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Quicken Loans Case Study

Quicken Loans Combines Strategy with CJ Vantage™ Tools to Increase Performance

Quicken Loans launched its pay-for-performance advertising program in June 2002 with a single focus - to develop new publisher relationships that would significantly improve its acquisition efforts. A year later, the program continues to grow, driving thousands of new leads through its Web site each month, in part due to Commission Junction's CJ Vantage product offering, which provides the home mortgage lender with new ways to deliver powerful incentives and advanced creative to its publishers.



	"Not only was Commission Junction the right solution and the costs easy to justify, but we developed a strong relationship with them from the beginning that enabled us to develop a successful program." Jon Moises Corporate Programs Marketing Manager

Even though Quicken Loans Corporate Programs Marketing Manager Jon Moises had experience using another network, he chose Commission Junction when he discovered that, unlike its competitors, Commission Junction's Web-based solution could be implemented and the program launched within a few weeks. To maximize the launch, Quicken Loans also took advantage of the Power Launch service, which provided the company with strategic advice on setting up the program, developing goals and managing its publishers and creative on an ongoing basis.

"When selecting a pay-for-performance network, we looked for a company that could act quickly to support our efforts," Moises said. "Not only was Commission Junction the right solution and the costs easy to justify, but we developed a strong relationship with them from the beginning that enabled us to develop a successful program."

Using the CJ Vantage product offering, Quicken Loans has been able to optimize its program to drive traffic more effectively. With the advanced services available, Quicken Loans has designated unique commission rates and incentives for its products. This enables the company to reward publishers more fairly for products with higher margins. In addition, by adjusting any of its commission rates or performance incentives within the Account Manager, Quicken Loans encourages publishers to promote or rotate certain products more heavily than others, enabling them to react to market changes or company needs almost immediately. Because the results are easy to measure, the pay-for-performance program plays an important role in Quicken Loans' success.

To develop and educate publishers, Moises regularly uses Commission Junction's relationship management tools. By segmenting publishers based on specific criteria, such as business model, audience, or performance level, he can provide them with unique opportunities to succeed. Through the Member Messaging tool in the Account Manager, Moises sends different publisher groups targeted email campaigns and offers. Due to the ease of developing and messaging its publisher base, some of the company's other CPA (cost-per-acquisition) deals have been integrated into the program to make the management of those relationships easier and more cost effective.

Quicken Loans has achieved the best conversion rates with its text links, with monthly averages as high as 11 percent on certain ads. But the company has also found that Commission Junction's advanced link functionality enables it to effectively push content out to consumers through publisher Web sites and emails. Unlike mass-market products, mortgages aren't obtained on impulse. By providing targeted content, Quicken Loans helps publishers educate consumers on its products and address pre-existing needs. The content modules also provide value to Quicken Loans' publishers and help them to build out their sites while they earn revenue.

When strategizing for the future of the program, Quicken Loans is simply looking for more of the same success they have experienced with Commission Junction.

"Our goal is to develop those publishers that drive the type of traffic we're looking for," Moises says. "We want the program to eventually become a more substantial part of our business and we are confident that Commission Junction can help us reach our goal."

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