WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service today recognized the Hartford Financial Services Group (HFSG) with its Creative Business Solutions Award for the company’s commitment to a successful business partnership with the Postal Service at the annual National Postal Forum, staged this year in Washington DC.
The Creative Business Solutions Awards, one of three “best in class” awards presented annually at the Customer Recognition Awards Banquet with the National Postal Forum, recognize customers who have found new ways to use mail.
Lucie Rossitto, Production Manager for the AARP Market Practices division of HFSG, accepted the award on Monday. HFSG sells via independent agents and direct to customers through an exclusive partnership with AARP, a growing organization with 40 million members age 50 and up.
Over the past year, the firm successfully tested 61 different creative pieces. These tests have included magnet self-mailers, No. 10 envelopes with magnet stuffers, repositionable notes in various locations, and many mailpieces of different sizes. In addition, incentive gifts are continuously tested, such as fragrance scratch-offs and a NASCAR kit that offered a collectible car.
Realizing the importance of database marketing, each campaign targeted specific age groups such as the “CEO of the Household.” HFSG also tested Hispanic marketing.
As a result of its creative approach to direct mail, the company’s customer retention rates have consistently remained above the industry average. Last year, HFSG was able to outperform the market by growing total policies in force by 3 percent over the prior year.
In addition, the AARP Marketing Division grew written premiums by an impressive 7 percent, using direct mail as the primary medium of choice.
“We are pleased to recognize and honor Hartford Financial Services Group for its innovation, creativity and leadership,” said Edward F. Phelan, Jr., District Manager for the Postal Service's Connecticut Valley which includes the corporate headquarters of HFSG.
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National Postal Forum
The National Postal Forum is the mailing industry’s premier educational venue, trade show and networking event for industry professionals. Since 1967, it has provided business mailers with ongoing training and education, and helped them keep pace with the mailing industry’s rapid growth.
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.
The Hartford Financial Services Group
Founded in 1810, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) is one of the largest investment and insurance companies based in the United States, with offices in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Ireland.
The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products — annuities, mutual funds, college savings plans — as well as life insurance, group and employee benefits, automobile and homeowners' insurance, and business insurance.
