If You Want Your Marketing To Be Profitable…Read This!

Brandweek, July 10, 2000 by Brandan Nakamura

In response to requests from the advertising industry, Canada Post is introducing a new service called "Dimensional Addressed Admail," that essentially offers a thickness dimension of up to 35 mm, which is 15 mm traditional oversized Addressed Admail. By expanding the dimensions and maintaining mailing costs this new service allows marketers to send bigger and more impactful promotional pieces.

Canadian Postal Service Introduces "Dimensional Addressed Admail" to Lower Costs of Mailing Videos and CD-ROMs

U.S.-based companies who are looking at international markets will be excited to see that Canada Post now has a vehicle that will efficiently bring their video and CD-ROM marketing campaigns to the Canadian market.

According to Grierson Salter, the Manager of International Market Development for Canada Post, the program has been testing in Canada for over 12 months and the results have been outstanding. The program will officially launch in the Fall of 2000. Until that time, marketers may access the product on a test basis through a Canada Post representative.

Here are a few statistics on the Canadian marketplace:

* 88% of Canadian homes have at least one VCR;

* Canadians spend an average of $475 per capita annually through direct response media;

* Direct Marketing is a $13.5 billion market in Canada and is growing by 9% annually;

* 75% of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the Canada-U.S. border. U.S. Postal Service Lowers Costs for Mailing a CD or DVD as a Ride Along in Magazines

General Advertisers now have the opportunity to enclose an interactive CD or DVD within a magazine for an additional 10 cents each in postage for the next two years, thanks to a trial program initiated by the magazine industry and the U.S. Postal Service.

U.S. Postal Service Lowers Costs for Mailing a CD or DVD as a Ride Along in Magazines

Vito Fortuna, a member of the Direct Mail Team for the U.S. Postal Service, says this will give traditional print advertisers an opportunity to incorporate a response vehicle such as a CD or DVD. Vito believes that incorporating a CD could increase a print advertising response rate in excess of 100%.

This will also give general advertisers who use little direct mail an opportunity to put a product sample directly in the hands of their customers. The ride along offers the advertiser the opportunity to incorporate direct mail and print advertising into one powerful message.

For additional information on the ride along program, contact Vito Fortuna at 718-321-5845 or E-mail to Vfortuna@email.usps.gov.

Why Video Direct Marketing Works:

* Combines the impact of television marketing with the targeting power of direct mail--does everything that television marketing does and makes it better--by expanding the length of the message and by precisely targeting the audience.

* Commonly receives anywhere from 10 to 50 times the response rate of print direct mail, print, and broadcast (on average, response rates are being reported at a range of 20% to 60% compared to 2% to 3% for printed direct mail).