2008-10-07 19:30:01 -

www.phoenixmi.com - Phoenix Marketing Contact: Tom Cook, 727-394-1800 Senior Vice President Phoenix Marketing International Tom.Cook@phoenixmi.com or Press Contact: Graber Associates LLC Ray Graber, 781-221-0018 ray@graberassociates.net Phoenix Marketing International, one of the fastest growing market research firms in the U.S., today announced that two major domestic credit card companies have adopted its Virtual

Mailbox product for pre-launch testing and analysis of all direct mail marketing campaigns

Virtual Mailbox, a component of Phoenix's Target Marketing product suite, predicts the likelihood of success of direct mail offers through on-line research conducted prior to mail-out. During the test, consumers open a digital mailbox, remove contents, and take actions based on real-time responses to the mail received.

Virtual Mailbox can determine the estimated take rate for each new offer and compares it with current offers. It also pinpoints the likes and dislikes of each new concept's features and benefits, and identifies the features and benefits that drive the most interest.

"For about the price of four to six focus groups, Virtual Mailbox provides clients with a detailed diagnostic evaluation of each feature and creative element of a test offer on a statistically significant sample of a few hundred respondents," stated Tom Cook, SVP, Phoenix Marketing International.

"Two additional global banking institutions are also testing Virtual Mailbox in their credit card departments. We are confident that they too will see the enormous benefits that Virtual Mailbox brings to their direct mail campaigns, and we expect that they will recognize a greater return on marketing investment (ROMI)."

The following chart shows consumers' initial handling of the mail in the Virtual Mailbox test and benchmarks those results against the consumers' handling of existing in-market offers. The test predicts the percentage of recipients who would open and read a piece now; put it aside to read later; trash it; or shred it.

Virtual Mailbox can provide relevant, critical research at any point in the development cycle, from rough concepts to post-launch monitoring. It can evaluate both pre-launch concepts and offers and competitive clutter mail. Clients can also use Virtual Mailbox to test 'out-of-the-box' concepts deemed too costly or risky to put into the actual marketplace without prior research.

The results of a Phoenix's Virtual Mailbox test are typically available within ten business days from fielding. Click here for a Virtual Mailbox information sheet.

About Phoenix Marketing International (www.phoenixmi.com)

Founded in 1999, Phoenix Marketing International is one of the fastest growing marketing services firms in the United States. With offices across the country and partnerships with many of the largest companies in the Affluent, Automotive, Converged Technology, Financial Services, Healthcare, Media, Multicultural, and Travel and Leisure industries worldwide. Phoenix offers advanced advertising and brand measurement along with direct marketing expertise.

All Direct Mail Campaigns are Tested in Virtual Mailbox Prior to
Launch