Having chosen philanthropy over food for client gifts this past holiday season, Chicago-based Douglas-Danielle, Inc. (DDI) developed the promotional SMARTSite www.HolidayDonation.com as a means of enabling clients to choose the charity to which a donation would be made on their behalf.

"While many companies make a donation to a particular charity in lieu of a more traditional holiday gift, we felt that our clients should be able to choose the charity themselves," said Mike Browning, president and CEO of Douglas-Danielle. "Allowing individuals to choose the charity themselves makes the donation more personal and meaningful."

DDI leveraged its SMARTSite product -- a Web-based, campaign-specific response system designed to enhance any direct marketing initiative -- to streamline the process of inviting more than 300 people to choose their own charity.

"We sent clients a holiday card explaining the donation program and asking them to log on www.HolidayDonation.com using their personal access code included in the card," said Browning.

Upon entering the site, each client was greeted by name and asked to choose from an extensive list of charitable organizations. Alternatively, clients could enter the name and address of their preferred charity if it wasn't included in the list. After making their selection, clients could view a real-time report of the charities selected and the number of donations made to each charity.

According to Browning, holiday cards were mailed to clients in mid-December and the SMARTSite was live until mid-January. More than 100 people visited the site and donations were made to twenty-two charitable organizations.

Judging by the feedback DDI received, clients fully embraced the Holiday Donation Program. "Many clients took the time to tell us how much they appreciated the donation concept and the opportunity to choose their own organization," said Browning. "We received numerous email messages from people on the site commending the program and asking us to repeat it next year. We're thrilled that, together with our clients, we were able to help so many worthy organizations."

Douglas-Danielle (DDI) integrates technology into the direct marketing process to increase response rates and drive conversion. DDI is a pioneer in the development of Web-based, self-service SMARTSites that are used to enhance direct response initiatives including customer acquisition, retention and collection. Major clients include Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, Diners Club, JP Morgan Chase, Nationwide Insurance, Providian and Sears.

CHARITIES RECEIVING DONATIONS FROM DOUGLAS-DANIELLE 2002 HOLIDAY DONATION PROGRAM

American Heart Association
American Lung Association of South Dakota
American Red Cross
Cancer Wellness Center
Children's Miracle Network
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
Doctors Without Borders
E. The People
Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council
Habitat for Humanity
Hands for Hope
Lance Armstrong Foundation
March of Dimes
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Smokey Mountain Children's Home
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Autism Society of Delaware
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
The Make-A-Wish Foundation
U.S. Olympic Foundation
UNICEF
United Way of America

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