CPS Direct is looking to recently launched efforts for LavaStorm and SpaceWorks to help the agency, a fixture on the local marketing scene for three decades, establish a national reputation.
The Woburn, Mass., direct marketing agency has evolved over the past few years into a firm that focuses on integrated marketing and brand management.
“We used to be more of a production house. We were more project-based. Now we are a strategic marketing firm with a specialty in direct,” said Mark Bell, senior vice president of marketing services at CPS.
CPS claims revenue of $20 million for 2000, a 17-percent improvement from the previous year.
So much work is coming in from out of state, a West Coast office may be launched in the not-too-distant future, said Nicholas Vadala, chief executive of CPS.
Top managers at the 135-person company are looking to pick up larger accounts nationwide, and efforts for several existing clients may point the way to the future.
In a direct marketing campaign for Lava-Storm, Waltham, Mass., a Web engineering firm, CPS appealed to their audience’s taste buds. To “get past the gatekeeper,” CPS mailed out a large box to financial services executives. The box contained not only promotional materials, but also a cheesecake. Another box contained smoked salmon.
“We wanted to break through the clutter to create an image of value,” said Evan Stone, executive vice president and creative director at CPS.
“They helped us develop and craft a targeted direct marketing campaign aimed at very senior people,” said Matt Baker, vice president of marketing at LavaStorm, which works with Mullen, Wenham, Mass., for media advertising.
The agency also launched an ongoing print and direct mail campaign for SpaceWorks, Rockville, Md. Each piece is different, but all feature a baby peeking out of a box. SpaceWorks is promoting software called the Web Business Manager Suite. The target audience is a range of executives, including vice presidents of marketing and vice presidents of sales. Each piece of direct mail or print ad highlights SpaceWorks’ ability to “give birth” to a company’s online program in a short time.
Those at CPS feel they have created a niche in the market that falls somewhere between a direct mail house and an ad agency. “For a lot of companies that makes sense,” said Bell.
CPS Direct Seeks Larger Stage
