InfoCision Management Corporation

InfoCision Management Corporation is a company that operates call centers. Based in suburban Akron, Ohio, it is the second-largest teleservice company in the United States. It operates 30 call centers at 12 locations in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, employing more than 4,000 people.[1] The company "specializes in political, Christian and nonprofit fundraising, and sales and customer care."[2]

History

InfoCision was founded by Gary Taylor in his suburban Akron home in 1982. For the first three years, IMC managed its client’s telefundraising campaigns by serving as a marketing consultant while a separate call center company made the phone calls. In 1985, InfoCision opened its first call center. Since then, InfoCision has become one of the largest privately held call center companies in the world. Today, InfoCision raises more money for nonprofit organizations than any other outbound teleservices company.[3] In 2004, Taylor stepped down as president and CEO to become chairman.[4]

On April 20, 2012, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a settlement agreement he had reached with InfoCision. After an investigation, the Attorney General's Charitable Law Section "found reason to believe InfoCision violated several sections of the Ohio Charitable Organizations Act." InfoCision denied violating the law. As part of the settlement, InfoCision agreed to pay $75,000 and "fully abide by the state's laws on soliciting charitable contributions."[5]

On October 10, 2012, the company announced that Craig Taylor, son of company founder Gary Taylor, was promoted to the position of CEO, replacing Carl Albright.[6]

Gary Taylor died March 2, 2013, just over three years after he fell ill from a heart attack suffered in 2009. He was 59.

Products and services

A parachuter descends with American flag in tow onto the surface of the University of Akron's InfoCision Stadium as part of the opening day festivities of the first game ever held in the facility.

InfoCision's services are used by a wide variety of clients. These include national nonprofit organizations, Fortune 100 companies and smaller businesses, focusing on customer acquisition, customer care and retention, and nonprofit fundraising, as well as volunteer recruitment. The company is divided into nine divisions, which are financial services, telecommunications, media, consumer and business services and religious, nonprofit and political fundraising.[7]

In addition to call centers, InfoCision also provides direct mail/bulk fulfillment services, offering variable on-demand data printing services, a one-to-one marketing strategy. On-demand printing allows different elements such as text, graphics and images to change from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the printing process to deliver a customized message to customers.[8]

According to a report from Bloomberg on September 12, 2012, the company can take as much as 100% of the proceeds raised for Nonprofits and givers are often unaware of the share of their gifts going to the telemarketing firm. Furthermore, the report alleges that the script given to the telemarketers to read to prospective donors contains factual lies about how much money will go to the charity.[9][10] InfoCision responded the same day with a statement that did not address the substance of the allegations, except to say (1) if charities keep on coming back to them then they must be doing something right (2) acquiring new donors and reengaging lapsed donors could be costly (3) once these donors have been brought into the system, the charity will benefit from future donations from them (4) that it's not fair that people question their practices when for-profit businesses engage in the same strategies (i.e., loss leaders and free giveaways) even though that ultimately raises marketing costs.[11]

Philanthropy

In 2008, InfoCision and its employees donated more than $450,000 to various causes, and in 2009, despite the economic downturn, donated more than $250,000, in addition to volunteering.[12]

In 2004, InfoCision Founder Gary Taylor donated more than $3.5 million to fund the development of Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing at the University of Akron.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "InfoCision to hire vets through partnership with Army program" - Ohio.com Retrieved September 12, 2009
  2. ↑ InfoCision - "About Us" Retrieved September 12, 2009
  3. ↑ "Company History" Retrieved January 25, 2010
  4. ↑ "InfoCision Founder Gary Taylor Takes on Chairman Role" Retrieved January 25, 2010
  5. ↑ Ohio Attorney General's Office. Attorney General DeWine Announces Settlement Agreement with Professional Solicitor Company InfoCision, April 20, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  6. ↑ "InfoCision CEO is out, Taylor family member takes helm". Akron Beacon Journal Online. October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Markets We Serve" Retrieved January 25, 2010
  8. ↑ "Kodak Nexpress Presses Help InfoCision Dial in Revenue for Businesses and Nonprofits Alike" Retrieved January 25, 2010
  9. ↑ Myers, Lisa, "Donors unaware charity money goes to telemarketer", NBC Today Show, September 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  10. ↑ Evans, David, "Charities Deceive Donors Unaware Money Goes to a Telemarketer", Bloomberg Markets, September 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  11. ↑ "Response to False Media Reports About the Work InfoCision Does for Charities", InfoCision website. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Philanthropic commitment" Retrieved January 25, 2010
  13. ↑ "The Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing" Retrieved January 25, 2010

External links