Innovation in Direct Mail with Social Media Tools

by the Dukky Team | September 3, 2009

Why does Dukky’s direct response platform combine traditional direct mail with new media technology? Based on a study conducted by the DMA, 42% of interested direct mail recipients prefer to respond to offers online. So Shawn Burst, founder and direct mail pioneer, developed a suite of products to capitalize on this finding by providing a stimulating online user experience combining gift cards and coupons.

A psychologically validated phenomenon, “coupon stigma,” partially explains the generally low usage rates of less than 2% of the traditional direct mail coupon offers. A Journal of Consumer Research study demonstrated that coupon users are stigmatized by others as “cheap.” The study confirms longstanding common knowledge that coupons are, in many cases, not socially acceptable. The Dukky Platform sees higher-than-normal redemption rates because both its offline and online distribution methods avoid this “coupon stigma” by completely changing the frame of reference: both physical and online coupons are reinvented as personalized gift cards.

This innovative patented technology will now be offering a web-service API for direct mail companies and agencies to build scalable, reliable direct mail solutions on the proprietary framework which was built using Amazon’s Elastic Cloud, Content Distribution Network and Simple Storage Service (S3). The API is also integrated with a custom Interactive Voice Response (IVR) component which allows consumers to activate offers over the phone.

Some of the other API features include: personalized URLs, custom landing page development, social media integration with over 45 social networks including Twitter and Facebook, customer profiling, segmenting and automated responders, e-commerce and live analytics reporting.

“Fortune 500 retailers worldwide have shown much interest in our current platform and we feel the API web service is the next appropriate step in the growth of our company,” says Shawn. He states that “you have to see it to believe it” and encourages companies to try out the live demo, which can be viewed at here.