octane information. Much more had to be known about previous and
prospective customers in terms of their lifestyle and buying intentions in
order to gauge purchase timing as accurately as possible. Rover had to
establish how it might induce prospects to provide this information. What
could be offered in exchange and be acceptable as well as motivational?
Rover was concerned that the approach should be perceived by prospects
and customers as a controlled process, i.e. Rover supplied information
when it was requested and required. Customers and prospects would
therefore need to be prompted to initiate the approach.
As a result of these considerations, Rover decided to produce an exclu-
sive magazine as the axis around which the new direct marketing initiative
would revolve. Not surprisingly, the magazine took its name from the pro-
gramme – Catalyst. The role of the magazine was twofold – to ‘warm’
potential customers to Rover and to maintain a dialogue with existing cus-
tomers. From the outset, Rover was determined that the Catalyst pro-
gramme would not be an ordinary direct marketing campaign.
Since the objective was to understand more about the lifestyles of cus-
tomers and prospects, it was decided that Catalyst would feature articles
relating to lifestyle issues. Moreover, it had to be of a standard and quality
which reflected well on Rover, but was also comparable to, or better than,
equivalent publications to be found on the newsagents’ shelves.
Accordingly, a top-class editorial team was assembled. Michael Parkinson
was appointed Editor, and a stable of well-known writers was commis-
sioned to write articles as and when required.
It was ‘sold’ to existing and prospective customers as something unique
- a magazine which treated them as individuals by allowing them to
choose part of the contents for themselves. Prospects could select from a
range of lifestyle sections, ensuring that they received a magazine that was
tailored to their interests – for example, gardening, cooking and sports.
Different versions of the Catalyst magazine were produced, reflecting the
profile of the target audiences’ lifestyle and interests. Image was also a key
consideration – the Catalyst programme was to play a central role in
making people perceive Rover as a quality company that they would like
to do business with.
How the magazine was used
The existing database included some 300,000 previous buyers who had
registered warranties. The database was analysed to identify profiles of
prospects. After conducting research into this group, Rover identified pro-
files of typical buyers. It then rented an estimated 580,000 names from lists
at an approximate average cost of £95 per thousand. Lists were selected to
reflect buyer profiles and after deduplication a total database of 800, 000
people was established.
Rover mailed all those listed an introductory Catalyst, a 90-page maga-
100 Relationship Marketing