Last checked at 15 Mar 2010 07:00
Press release
BFI premieres Identity Management business, GB Group
~ GB Group brought in to manage the marketing and database strategy for one of the world's greatest collections of film and television ~
LONDON - 15 March 2010 - The BFI (British Film Institute), Britain's national cultural organisation for film, has awarded Identity Management business GB Group (GB) a contract to underpin its customer relationship marketing and database strategy.
Under this deal, GB will consolidate all of the BFI's member and customer databases into a Single Customer View (SCV) database, enabling the BFI to better understand and manage its audiences. In today's digital world, understanding customers is a vital requirement for all businesses and organisations particularly those who, like the BFI, deal with a wealth of information. From proving an identity at registration for regulated business, through to understanding the needs of its customers, the comprehension of audience and customer profiles has never before played such a pivotal role in business - and today it is one of the key measures of any organisation. The information from the SCV database will then be made available to its marketing team in a secure and easily accessible format, to enable further promotion of the BFI's work locally and abroad.
The complexity and diversity of this consolidation presented the BFI with special challenges. With thousands of pieces of information available across the organisation presented on multiple platforms, the BFI needed a technology solution that was innovative and which could be implemented quickly and seamlessly.
GB's SCV solution, currently being rolled out, allows the BFI to interrogate data, run queries and analysis and make campaign selections, so that it is better able to understand the needs and habits of its members and customers. This in turn will radically improve the BFI's marketing campaign response rates, generate additional revenue as a result of more accurate information and grow its audience and member base. It will also enable the BFI to automate the majority of its internal information processes, which was a key requirement.
"We have a lot of disparate data sources around the organisation but had no central system to access it," says Gail Cohen, Marketing Director at the BFI. "A recent review of our marketing and Membership strategy prompted us to look into the ways in which we engage with our audiences. This highlighted the need to create a Single Customer View to understand our audiences and improve the customer experience by delivering highly targeted marketing communications. By consolidating our data, we will be able to increase our knowledge of our customer behaviour, thereby communicating to them at the relevant stages of their customer journey and improving our overall marketing effectiveness.
"GB's extensive experience in the delivery and management of SCV databases and the provision of marketing services, from a team and company point of view, played a large part in the decision making process."
Richard Law, CEO at GB comments; "The BFI is a magnificent national organisation with a wealth of information available and we undoubtedly have the best team and technology in the industry to deliver a solution that meets the BFI's immediate and overarching marketing objectives. Identity Management stands central to its business objectives and, as this forms the core of what our business is based on, we were in the best position to help meet this aim. From the start of this process, our main goal has been to identify the BFI's overall business objectives, understand its challenges and from there, build a solution that is perfect for them and meet all these requirements."
GB will use the latest innovative technology to build the SCV database and incorporate an Alterian 'front end'. Fed with data from all required systems, this solution is designed to have the member at its centre and provide the following benefits:
·; Increased productivity - dramatic reductions in query and analysis times mean greatly enhanced efficiency, collaboration, and lower running costs;
·; Flexibility - the environment accommodates a wide array of data types, sources and scales to manage extremely large datasets to match evolving business requirements;
·; Complete access to marketing data and content - delivers a single view of the data and content to all marketing applications ensuring consistency and information sharing among staff and teams.
All the above features contribute to an effective Identity Management strategy.
"Our partnership with the BFI again reiterates the value of our proven track record in delivering value for customers and building long term relationships with our clients and partners. Our commitment to technology innovation and quality were key differentiators and we are confident in meeting all the BFI's targets and objectives over the next three years," concludes Law.
About BFI
The BFI is the UK's agency for film culture, aiming to provide people with access to the broadest choice of film, regardless of where they live or how they want to access it. We do this through preserving and curating the UK's film heritage, generating new knowledge and content through an exciting and accessible cultural programme (screenings, DVDs, festivals, theatrical distribution, publications, education, online) and reaching new audiences by inspiring and motivating people to seek out film culture.
About GB Group plc
GB is the UK's leading Identity Management business. It helps organisations recognise and verify all elements of an individual's identity at every interaction. Through the application of our proprietary technology, we enable organisations to connect, communicate and transact with people safely, responsibly and profitably. In doing so, we help businesses like O2, Laura Ashley, HBoS, LloydsTSB, ASOS.com, Virgin Games, PartyGaming, Betfair and Ladbrokes understand their customers better to create more meaningful customer interactions - and reduce costs across the business.
GB is listed on the London Stock Exchange (GBG). For more information, please visit GB Group's website: www.gb.co.uk.
GB Group - because identity matters™
For further information about GB's global Identity Management applications, please contact:
Maxine Morgan, GB Group
Email: maxine.morgan@gb.co.uk
Number: 07976 538556 / 01244 657333
Adrie Wessels, Bite Communications
Email: adrie.wessels@bitecommunications.com
Number: 07907 979945 / 020 8834 3474
For further information about the BFI, please contact:
Nick Mason Pearson
Tel 020 7957 8901
Email nick.pearson@bfi.org.uk