When Age Concern England and Help the Aged merged to form Age UK, they required rapid response handling for mail generated by marketing campaigns. DDC OS has been working with Age UK ever since.

Client Profile:

During 2009 and 2010, Age Concern England and Help the Aged carried out a significant merger and re-branding; joining together to create a new charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people. Operating under the name Age UK, they now speak with one voice on behalf of all older people.

The Brief:

Age UK required an outsource partner to offer a response handling solution for mail generated through their direct mail and online activity. At the peak there could be as many as 18 marketing campaigns running within a 12 month period, ranging from surveys to warm and cold responses attached to fundraising exercises.

Our Solution:

In partnership with Age UK and with flexibility in mind, DDC OS designed and built a bespoke system to manage and report on all campaigns through a central processing channel.

Services provided include:

• Secure processing of donations from all payment types associated with Fundraising and banking those monies into the charity’s chosen merchant accounts
• Imaging and indexing of all incoming documentation for retrieval purposes
• Online image hosting for Gift Aid
• Bespoke campaign and financial reporting
• Survey capture and non-financial processing with analysis
• Goneaways/returned mail processing
• Fulfilment of legacy packs
• Fulfilment of seasonal marketing packs generated from on-line activity

As part of the donation handling process we manage the “Thank you” fulfilment and production of daily and weekly reports on donations handled on a campaign basis.

Results:

At its peak, DDC OS has managed over 300,000 response pieces per annum and we continue to develop our services to meet the needs of the client. Our ability to handle change was particularly prevalent at the point of merger, where an integration of two databases and the appointment of a new CRM system dictated a complete re-structure of data supply and reporting.

Summary:

Age Concern has been a client within DDC OS’ Donation Handling division since 2003. During this time DDC was successful in retaining the client’s business through statutory e-tender and a further merger process with Help the Aged.

Lisa McLelland - Data Import and Integration Manager, CRM and Group Database at Age UK, said: “DDC OS provide us with a very comprehensive and efficient service. They currently carry out a wide range of response handling and fulfilment on our behalf, maintaining high levels of service to our supporters both current and new. The account management teams are proactive and attentive, allowing for a close working relationship which ensures processes run smoothly and that we are kept constantly informed on the progress of our campaigns.”