank earned a Bronze Award for “Broken Promises,” a direct mail package.

Entries in the Marketing Methods Awards competition are judged equally on three elements: marketing strategy, creative strategy, and results, and entries fell into ten categories designed to evaluate a wide range of insurance marketing programs. The Gold Award winners in each category become participants in the playoff competition for “Best of PIMA Award for Excellence in Marketing” to be presented at the 2006 Annual Meeting, March 2–5 at The Registry Resort and Club in Naples, Florida.

About PIMA
Founded in 1975, the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) is the nation’s premier association for insurance marketers and consists of third-party broker-administrators, insurance companies, and allied business partners involved in the direct marketing of insurance products. PIMA is a not-for-profit organization that provides educational conferences, legislative updates, networking opportunities, publications and manuals to all whose primary business is insurance marketing and administration. For more information on membership or upcoming events, visit the PIMA Web site at www.pima-assn.org or call 817-569-PIMA.

About DMW
DMW is a full-service direct response advertising agency with offices in Wayne, PA and Plymouth, MA. The agency provides strategic planning, creative, database management, broadcast, media, production, fulfillment, and Web site marketing. Industries served include consumer products, financial services, B2B, non-profit, healthcare, and insurance. Warren Hunter, president of DMW, can be reached at 610-407-0407 or via e-mail at whunter@dmwdirect.com. Visit DMW’s Web site at www.dmwdirect.com.