Complex Membership Kit Fulfillment

When a state teachers association needed a quicker way to send out their membership cards, the 600,000-member group turned to CPS Cards to help them reach their members fast.

The state teachers association has a broad member base which includes over 1200 local unions that represent teachers, professional staff, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers and healthcare technicians.  Each month the association sends out new membership cards, along with a letter and brochure that highlights the benefits of membership.

Using a recommended print vendor, the association had been sending out their membership kits with a lower quality, more economic clean release card.  However, they wanted to upgrade to a higher quality card that was durable enough to last four years (the lifetime of a membership) and had a more polished appearance that would better represent their association.  They also needed a quicker turnaround in order to fulfill the membership cards in a timely manner.

The CPS Cards Solution

Through a mutual third-party partner, the teachers association contacted CPS Cards for assistance. A recognized leader in the field with more than 18 years of experience helping clients successfully complete challenging membership card projects, CPS Cards worked closely with the teachers association to develop a solution for their monthly membership mailing.

The solution would need to include the following:

• A membership kit which included a letter, brochure, envelope and a 24 mil UV coated card with keytag
• Personalization of the card + keytag with variable data, including the member’s name, association and union numbers, card expiration date and member ID #
• Secure FTP data transfer and management of up to 15 different file types on a monthly basis
• Affixing of the card to the letter, which also would be personalized with name and address, and inserted into the envelope along with the brochure

The Results

The teachers association, along with CPS Cards, successfully mailed out more than 577,000 membership kits in the initial rollout and continue to send a varying number of kits each month.  The association’s monthly data transfer is broken out into 15 different files that represent the various member categories (active, retired, union affiliation, etc.) and the information printed on the cards varies according to file.  The number of files, along with the 4-5 different card versions, makes for a very complex membership mailing. The success of the program lies in the precise management of data, as well as the frequency of communication and strong relationship that has formed between CPS and the state teachers association.  Both parties are extremely happy with the results.