CLIENT: Surebridge

The three mailings generated a gross response of 13%. Months later, leads are still coming in.

The Challenge: Surebridge is the leading application outsourcer of On Demand Solutions for middle market companies, but they have a relatively low profile in their target market. Also, many senior IT decision-makers still believe that it is easier and less costly to buy, install and manage applications themselves. The Surebridge sales team faced an uphill battle.

These obstacles loomed especially large as Surebridge prepared to host a reseller booth at the September 2003 PeopleSoft conference, where their goal was to generate qualified leads that would readily convert to new clients and thus bolster sales. At the same time, Surebridge wanted to produce engagements for PeopleSoft installations and upgrades from companies that were not attending the conference.

Dragon in Action: Our solution was to create a series of three mailings that used vivid and engaging graphic images, complemented by provocative copy that carried out the "biker" theme while making a strong, benefit-focused case for trusting Surebridge with outsourced applications. The mailings were versioned for conference attendees ("come to our booth") and non-attendees ("get in touch with Surebridge").

The Result: A significant portion of booth traffic was linked directly to the attendees' mailing series. The non-attendees have already responded at a rate of 2%, with more results still coming in months after the mail dates. Overall, response stands at 13%. In terms of revenue, Surebridge has already closed four deals for PeopleSoft installations; those four new clients were among the company's 19 most desirable prospects.