A new twist on direct mail coupons sweetens the pot for incentive programs

By: Christopher Caggiano

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many of New Orleans’ businesses struggled to get back on their feet. Bruce Frommeyer who owns eight Subway® Restaurants in the area was able to get up and going faster than many, thanks partially to a high-tech twist on a vintage incentive: direct mail coupons.

“After we got back online, we needed something to supplement Subway’s corporate advertising,” he says. “I’ve tried fliers in marriage mail, newspaper ads and inserts, but all these things don’t let you target one store. And that’s the key to my business right now. I need to bring it down to the neighborhood level.”

Fortunately for Frommeyer, Subway Restaurants had recently teamed with Database Marketing Group (DMG) to offer a systemwide program that allows the owners to go online and customize individualized mailings that can saturate every nearby consumer whether they are at home or at work. Franchise owners can send coupon posters to local businesses, which are posted in lunchrooms for access by all employees.

“The fast food category has historically been mass-media driven, but like most other retail industries, there’s been a significant shift toward direct mail,” says Kurt Whitmer, executive vice president of DMG. “With the introduction of TIVO and DVR technology and increasingly less effective mass media, fast food restaurants are looking for cost-effective solutions that allow them to saturate their individual neighborhoods.”