CHICAGO - Pitney Bowes Inc. and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) have awarded MAPFRE Insurance Brazil, one of the companies of Banco do Brasil (BB) and MAPFRE Group, and their partner DirectOne Brazil with the 2013 Personal Connections ECHO Award. The award was presented to MAPFRE Insurance today during the 2013 DMA Conference in Chicago, Illinois.

With 6,000 employees, BB and MAPFRE Group offers a full range of insurance products to more than 25 million consumers.

The winning marketing program that secured the win for MAPFRE Insurance created a customer engagement dashboard that brought together insurers and insurance brokers on the same platform. The customer engagement platform shared all customer touch points and was used to optimize customer communications, reduce costs and improve efficiencies. It also speeded customer service resolution and sales processes by providing transparency to the insurers and brokers together. The results included 30 percent growth in contract renewals year over year, 80 percent reduction in Welcome Kit delivery time, 45 percent reduction in postage costs, and a 50 percent reduction in customer service calls.

“Congratulations to MAPFRE Insurance for their outstanding results and ECHO win,” said Jenny Abreu, Director, Awards and Recognition Programs at the DMA. “And, kudos to our sponsor Pitney Bowes who makes it possible to bring cutting edge examples of marketing success to the forefront during the ECHO awards.”

In 2012, Microsoft’s Enterprise Customer Care program was awarded the Inaugural Pitney Bowes Personal Connections ECHO Award.

The ECHOs are judged by client-side marketers, agency account directors, and senior creative professionals. ECHO judges select the biggest and best ideas, the most creative use of response-based direct marketing strategies, and the finest executions. Judges assess campaigns based on strategy, creativity, and results. Each year, more than 1,000 marketers and agencies enter the competition.