The directory of alternative media. (Directory) - Target Marketing

Postal rate hike got you down? Find out how cost-effective card decks, package inserts and ride-along programs can be

It's coming! The Postal Rate Commission will agree to a rate hike to at least 10.3 percent on Third-Class mail and push first-class stamps from 29 cents to 32 cents beginning in 1995.

With mailing costs already taking a chunk out of your direct marketing budget, maybe it's time you gave some serious thought to alternate media.

Opportunities abound for getting your offer/message into the hands of consumers. Take a look at a few old faithfuls and some up-and-coming stars.

The Staples

Cooperative mailings, card decks, package inserts and free-standing inserts (FSIs) have long been the mainstays of alternate media. They reach consumers through familiar channels such as the mail and purchases from catalogs but come at a cheaper price than solo direct mail. Marketers using these media share production and mailing costs, resulting in a more reasonable price per thousand.

A good reason to test these media is that today, most programs can be targeted. Madison Direct Marketing, a cooperative program originator in Greenwich, CT, offers marketers the ability to reach consumers by niche: seniors, expectant parents, new parents, families with infants, families with teenagers, Hispanic households, etc.

Or, you could target a more select group of consumers modeled on their purchase behavior using a program like Time Life's Multi Mail. Tapping into Time Life's vast file of customers, Multi Mail segments its programs by purchases customers have made in a variety of areas such as cooking/crafts, health and fitness, personal finance and do-it-yourself projects. Brin Lewis, Multi Mail's managing director, says that those offers which tie in to areas consumers have already responded to should 'strengthen customer involvement' and result in greater response. In the future, the Multi Mail program will also target families with children.

New Approaches

As competition among businesses produces even more offers for consumers to sift through, one company is using new technology and on-the-spot targeting to reach consumers through an untraditional channel.

Advanced Promotion Technologies, a Pompano Beach, FL-based electronic firm, created the Vision Value Network [TM], a satellite-based electronic direct marketing and financial services delivery network to provide coupons, instant rebates and information on special promotions. The Vision Value Club ([R]) a frequent-shopper program, works in conjunction with the Network to offer shoppers further benefits. Here's how it works: interested shoppers receive a 'smart' card that accumulates points with every trip to the store. Points are given on the purchase of participating brands and for the dollar amount of the total purchase. Shoppers can redeem points for gifts from a catalog.

The benefit for direct marketers is the ability to target individuals based on the purchases they make, at the time they make them. For example, if a shopper purchased some baby food, a coupon for diapers might be printed out and offered, due to the likelihood that this shopper has a baby.

Advanced Promotion Technologies isn't the only player cashing in on interactive systems. Interactive shopping and information network, Worldshop, Grand Rapids, MI, uses the power of the PC to reach customers directly. Customers can get on-line and use their PC to shop in an 'electronic mall' filled with products from participating mail order companies, retailers and manufacturers such as Tandy Computer and Hammacher Schlemmer.

Worldshop offers many benefits to customers: the convenience of shopping from home; full-color, real-time delivery with text; the ability to search for specific products, browse amongst suppliers and even create mini-catalogs of merchandise while browsing that can be stored to order from later, without having to get back on-line.

Most products are fulfilled directly to the customer; some require a visit to a local dealer for pickup. In both cases, the customer is notified on-screen when making a purchase.

More To Come

These are just some of the ways you can reach new segments of consumers or, at least, contact prospects in new ways. Browse through the next couple pages to find business partners who could introduce to you a whole new area of direct response marketing.