Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Developing Source Code Tracking On Direct Mail

Posted by Anonymous on 3/18/2008 at 10:06 AM ET 250 Points
We currently use a source code tracking system that entails someone establishing a random 4-digit number and that number is then assigned to a certain promotional effort. My boss wants the codes changed so that he and others can say (by looking at the number) that these sales are from a catalog or from a publication mailing or whatever the effort was and also identify the time frame it was mailed in.

We mail a variety of different pieces including envelopes, catalogs, self-mailers, email, web and sales reps. On top of that we offer a large variety of products using each of these vehicles including publications, books, videos, awards and training.

The part that is tripping me up is that I only have 6 digits to work with and only numbers are allowed.

If anyone has any ideas on how I can use these 6 digits to create a code that can be "identified" visually I would appreciate your input.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 3/18/2008 at 11:37 AM Member
    Interesting dilemma. My first thought would be to assign the first digit to identify the medium. 0 could be self-mailer, 1 could be direct mail, 2 could be catalog 3 could be display ad, etc. and the following four digits would designate the ad/catalog used, publication/list, ending with two digits signifying the month/year run. 18 is January of 2008, etc.

    So you would at least be able to get the medium used and the date easy to see visually. The other, that's tricky. And when you come to do a computerized report, that's a different story too.

    To get one, you may sacrifice part of the other. I'm interested in seeing what other ideas are out there.
  • Posted on 3/18/2008 at 12:39 PM Accepted
    Hi sspence,

    I am not sure how much this will help but if you only have 6 digits, some of them will most likely have to represent codes. If you have less than 10 promotional efforts they can each be designated by one digit. Lets say your catalog is 1.
    If I understand correctly each effort will contain products that must be identified. This you could use up to 3 digits. Lets say a certain video is 222.
    One possible option for determining the date would be dividing the year into time periods based on what you send out or possibly each individual mailing (if you mail less then 100 times.) For example, the catalogs mailed in from March 17-21st could be the 33rd block so far this year.

    The end result would be:
    1-(catalog) 222-(Item) 33-(code for actual mailing or block of time)

    I hope that in some way helps
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/19/2008 at 8:26 AM Accepted
    If the six digits are: ABCDEF

    A = medium code (0-9)
    BC = product code (00-99)
    D = last digit of year (0-9)
    EF = week of year (0-52)

    If you have more than 100 products, then:

    A = medium code (0-9)
    BCD = product code (000-999)
    EF = week of current year (0-52)

    If you could also use letters + numbers, you could get a much larger range (use A-Z, excluding I and O, which will give you 24+10 =36 characters per slot)
  • Posted by Corpcommer on 3/20/2008 at 9:29 PM Member
    Sspence,

    You have gotten great ideas so far. My first thought was along the lines of Schulte's suggestion.

    On the direct mail pieces I worked on, the conglomerate client chose a mix of letters, numbers and hypens and also used color. If possible, you can designate a particular Pantone number/color to identify the year -- 2008 red, 2009 green, etc.

    Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide.

    Corpcommer - MC

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