Spotlight on Inspirato
An interview with Kristen Baker, Senior Director Marketing Production
Inspirato is a luxury hospitality brand with a mission “To inspire lasting memories and relationships by changing the way family and friends experience the world.” With more than 700 luxury controlled accommodations in 100+ global destinations in The Inspirato Collection, Inspirato offers first-class service and luxury experiences exclusively to their members.
DCG ONE has been printing direct mail and collateral for Inspirato since 2016. It started with large direct mail programs, with a ton of optimization and quarterly A/B testing to figure out the best response rates through list, format, and offer testing. Every quarter would find DCG ONE developing different formats, from letterpacks to gatefold self-mailers, and testing finishes such as soft-touch paper, coatings, etc., all in the quest for the most effective pieces. Most recently, a new program evolved where data gets uploaded to DCG ONE every morning from a list of prospective members who have visited the website the day before and performed a certain set of actions that indicates they would be a good lead for marketing. Their addresses have been validated by an IP validation partner, and DCG ONE takes care of mailing the proper communication every day.
When the opportunity to print the Inspirato Magazine came up for discussion, Ryan Carns, Senior Account Executive, knew DCG ONE could do an amazing job. “During the turmoil of the pandemic,” Ryan says, “it became clear the Inspirato team needed a partner who could produce the quality magazine more efficiently and beautifully.” Kristen Baker, Senior Director Marketing Production for Inspirato, was thrilled when the first issue came off the presses: “It was an amazing product of high quality that our members expect.”
With a small team of designers, writers, and project managers, Kristen and her team develop all the communications that go out to members and prospects. Ben Allen, EVP and Managing Director of The Agency at DCG ONE mentioned to Kristen that Associate Creative Director Justin Parnell came from a luxury travel and print background. When considering how to manage capacity on her team and pressured by the increasing scale of the work, Kristen decided to not only have DCG ONE print the magazine, but also to contribute additional designer resources that put her team over the top. “Everyone on the team loves working on the magazine,” Kristen says, “but it was becoming too complex with juggling all the contributors and elements of the magazine twice a year.”
It quickly became clear that having design and production under one roof was an incredible way to streamline communication and manage the shifts in timelines. “It has allowed us to be able to respond more quickly and produce more efficiently,” Ryan says. “It truly has helped eliminate the back-and-forth and limit the chaos factor.” Kristen couldn’t agree more, “The Agency team immediately began to add value and become a great collaborative partner. We’ve built up a great relationship with our team at DCG ONE, and we have a lot of trust in each other. The DCG ONE team knows our business and the quality standards we have. They have our back and do whatever they can to make it happen. It’s amazing knowing you have such a trusted partner to help you reach your goals.”
Get inspired to do some traveling and check out www.inspirato.com, and be sure to look at the beautiful Inspirato Magazine at https://www.inspirato.com/magazine/.
