Boston Symphony - By combining direct mail with a Web pitch, BSO pulls in subscriptions

Forget research. Sometimes the best ideas for personalized marketing come from fiction. In the TV show Cheers, the character Norm is greeted by a chorus of regulars in a place where everybody knows his name. Now the Boston Symphony Orchestra has adopted a similar technique for its Internet marketing.

The program combines the marketing muscle of direct mail with the technical sophistication of Web site personalization. Looking for a way to lure dormant concertgoers back into the fold, in 2001 the orchestra tried a unique personalization campaign.