Data & Direct Marketing

ANA DATA & DIRECT MARKETING COMMITTEE MEETING
October 13, 2026 from 11:00AM ET – 1:00 PM ET (Virtual Only)

I. WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS

II. BEYOND CLICKS: MEASURING HOW DIRECT MAIL AND DIGITAL WORK TOGETHER IN INSURANCE

As State Farm modernizes direct mail within a unified customer experience, a persistent measurement challenge remains: proving what is truly incremental across channels, especially when identity linkage between mail and digital is imperfect and digital is often “always on.” This session outlines a practical incrementality framework for performance marketing that treats experimentation as the gold standard for grounding planning and attribution. We’ll center on a simple full-factorial test design (Mail + Digital, Mail-only, Digital-only, and Control) to estimate the incremental contribution of each channel and the interaction (synergy) created when they run together. We’ll discuss pragmatic deployment options and success metrics that matter in insurance, such as quote starts and bundle adoption. We’ll also surface common real-world obstacles such as match-rate and identity constraints, organizational silos, postal delivery variability and governance practices that keep cross-functional teams aligned. Finally, we’ll show how to translate results into clear guidance: budget and channel strategy, improved attribution assumptions, and a repeatable cadence of mail experimentation that continuously refines audience, timing, and offer strategy while digital programs continue to run.

Speakers:
Betsy Sparrow, Marketing Science Analyst, State Farm
Lisa Ochs, Marketing Science Manager, State Farm

III. MINIMALLY VIABLE MTA FOR DIRECT MAIL

This is for the Direct Mail channel leaders who have the MTA budget equivalent of a shoestring and an apple (and maybe you already ate half the apple while working on another project).

Data models for Direct Mail have evolved to produce incredibly valuable insights. MTA is being used to drive MMM models and expand visibility across multiple channels. Custom audience segmentation is informing best practices. And all that is fantastic! But if you only recently transitioned off using Excel as a database or you’re running with a ghostly lean data team, perhaps you’d like an entry level crash course on how to get some of those MTA benefits setup fast?

Learn about how to work with your data team to transform your data and reporting. Build a minimally viable MTA product. Get your share of those valuable insights! Then expand your MTA into a full-scale fancy project later.

Speaker:
Lily Herron, Marketing Analytics Manager, Performance Analytics Team, ADT

IV. CLOSING REMARKS