Wilmington, DE - The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals recognized Associates Graphic Services (AGS) and Barclaycard US as a gold winner in its annual marketing and communications awards.  Barclaycard and AGS, a graphic communications company, were recognized for the US Airways card program communication materials including marketing collateral and a microsite.
   
The MarCom Awards are an international competition for marketing and communication professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of marketing and communication programs using print, visual and audio materials. Entries come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops, production companies and freelancers. The award signifies the attention to detail and creative achievement of Platinum and Gold Winners.  AGS will receive a statuette for its role leading the development of these creative marketing communication materials.

"The overarching strategy of this initiative was to deliver dynamic, upbeat, engaging and personal communication that conveys trust and customer centricity presented in a fresh, personal and conversational tone," said Michelle Bottomley, Chief Marketing Officer- Barclaycard US. "We feel the results indicate we were successful."

This integrated approach leveraged both traditional and non-traditional marketing methods – direct mail, email, and personalized URL's (Purl's).  The direct mail and email blasts lead customers to their individual, personalized micro-site where Barclaycard and US Airways communicated the new program benefits, individual offers, and unique value propositions.  Downloadable widgets reminded consumers when to activate their new card to ensure they received their benefits.

"The creative and customized micro-site made it fun for our members to log in and learn about program benefits," said Fernand Fernandez, US Airways.

Although the program has additional implementation phases, to date, the campaign has far surpassed typical industry response rates. "When highly relevant, multi-channel communications meet up with a compelling value proposition, we see high consumer engagement," Ms. Bottomley said.  Response rates for this campaign have topped 13 percent.