Pitney Bowes launches TransPromo brokerage service
Pitney Bowes has linked up with financial services company TSYS to offer a new way for transactional mailers to sell advertising space on customer statements. The companies have partnered to offer the TSYS Whitespace Manager service, which helps mailers take advantage of the promotional value of their transactional mailings by including transpromotional material alongside the main body of mailed statements.
The concept of TransPromo is fast becoming popular among transactional mailers in the US and other parts of the world, allowing them to use otherwise blank areas of documents like bank or credit card statements to cross-sell their other services.
Pitney Bowes already offers TransPromo options in its mail printing solutions, such as through its Connect+ product range.
The new partnership will see Georgia-based company TSYS offering its services to broker the white space that mailers have available on their statements, to sell that space to other advertisers.
The service is available to mailers even if they don’t already process payments with TSYS, the companies said.
As well as creating new revenue streams for mailers, the service also offers the opportunity for advertisers to find a “precisely targeted” platform to connect with select consumers.
And, with research suggesting consumers spend two-to-three minutes on average reviewing monthly billing statements, the service is being promoted as an alternative form of direct mail.
Pitney Bowes and TSYS promise one-to-one marketing campaigns with the benefits of “sophisticated” data analytics and content programming – without costing issuers.
They insisted the new service will still mean mailers themselves control over content in their statements.
Ramesh Ratan, president of Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies, said the TSYS Whitespace Manager service would be a “timely” option for mailers now facing constrained marketing budgets looking for a new way to generate revenue.
He said: “We’re finding that relevant marketing information embedded in transactional documents is an effective way to precisely market to customers in a way that not only delivers results but also helps to build stronger relationships.”
TSYS, which claims to provide payment services for more than half of the world’s top 20 banks, said the new brokerage service would provide “powerful benefits” for its customers.
Sean Maddox, senior director of document services at TSYS said: “Pitney Bowes has exceptional experience in transactional mail, geo-demographic analytics and one-to-one marketing, and together, we are creating new revenue opportunities for issuers across the globe.”
