Tag: direct mail

With Junk Mail Bill Stalled, New Report Details Effects

Posted by | Aug 7, 2008 | |

A bill to stop the delivery of unwanted mail has stalled for now in New York State, a development welcomed by the U.S. Postal Service, which has opposed the legislation since its introduction in 2007.

Meanwhile, an environmental nonprofit organization, ForestEthics, published a report yesterday detailing the detrimental environmental impact of junk mail and a petition signed by about 60,000 people who support a “do not mail” registry. The report also cites a 2007 Zogby poll that found that 89 pct of Americans support the idea of a registry.

Since 2007, 19 states have introduced legislation that would create a “do not mail” registry similar to the “do not call” list that prevents telemarketers from calling people who prefer not to receive such calls. The “do not mail” legislation, however, was not discussed on the floor in most of the states in which the bills were introduced this year. The “do not call” bill became law nationwide in 2003.

State Senator Carl Kruger, a Democrat of Brooklyn, said the bill he introduced in 2007 has been tabled, but that he will continue to pursue the legislation.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service, Joanne Veto, said the bill has not yet passed in any state because people realize the economic impact of what she called the “USD billion” mailing industry.

Only a fraction of mail ends up in landfills, she said, and the postal service lets recipients choose, to a certain extent, the mail they want to receive.

Unsolicited mail is different from unwanted phone calls, Ms. Veto said. “Mail doesn’t interrupt your dinner,” she said.

The largest postal union, which represents about 300,000 workers, also opposes the registry.

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Royal Mail to run obesity campaign (UK)

Posted by | Aug 5, 2008 | |

Further to Royal Mail’s own direct mail marketing campaign, the postal provider is to deliver a direct marketing campaign for the government.

The campaign will be aimed at tackling child obesity and is thought to be worth GBP£75 million, according to Brand Republic.

Department of health figures have shown that almost one in four children of school-starting-age are overweight.

Royal Mail head of government marketing James McGruer says direct mailing will make more people aware of the problem.

A recent survey showed that direct mail was the most effective way of communicating with the public as far as the health sector goes.

Over half (52 per cent) of respondents said they used the mail to communicate all important health information, while only 24 per cent used email.

The effectiveness of any direct mailing campaign can be increased by personalising the addressing of correspondence.

Marketers should always ensure the quality of data they hold is as high as possible to ensure a campaign’s success.

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Wrongly addressed mail damages brands says Veridata (UK)

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

Veridata says that mailing out millions of pieces of direct mail needs to be done responsibly and that it can be a waste of money as well as actually damage a company’s reputation by delivering to the wrong address/recipient effectively becoming an annoyance rather than a way to reach potential buyers.

Veridata, which specialises in providing data capture solutions, says that that around 10 pct of all direct mail fails to even reach its target and that 13 pct of the population move very year. With pressure on direct marketing companies to update mailing lists and reduce the volume of paper that goes to landfill, accurate databases are essential says Veridata.

The UK government has already asked the direct marketing industry to get its house in order or face sweeping measures to curb what some householders and business see as a deluge of unwanted and irrelevant sales literature, and much of the problem is down to companies using old or outdated mailing lists.

Veridata handles returned mail from marketing campaigns, extracting the contents, scanning relevant address, verifying and collating the data and then returns this information to direct marketers to provide up-to-date information which reduces waste.

‘Stop Junk Mail’, the main lobby group calling for strict limitations on junk mail, says that people can reduce the amount they get through their door by opting out. Royal Mail which is the single largest distributor of door-to-door mail does have an opt-out facility although it warns that you could lose important information distributed by local authorities and other organisations.

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Royal Mail promotes media portfolio through new campaign

Posted by | Jul 31, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is highlighting its expertise and comprehensive suite of products which can assist and add value to marketing propositions through a new direct mail campaign.

The activity is designed to heighten awareness of Royal Mail’s wide range of DM campaign solutions including off-the-shelf creative products and industry-leading audience targeting solutions to an audience of 14,000 marketing campaign implementers and media agency staff.

The mail pack, which will also have a dual function as a ‘leave behind’ for Royal Mail’s sales team, is designed as a ‘DM seedbox’. The variety of products and services are covered in a set of ‘seed booklets’ to ‘help you grow your own direct mail’, aligned around the central proposition that Royal Mail’s media portfolio provides the media and advertising industry with ‘a DM resource like no other’.

Over the past twelve months alone, Royal Mail has constantly worked to innovate the direct mail medium and make it work more effectively for brands. New service introductions have included Personalised Integrated Media, developed with Sony DADC, which fuses digital with direct to create a truly individualised branded CD mailing, and Sensory Mail, created in conjunction with BRANDSense, to create standout mailing campaigns which engage all five of the senses, with further innovations coming soon.

The direct mail activity, which has been created by Meteorite, is being supported by adverts in marketing publications.

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Magazines Canada makes recommendations to Canada Post review panel

Posted by | Jul 28, 2008 | |

A delegation of representatives from Magazines Canada met with the Canada Post strategic review panel in Toronto to provide six recommendations on what the crown corporation should to do to strengthen its relationship with and improve services for the Canadian magazine industry.

– There should be a “postal contract” between Canada Post and the Federal Government to clarify the crown corporation’s roles and responsibilities.
– An independent regulator should be created to ensure compliance with the “postal – contract” and provide for arbitration of disputes.
– Lettermail rates should rise with actual delivery costs.
– Rate increases should be transparent, timely and predictable.
– Competition should be introduced in magazine delivery.
– istance-related pricing should be put on hold pending the panel’s report.
The delegation also pointed out two key characteristics that make Canada’s magazine industry and mail services unique:

The size of Canada’s landmass relative to the small and dispersed population.
Competition from American magazines due to our proximity to the world’s largest exporter of magazines.

Magazines Canada will submit comprehensive proposal to Canada Post in September. This will also go out to Magazines Canada members.

The Canada Post panel will complete its review in December 2008.

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