Targeted, relevant marketing is a powerful thing.  It can make the difference between a campaign with little to no real impact and a successful, personal event that has a positive and lasting influence.

As you may or may not know, I am the proud owner of one very rambunctious Boston Terrier.  Admittedly, she is pretty spoiled.  New toys, pricey dog food, sleeping under the covers–Lucy enjoys the doggy good life.  One possible exception to this lovely life is the fact that she sometimes gets carsick.

Enter the best targeted marketing campaign to arrive in my mailbox in quite some time: a large, colorful, two-sided promotional mailer specially geared towards people who own Boston Terriers that sometimes experience upset stomach.

The mailer also contains a $5 off coupon for their new Sensitive Stomach formula.  It’s so well done and adorable that it’s actually been hanging on my fridge for the past two weeks.

After racking my brain about how the great folks at Eukanuba could possibly know that I own a Boston Terrier, I’ve concluded that the AKC (American Kennel Club–where Lucy is registered as a purebred) must sell their lists to relevant businesses.  (This also explains the recent barrage of poorly designed ads I’ve received promoting sad looking Boston Terrier flags.)

What’s even better is that after Tweeting about the experience, two Eukanuba employees reached out to me directly to tell me they’re glad that I enjoy their products.

I think there are several key elements that led to this simple, yet impactful experience.  They are:

1) Purchasing relevant mailing lists
2) Actually using the data to reach out in a meaningful way
3) Following up with the response via popular social media sites
4) Reaching out to brand champions in a positive way

In short, Eukanuba gets a thumbs, er, paws up from me on all counts.

*Dog food image courtesy of www.eukanuba.com.