NZ Companies Win Top Accolades

PR 01.12
Media Release

Progressive Enterprises and Proximity iD win top international accolade for database marketing

Onecard Wine Campaign secures Gold Medal at
United States NCDM Awards for Database Excellence

12 December 2007 – Progressive Enterprises and Proximity iD, New Zealand’s leading specialist in the integration of technology and marketing, have won the Gold Medal for Multi-Channel Marketing at the prestigious US National Center for Database Marketing (NCDM) Awards. Administered by the United States Direct Marketing Association, the Awards are the top international accolade for database marketing. The winners were announced last night in Las Vegas at the NCDM 2007 Conference and Exhibition.

One of four Gold Medals presented, Proximity iD and Progressive Enterprises were the only non-US entrants to be recognised. Other finalists included Adobe Systems, The New York Times, Packard Bell, EMC Corporation and Madison Square Gardens.

The Gold Medal recognises the highly sophisticated personalisation and electronic delivery of the Progressive Enterprises’ Onecard Wine programme which was launched in 2007. The world first initiative involves e-marketing to identified individual wine customers who have proactively signed up to receive highly relevant communications promoting both exclusive Onecard wine offers and in-store specials from Foodtown and Woolworths supermarkets. The detailed customised nature of the campaign ensures strict adherence to guidelines for the responsible marketing of alcohol.

Commenting on the award, Yasmin Melendez, DMA’s senior conference manager and NCDM programmer, said, “Data is the oxygen of multi-channel commerce today, but data is little good if it is not collected, analyzed, and then employed intelligently. This is a challenge, but Progressive Enterprises and Proximity iD met that challenge. They impressed our judges by the way they worked to creatively and powerfully leverage data to enhance Progressive’s Onecard Wine programme.”

“Clearly, this data-driven programme has been designed with the unique requirements of retail marketing in mind, including fast and flexible production, along with an extensive sign-off process involving marketing, communications, and buying teams.”

According to Bridget Lamont, Progressive Enterprises’ Loyalty Programme Manager, “The success of this campaign is due, among other things, to the strength of the relationship between Progressive and Proximity iD. Proximity iD works as a strategic partner rather than a supplier, and this close contact enables us to deliver outstanding e-marketing campaigns, through leveraging our Onecard database. The systems that support this campaign have not only delivered the high levels of personalization and relevance to individual customers, that we strive for, but also support our requirements as a retailer. The campaign has delivered a remarkable return on investment for Progressive Enterprises.”

Geoff Cooper, Chief Executive of Proximity iD, says, “We are delighted to be honoured at the NCDM Awards. International recognition such as this serves to highlight the world-class expertise of our entire team, and clearly showcases the outstanding work we can achieve through integrating our analytical, database marketing, email and web development expertise. It’s a tremendous Christmas present for all involved.”

About NCDM Database Excellence Awards

Presented annually by the United States Direct Marketing Association and DIRECT magazine, the NCDM Database Excellence Awards honour organisations that have demonstrated ingenuity and creativity in leveraging their marketing databases. The Awards involve a panel of elite judges representing leading database marketing practitioners, and are presented in four categories: Analytics and Modeling Applications, Technological Applications, Multichannel Marketing, and Business-to-Business Marketing

About NCDM and the US Direct Marketing Association

The National Center for Database Marketing (NCDM) Conference and Awards are dedicated exclusively to the database marketing community. NCDM is held once a year and brings marketing and technology decision makers together to find practical approaches to today’s direct marketing challenges using customer data and technology. For additional information, please visit www.ncdmevents.com.

The US Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading trade association for businesses and organizations interested in direct, interactive, and database marketing, which generates more than US$1.7 trillion in sales, including US$41 billion in Web-driven sales.
Founded in 1917, the US DMA today has more than 5,200 corporate, affiliate, and chapter members from the US and 44 other nations.
Reflecting the significant and growing role that direct and interactive marketing plays in today's advertising mix, The US DMA's membership represents marketers from every business segment, including catalogers, Internet retailers, retail stores, nonprofit organisations, advertising agencies, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, industrial manufacturers, and a host of other vertical segments, as well as the service industries that support marketers.

About Progressive Enterprises

Progressive Enterprises is part of Woolworths Limited; for further information see
www.progressive.co.nz and www.woolworths.com.au

About Proximity iD

Proximity iD is a digital agency specialising in the integration of technology and marketing. The company offers a variety of services to its blue-chip client list including expertise in information management, market research, database development, state-of-the-art data mining, digital, software development, web and mobile marketing services. The proven leadership of Proximity iD is demonstrated in their award-winning performance both within New Zealand and internationally. Proximity iD is the creator of Telecom Virtual Rugby and other online competitions.

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