Tag: Mail Services

Business Christmas cards prompt consumer purchases of up to GBP 100

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

company as a direct result, new research revealed today.

The survey, conducted on behalf of Royal Mail by YouGov, shows that 69 per cent of consumers make a purchase of up to GBP 100 after receiving a card from a company such as a high street store. More than a quarter (27 per cent) of all consumers who made a purchase spent over GBP 100, and 12 per cent spent over GBP 500.

The study is unveiled as Royal Mail reminds businesses of the last posting dates to ensure that they send their Christmas greetings on time and do not leave customers and suppliers feeling neglected. Companies with a global customer base should plan ahead with their Christmas card mailings – the recommended last posting date for festive greetings to destinations such as Australia and South Africa is 7 December.

The research also revealed:

– 84 per cent of consumers prefer to receive company Christmas cards through the mail, compared with only 3 per cent who prefer email greetings
– This figure jumps to 91 per cent for the over 55 demographic

Thierry Saada, Director of Sector Marketing at Royal Mail, said: “A Christmas card sends an important message that you value your customers and our research shows that consumers respond well to this personal touch.”

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300 new offices of Azerbaijan State Post Company to open in 2008

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

The Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies of Azerbaijan continues realizing the three-year programme of post services development.

Deputy communication minister Iltimas Mammadov said that for the last three years they are going to restructure around 3,000 post offices of Azerpoct (Azerbaijan State Post Company) on the principle of “universal postal services”.

“In this connection we opened around 110 new post offices in remote populated points last year and 85 ones this year. In 2008 we expect to open 300 ones more to be designed to render universal services,” Mammadov said.

At the same time country’s postal service market is fully liberal.

“Azerbaijan has issued around 20 licenses for communications services,” he said.

Azerpoct is numbering about 1,600 post offices and agencies around the country.

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Indian Post Offices May Sell Over-the-Counter Drugs

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs may soon be available in post offices across the country if an initiative by the drug makers and the government fructify. In a bid increase the access of essential drugs to consumers, pharma companies are in talks with the government to use post offices to sell OTC drugs.

The industry is also considering using the extensive marketing reach of global beverages giant PepsiCo in India for a similar initiative. “The government has around 1.5 lakh post offices across the country. We have been in talks with the government to use the network to sell OTC drugs and hope to start a pilot test within six months,” Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) president Ranjit Shahani told mediapersons on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit.

The initiative is taking time as drugs and post offices are with different ministries, and the proposal needs separate approval from both the departments. However, the pharma industry is planning to start a pilot test in some cities in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh soon. OTC drugs are medicines like contraceptives, essential cold and cough medicines, among others which consumers can buy without a doctor’s prescription.

Apart from being educated, postmen have good relationships with consumers and drugs manufactures can leverage this network which is now under-utilised, Mr Shahani added. Pharma companies are also exploring a arrangement with the PepsiCo to use the latter’s network to sell OTC drugs. “One can find Pepsi across the nook and corner of the country. We have put up a proposal to Pepsi Co to use their network in India. We have received a positive response.”

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Western Union Supports Disaster Relief Initiatives in Bangladesh

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

As a humanitarian gesture toward cyclone relief efforts in Bangladesh, Western Union is launching a “No Transfer Fee”(1) Pricing Action for any amount sent to Bangladesh from Italy, the United Kingdom, the U.S.A., Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.(2) The initiative will run from Nov. 27, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007 in the U.S. and from Dec. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007 in the United Kingdom, Italy, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Remittances will be vital in offering emergency support on top of relief efforts by the Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies and various NGOs to the victims of Cyclone Sidr.

Moreover, The Western Union Foundation, a philanthropic organization to facilitate charitable giving programs worldwide, is donating USD 100,000 to UNICEF in its relief response in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, education, child protection and the provision of non-food items.

The Western Union Foundation also is encouraging employee donations through the Western Union Employee Gift Matching Program. The Western Union Foundation will match registered employee donations to UNICEF on a one-for-one basis, up to USD 25,000.

The Western Union Foundation grant is part of the Western Union Our World, Our Family program, a company initiative to empower migrant families through education and global economic opportunity programs that help them stay connected, overcome barriers, and realize their dreams.

(1) Although there is no transfer fee, Western Union will make money when it converts remittances to a foreign currency.

(2) The fee waiver will also be available for money transfers on westernunion.com originating in the USA and the UK.

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Junk mail spurs growth for top printer makers

Posted by | Dec 5, 2007 | |

Junk mail may at best sound like something to toss, but to companies like Xerox Corp., Ocè NV, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Eastman Kodak Co., the stuff smells like money.

Makers of high-production printers and systems have the direct-mail marketing industry in their sights, promoting the use of high-end digital printers with software tools to help advertisers personalize marketing content. Personalized marketing is advertising directed to an individual that’s sometimes based on past activity and elicits a response that can often be tracked.

Mailboxes across the country are filling up with personal messages from advertisers that can have intimate knowledge of a person’s insurance rates, car payments, favorite vacation spots or hobbies. Some even send coupons for favorite stores and products on a person’s birthday. Such personalized advertising typically generates significantly greater response than an advertisement meant for a general audience.

As such, it’s also the fastest-growing form of advertising off the Internet, and is projected to drive sales growth by 5.3 pct a year from between now and 2012, according to data provided by Direct Marketing Association, a trade group offering direct-marketing tools. By comparison, television ads are seen driving sales growth by 5pct , newspapers by 0.9pct , magazines by 3pct and radio by 3pct over the same period of time.

Altogether, the U.S. direct-mail printing business is a USD 62.2 billion market that’s expected to grow around 6pct, or 7 billion pages a year, data from marketing consultants Winterberry Group and Universal McCann show.

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