LAS VEGAS, NV, October 13, 2008 – InfoPrint Solutions Company, a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, today announced it has launched a TransPromo pilot for Best Western International, the World’s Largest Hotel Chain® as part of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council’s Precision Promotion campaign. This best practice setting initiative will bring personalized and relevant promotional offers to Best Western Rewards members via their rewards statements. The Precision Promotion campaign (www.precisionpromotion.org) explores strategies and techniques for customer revenue optimization, including integrating transactional print and electronic communications with personalized promotional marketing offers.
 
The pilot is being run at the InfoPrint Innovation Center in Boulder, Colorado, and output will be sent to selected Best Western hotel guests on their rewards statements. InfoPrint is also leveraging their TransPromo Consultancy Practice and software offerings, from best of breed partners such as GMC. GMC software lets users easily design and create personalized documents, such as direct marketing materials, while enabling integration of data-driven marketing messages into statements. The pilot is being printed on its full-color, continuous forms inkjet drop-on-demand printing system, the InfoPrint 5000.
 
“Working with the CMO Council and InfoPrint, Best Western is running a TransPromo trial as part of our ongoing commitment to rewarding our loyal customers, who come back to us as the brand they trust wherever they are in the world,” said Tammy Lucas, Director, Marketing Programs at Best Western International.
 
TransPromo is a pioneering technique that combines transactional data with promotional documents and information to provide more targeted marketing, on trusted documents such as statements. It is an easy way to reach out to customers without having to make a huge investment in new promotional campaigns or materials.
 
“While providing special offers to customer is not a new concept, the ability to offer existing customers relevant and targeted promotions that enable a brand to remain engaged throughout the billing cycle really is,” said Lee Gallagher Manager, Direct Marketing Solutions at InfoPrint. “This is particularly important in a crowded market and our current economic environment, where a brand needs to differentiate to reduce churn and retain a trusted customer base.”
 
The comprehensive results, metrics, and ROI measurements from the InfoPrint Solutions and Best Western TransPromo pilot will be released as part of the CMO Council’s Precision Promotion Route to Revenue™ report in early December, with detailed discussions and best practices presented at the year-end CMO Summit Elite Retreat (www.cmosummit.org) on December 10 and 11, 2008 in Monterey, California.
 
Market-leading combination of technology and expertise for marketers
InfoPrint’s Professional Services from its Transpromo Consultancy practice combined with the quality, speed, reliability and ease of use of its InfoPrint 5000 flagship solution, equips marketers with state of the art solutions that assist in attracting and retaining customers. InfoPrint’s Data Analytics and Campaign Measurement Services enable brands to calculate the Transpromo Campaign return on investment as well as ensure they complement existing marketing programs and branding.