Lender DiTech Turns Off Road, Into ‘E-Marketing’

Mortgage lender DiTech.com, whose giant billboards dot several Southern California freeways, is shifting its advertising focus from rush-hour traffic to Internet traffic.

The Costa Mesa-based lender, which was recently acquired by GMAC Mortgage Corp., is launching its first “e-marketing” campaign designed to capitalize on the company’s new Web site, which permits borrowers to apply for loans online.

The effort is focused on sending personalized and targeted e-mail offers to some of the approximately 20,000 consumers who use the company’s Web site each day.

After a recent test, DiTech.com found the e-mail ads were more effective than other types of marketing, according to Matt Ghourdjian, chief information officer for the company.

Out of 26,000 e-mail offers, the company received 2,000 responses and funded more than 300 loans, he said.

“This is a higher return rate than any of our traditional marketing campaigns have delivered,” Ghourdjian said.

The company hired Rubric Inc. in San Mateo, which specializes in Internet marketing, to help run the new campaign.