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Addressing
Security Issues in
Direct Mail Campaigns
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OCTOBER 15, 2001 — Not so long ago, a trip to the
mailbox in front of your house was a just routine
part of your day. However, the recent reports of
anthrax contamination of
U.S. Mail have caused many Americans to
approach their mailboxes with caution - and some
folks have become very selective about which
pieces of mail to open and which ones to throw away.
Persuading recipients to open a piece of direct
mail has always been a daunting task. Because of
the anthrax scares, it's now more of a challenge
than ever!
To meet this challenge, suggestion and guidelines
are offered by several organizations whose
missions and business activities are closely tied
to direct mail.
Suggestions & guidelines from PODi
In the November 6, 2001 issue of its Digital Print
Bytes newsletter,
The Digital Printing Initiative (PODi)
advocates
the use of postcards or self-mailers (instead of envelopes)
in direct-mail
campaigns because "nobody ever wonders what's
inside a postcard."
PODi also offers other tips aimed at reaching
recipients who might hesitate to open a piece of
mail. They include:
- If a postcard or self-mailer isn't appropriate
for your campaign. use a window envelope
so that the recipient can peek inside, and
imprint a return address on your envelope.
- Use Standard Mail instead of
first-class mail. Standard Mail (also known as bulk mail)
enters the U.S. Postal Service's system only at
controlled entry points, but first-class mail
can be dropped into any mailbox; therefore,
an individual with evil intentions would
find it difficult to contaminate a piece of
Standard Mail.
Suggestions & guidelines from DMA
On its Web site at
www.the-dma.org/cgi/dispannouncements?article=123,
the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) offers an
extensive list of guidelines. Some of them are:
- Use printed envelopes instead of plain ones.
- Use a return address that includes your company logo.
- Put your toll-free phone number and Web URL on the envelope.
- Use an e-mail campaign or telemarketing campaign to notify consumers that mail will be coming.
Suggestions & guidelines from PrintBuyersOnLine.com
PrintBuyersOnLine.com
helps print buyers save
time and money on by providing free
education, solutions and resources. The following
page on the PrintBuyersOnLine.com Web site
has several links to
information about security issues related to direct-mail marketing:
www.printbuyersonline.com/content.asp?id=736.
Security standards published by EU Services
EU Services is a large, full-color, full-service
printing-and-mailing company in the Washington, DC
area. The company has implemented a comprehensive
security program for its plant. The EU Services
security program appears to be extensive and
very carefully crafted. It could be used as a
model by other printing-and-mailing companies.
Read all about it on the EU Services Web site
(www.euservices.com).
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