Social Media Analysis - NFL Lockout will the Fans Stay
Boardroom and the Alterian Integrated Platform
1. Alterian Case Study
Boardroom Inc.
Client
Boardroom Inc. Surpasses Marketing Goals with Superior
Database, Operational, and Campaign Execution Tools
Partner
What began on Marty Edelston’s kitchen table over “Boardroom decided that they wanted a new campaign
thirty-five years ago with $20,000 and a dream has now solution implemented by Q2 2006. For a solution of this
A Database Marketing Agency evolved into Boardroom Inc., one of the largest size and scope, the normal time between decision and
publishers of direct-mail newsletters and books. Known implementation can range from nine months to more
for providing useful information in quick and easy-to- than one year.”
Company:
read formats, Boardroom currently publishes five
Boardroom Inc.
publications and numerous books. The publications are Boardroom worked with Merkle to evaluate both SQL
Website: available via an annual subscription. Books are available and software tools during an aggressive one-month trial
www.boardroom.com as one-time purchases or as part of a continuity period. Boardroom concluded that while the processes
program, in which books are sent on a regular basis, as used to run SQL queries and reports would be more
Headquarters: updated. familiar, it was not efficient. A software tool was the
Stamford, Connecticut, USA better option.
In recent years, Boardroom’s flagship publication,
Industry: Bottom Line Personal, has grown its subscriber base to The Solution
Publishing one million and its readership to two million. With the Boardroom selected the following applications from the
Solution: success of Bottom Line Personal also came the Alterian Integrated Marketing Platform: Data Discovery &
Data Discovery and Visualization challenge of effectively maintaining, from a cost and Visualization, Campaign Management, and Reporting.
and Selection Planner, part of the marketing perspective, the subscriber database as well Key Alterian applications added to the solution included
Alterian Integrated Marketing as the databases of Boardroom’s other publications and Selection Planner and Analytical Reporting.
Platform books.
All three companies – Merkle, Boardroom, and Alterian –
The Challenge
agreed that developing a three-way partnership would
Results: Boardroom wanted a database marketing solution with
enable Boardroom to have more control of its campaigns
1. Boardroom reduced monthly the flexibility to continually adjust and improve its
– resulting in deeper insight into the data, analysis and
campaign management costs by campaign selection strategy through rigorous testing
selection process.
20.3% during the first year and and analysis. Additionally, Boardroom was looking to
26% for each successive year create efficiencies in cost and campaign execution.
“We liked the Alterian solution because of the quick
based on a multi-year contract. counts feature, the ‘Drag and Drop’ convenience; the
2. Campaign execution time To achieve these goals, Boardroom made a decision to
ability to create fields and tables on the fly; the quick
averaged 16 hours prior to this switch database providers. At the time, Boardroom’s
loading of model scores and its speed. It runs five
initiative and was reduced by database consisted of a mainframe and server
million rows per second!” said Bruce Reznik, Director of
environment and was managed by an outside provider
approximately 75% to 4 hours Database Marketing, Boardroom. “That kind of speed
that applied transactions monthly. Using this approach,
per campaign. enables more “what-if” analysis, which increases
selection and model scoring could take one to two
3. Boardroom no longer needs to productivity and reduces costs, which inevitably leads to
weeks – which prevented Boardroom from executing
pay for a programmer’s time to campaign improvements and increased profits.”
marketing programs as quickly and efficiently as it
execute campaigns, as all the desired. Results
work is done by the database
Boardroom’s brand mantra is to “provide answers to
and analytical teams. After reviewing nearly a dozen database marketing tough questions from the insider’s perspective using
4. The Solution launched in four service providers, Boardroom decided to move its dozens of experts who are top in their field.” Boardroom
months from inception, one day database needs to Merkle, one of the nation’s largest applied that thinking to their internal marketing efforts
after the best case go-live date data-driven marketing agencies. and pulled together a dream-team of experts to achieve
of 4/30/06 and two months prior a high level of results.
to the must go-live date of Boardroom’s next step was to find the list selection tool
6/30/06. that would meet its specific requirements. Overall the The combination of Alterian Selection Planner and
company sought to do the following: Merkle’s database solutions gave Boardroom the results
1. Reduce campaign management costs by 20% they were seeking. Transferring from the previous SQL-
“The Alterian tools have not only
2. Run campaigns using the new tool within a based solution to Alterian Selection Planner also
given us more visibility into our
four- to six-month timeframe accomplished operational goals – specifically shorter
data, but they have also given us
3. Reduce campaign execution time by at campaign cycles, more internal control, reduced
more confidence in our
least 50% campaign selection time, and reduced monthly
campaigns. Additionally, the
flexibility of our list selects is maintenance costs.
“Several significant barriers existed during the initial
greater, while our costs are lower
stages of this project. Boardroom lacked an existing in- After evaluating the results of the new solution,
– it’s a definite win-win”
house infrastructure and faced an aggressive timeline,” Boardroom found that it achieved – and even surpassed
Bruce Reznik
Director of Database Marketing, said Scott Sutton, Associate Director, Merkle. – its initial goals. The solution was implemented just one
Boardroom Inc.
