October 22, 2024, Westlake Village, CA – Fortitude Research and Marketing, a recognized market leader in providing consumer insights, is pleased to announce they have entered into a partnership with Directors Investment Group, the parent company of Funeral Directors Life Insurance Company, Passare and other subsidiaries, combining DIG’s world-class service to the deathcare profession and Fortitude’s Customer Experience Program (CXP).

With the customer experience increasingly playing a role in consumer decision making, funeral homes and cemeteries are realizing that simple aftercare outreach isn’t enough to truly understand how to improve operations. The DIG-Fortitude partnership brings together a base of businesses who care about their ability to serve families, improve operations and drive pre- need insurance sales.

“The DIG-Fortitude partnership is a powerful combination. DIG’s mission to be the Profession’s best, most-respected service provider uniquely aligns with Fortitude’s insights-driven culture,” said George Owens, President of Fortitude Research and Marketing. “Together, we can help DIG’s clients with Passare, Funeral Directors Life, and other DIG brands, understand and deliver on the promise of world-class service to their customers by uncovering their customers’ needs and behaviors and by surfacing additional pre-need revenue opportunities to drive success.”

Fortitude’s customer experience insights platform measures consumer behaviors and delivers information about the family’s experience. These insights help uncover opportunities for operational improvement, help companies with reputation management, and deliver high quality pre-need leads.

"We're always looking for new ways to deliver value to our funeral home clients and the families they serve. We're excited to start this partnership with Fortitude and proud to be able to offer a unique customer experience insights platform that can only be obtained with the DIG- Fortitude partnership," said Kris Seale, DIG CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board. "We believe our partnership offers the best insights platform in the industry, and we are confident

that this will help our clients better address the challenges funeral professionals face today and improve their business both operationally and financially."

Founded in 2018, Fortitude Research and Marketing (formerly SoCal Approach) consults to drive marketing and business forward through understanding consumer attitudes and behaviors and using those insights to help companies improve marketing and operations. This led to the development of Fortitude CXP, Fortitude’s customer experience technology insights platform, a technology portal that measures consumer behaviors and delivers insights about the customer experience, ultimately resulting in lead generation and operational improvement.

About Fortitude Research and Marketing:

Fortitude Research and Marketing is a recognized leader in using consumer insights to drive marketing and business results. The company was founded to deliver voice-of-the-customer insights and has evolved to a full-service marketing agency focused on providing marketing and business solutions built on a foundation of consumer information. Their technology platform, Fortitude CXP, helps companies understand consumer behaviors and use that information to improve marketing and business operations. Based in Southern California, with a presence in Houston, Phoenix, Seattle, and Atlanta, their integrated marketing approach drives measurable results and business growth. For additional information on Fortitude, visit www.fortitudeinsights.com.

About DIG

At Directors Investment Group (parent company to Funeral Directors Life, Passare, and other subsidiaries), our mission is to be known as “the best, most-respected provider of service to our industries.” We serve clients across the nation, offering a variety of services to funeral home clients, including sales programs, training, technology, marketing, and financial services. To learn more about DIG, visit dig.family.