Marketers Find Dining Divine
Here’s a change from sub-segmented, micromarketed target audiences: People who like to eat. One could easily cull a dozen names from the DIRECT editorial staff alone-and there are only 10 of us.
Transmedia Service Co., North Miami, FL, which runs a dining discount card program, has a file of 1.3 million such people. Six times a year, 500,000 of them get a mailing.
The mailings go out to members of Transmedia’s two programs: Its current fee-based program, which provides a 25% discount to participating establishments, and a recently discontinued free program, which gave a 20% discount to its members. (The company found that people involved in the free program didn’t take as much advantage of it as those who had purchased memberships. It’s discontinuing mailings to members who have not used the free program for six months.)
Members receive a geographic-specific updated directory of restaurants, along with a newsletter and up to six inserts. The company prints four versions of its directories-Northeast, mid-Atlantic South, Central, and West.
Transmedia has gained most of its members through affiliation programs with banks, nonprofit organizations, local newspapers and membership efforts. The company does not rent its member lists, as it does not want to jeopardize the relationships it has with its affiliates.
Primary Transmedia account owners tend to be around 40 years old, with annual income of approximately $75,000. Around 80% of the cards are held by men-but account owners often request additional cards for other family members, so the gender split of the total file is closer to 50-50. In fiscal 1998 account holders rang up almost $100 million in on-card meals.
Transmedia is expanding and revising its ride-along program. Currently, inserts are placed loose in the mailings, but the company is planning an envelope test for its March effort. The outer envelope would be patterned after the colors and design of the particular regional directory, and would be printed with a “special offers enclosed” message.
“I’ve gotten a deep appreciation for the fulfillment business,” says Transmedia communications manager Renee Luchkiw. “When I first started I thought, OK, you put an insert here and don’t put an insert here. Big deal.” But between segmenting, special requests, and a list of affiliated companies that will not permit the ride-alongs, the company sent out 109 versions of its last mailing.
The versioning the company does makes pinning down an exact CPM difficult, but Luchkiw estimates that most mailers can participate for between $40 and $45 per 1,000.
As a family oriented package, Transmedia will not include the usual litany of inappropriate material. But there are a few other categories the company eschews as well. One potential participant wanted to include a graphic acne-medication promotion, which was rejected.
“The package is designed to get members hungry,” says Luchkiw.
