Xerox Corporation is helping organizations like Ford Motor Company maximize direct marketing investments and significantly improve response rates - in spite of the recession. The automobile company took advantage of the Xerox 1:1 Lab and increased sales of its extended service plan product (ESP) by more than 35 percent during a market test that included a highly-personalized, full-color direct-mail campaign.

“The campaign was a huge success and now we are rolling it out across Ford’s entire portfolio of extended service products,” said Mark Bardusch, national sales and marketing manager, Extended Service Business, Ford Motor Company. “Simply put - the campaign will drive millions of dollars into our extended warranty business.”

Budco, a direct marketing organization that manages Ford’s ESP account, put the automobile maker’s campaign through Xerox’s 1:1 Lab. The lab analyzes and compares traditional, static marketing campaigns against personalized, one-to-one messaging that uses color and demographic data.

For the market test, Budco produced targeted direct-mail pieces on its Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Presses and mailed them to 20,000 F-150 truck owners nearing the end of their original warranties. Pieces were customized by gender, income level and geography and included critical details, such as when an existing warranty expires and financing information. Between personalized photos and data there were more than 40,000 possible combinations.

During the market test, customized pieces increased the response rate by nearly 6 percent. More importantly, sales grew 35.7 percent.