China Post is attempting to expand and enhance its direct mail business through a co-operationagreement with global marketing firm Acxiom.
The state-owned postal operator has been offering direct mail services since 2004 and expandedthem in 2008 with the launch of 12 product lines, based on market segments and needs. It now hopesto offer higher-quality direct mail services using Acxiom’s expertise in database marketing.
Li Guohua, Vice President of China Post, said although China’s direct mail industry had grownover the past few years, it was still “in a development stage”. “Because of the proactive promotionby China Post, the value of direct mail is being recognised by more and more companies and is beingapplied to product promotion, communication channels, customer relationship management and marketresearch,” he pointed out.
“Through the partnership with Acxiom, China Post expects to leverage advanced data analyticstechnology and marketing concepts, enhancing China Post’s range of services, to create ‘one-stop’capabilities,” Guohua declared. One key element was to increase the level of marketing precisionoffered to Chinese businesses in its direct mail services, and “accelerate the efficientcommunication of business information”.
John Adams, Acxiom’s Global COO and Executive Vice President, said he expected the partnershipto bring benefits to Acxiom’s existing and future customers. “Not only are we laying a solidfoundation for China’s direct mail service, we are looking forward to working alongside China Postto deploy our full range of technology and expertise in multichannel marketing to help our globalclients reach customers with certainty and at an efficient cost,” he said.
US-based Acxiom is a leading supplier of marketing technology and services, including consumerdata and analytics, databases, data integration and consulting solutions.
