SAS helps Hallmark make key decisions that delight customers

SAS® BI Server puts clear, consistent information closer to end user

NRF 97th Annual Convention and EXPO, NEW YORK   (Jan. 14, 2008)  –  With a few keystrokes on their computer keyboards, staff in the Hallmark Consumer Understanding and Insight group now can quickly unlock valuable perspectives about their customers to drive key business decisions. As a result, the research group is able to provide the enhanced market insights Hallmark needs to better offer customers innovative new products and related marketing programs. SAS, the leader in business intelligence, has worked with the greeting card and gift giant for years; Hallmark’s most recent investment in SAS BI Server deepens and strengthens that relationship.  

“Hallmark has been on a marketing transformation path for some time now with a foundation in fact-based marketing analytics,” said Jay Dittmann, Vice President of Marketing Strategy for Hallmark. “We needed to gain access to complex information more quickly to better understand our business and enhance the support we provide to the rest of the corporation. SAS BI Server is critical for us to get closer to that information fast.” 

SAS BI Server provides a complete portfolio of business intelligence capabilities and applies the power of SAS analytics and data integration to create a complete and easy-to-use business intelligence solution. The solution delivers an integrated suite of tools that gives users easy access to information that can drive timely, effective decision making. For Hallmark, SAS BI Server will provide simple self-service access to key business and customer data to fuel strategic decision making; consistent business rules and definitions for consistent information output; easy-to-use interfaces; and stored processes that allow analysis to be run by users through a familiar interface. 

Dittmann said that the previous process of extracting data and manually feeding it into Excel spreadsheets was cumbersome. “Because of SAS, we’re more self sufficient,” said Dittmann. “Our team can perform marketing analytics at a more granular level without additional internal technology help. The time saved frees up our team up to undertake more complex, sophisticated analyses that are essential for helping us understand sales trends and consumer shopping behavior in the marketplace across our channels of distribution.” 

In addition to Hallmark, SAS retail customers include AutoZone, Bakers Footwear, Brooks Brothers, Burger King, Carrefour, Casino, Casual Male, The Children’s Place, Eddie Bauer, Hudson’s Bay Company, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Luxottica Retail, Macy’s, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Marks & Spencer, Newport News, Northern Tool & Equipment, Office Depot, Sainsbury’s, ShopKo, Sport Chalet, Staples, Tesco, Tween Brands, Williams-Sonoma and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.

SAS is demonstrating its retail intelligence solutions at the NRF 97^th Annual Show and EXPO in booth 1337. 

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