Consumerist: Direct Mail

If You Love Junk Mail, Visit The Direct Marketing Association's Advocacy Website "MailMovesAmerica.org"

Meg Marco — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:59:10 EDT

Did you know that "advertising mail is under threat?" It's true! But what can you, the consumer who loves junk mail, do to stop the 15 states that, in 2007, "proposed the creation of state Do Not Mail registries, similar to the national do not call registry"? The Direct Marketing Association has set up a website just for you!

From MailMovesAmerica.org:

To many consumers and policymakers, Do Not Mail bills may sound like an idea whose time has come. However, learning even a little about advertising mail and direct marketing quickly reveals the many problems that Do Not Mail registries would create.

Advertising mail is a large and diverse economic engine creating $686 billion of economic activity annually that would be adversely affected by even just one bill becoming law. Thousands of jobs are dependent on advertising mail and direct marketing – from copywriters in ad agencies to rural letter carriers in remote corners of a sparsely populated state.

Get on over there and tell them how much you totally freaking love junk mail!

MailMovesAmerica.org

Want to reduce your Bank of America spam ...

Chris Walters — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:33:52 EDT

Want to reduce your Bank of America spam mail? Our commenter tinder posted a link to their opt-out page in our earlier post on Chase spam. [www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/]

How To Get Chase To Stop Sending You Direct Mail Offers Over And Over And Over

Chris Walters — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:07:43 EDT

Anyone who's a customer of Chase knows how hardcore they can be about direct mail advertising. Martin writes:

Over the last 12-24 months, I've been annoyed with about 3-4 mailings a week from Chase for various add-on services and useless products. Already a customer of theirs, I did not appreciate this onslaught of advertising. Here's a quick opt-out website in which you can cancel all direct marketing letters from Chase... dnmoptions.chase.com.

8 Ways To Opt Out Of Junk Mail Lists

Chris Walters — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:32:11 EDT

Direct mailers don't believe in the concept of opting in, so if you want to cut down on the amount of straight-to-the-trash mail you receive, you'll need to contact them directly and request that your name is removed. ForestEthics—the group behind the Do Not Mail Registry petition we blogged about earlier, has gathered several ways to contact the offending parties.

1. Use their form to generate 17 ready-to-mail requests to different direct mail companies. DoNotMail will take the data you enter and create a PDF document with all 17 letters ready to print and send. If you don't want to enter your personal info into a random site, you can use fake data and then download the PDF document for a reference to create your own letters.

2. Contact Opt-Out Prescreen online or at 1-888-567-8688 (888-5-OPT-OUT) from your home telephone .

3. Email your removal request to Abacus Direct at optout@abacus-us.com

3. Remove your name from ADVO Inc. by calling 1-888-241-6760 or completing the form at www.advo.com/consumersupport.html

4. Fill out the form on the Direct Marketing Association's website at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing

5. Email your removal request to Publishers Clearinghouse at privacychoices@pchmail.com

6. Get off Val-Pak's list by filing out the form at http://www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm

7. To remove yourself from Acxiom's list, you must request a mail-in opt-out form by calling 1-877-774-2094.

8. DoNotMail.com notes, "Catalogs may stop coming when your other removal requests are processed, but you can always call the catalog company."

"Stop getting junk mail" [DoNotMail.org]
"Phone numbers and websites to opt out of junk mail" [DoNotMail.org]
(Photo: Joe Shlabotnik)

Consumer Agency IT Pro Admits To Stealing 8.4 Million Records

Chris Walters — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:28:21 EST

A senior database administrator for Fidelity National Information Services, a widely used banking technology and data providor, has admitted that he stole 8.4 million customer records from the company and sold the data to a broker, who in turn sold them to marketers. He could face up to 10 years in prison but will probably get less because he confessed. We think he should have to open, read, and shred every piece of junk mail that his victims receive for the next, oh, say 10 years instead.

According to the register, for once this doesn't appear to be a fraud-based crime:

The company [Fidelity] is unaware of any identity theft or fraudulent financial activity resulting from the theft. Rather, it believes the stolen records were used for marketing purposes.

Really, are mailing lists that expensive to buy?

"IT pro admits stealing 8.4M consumer records" [Channel Register]
(Photo: Getty)

Secrets Of Why Direct Mail Works

Chris Walters — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:07:38 EDT

Direct mail still works whether you want it to or not, which is why you'll continue to get subscription requests, membership invitations, donation pleas, and coupons every day the mail runs. Here's a list of tricks direct mail marketers use to increase the odds that their mailings will be opened. It's written for marketers, but in the advertising arms race everything is fair game, so we felt it was worth showing Consumerist readers as well.

To begin with, direct mail marketers are urged to get personal: they should leverage every bit of data they have on you and incorporate it in a way that shows that they get you. "The closer you get to something that resembles a personal letter, the higher your response rate is going to be." For some reason, signatures that are in blue ink work better than ones in black, we imagine because they subtly look more personalized and less machine-printed.

Marketers also put lots of work into an appealing teaser. Lists with numbers continue to be among the most successful for generating a response, which is why you also see them on news sites all across the web—including here, we'll admit it. (There's just something fundamentally appealing about a specific number of items on a list, apparently.)

Larger envelopes and card-shaped envelopes get opened more, as do envelopes with windows.

Among the sneakiest tricks are things like addressing the envelope by hand, using a real stamp over metered postage, and—worst of all—making it look, even if only subconsciously, like an invitation.

Everyone likes to be invited to a party or events, so take that into account when designing your direct mail envelope. "Envelopes that look like an invitation tend to work really well," Willingham says. "Especially if you use a live stamp and no return address, because that gives the piece the look of personal correspondence."

Of course, if you're a marketer lurking on our site, you already know all of these things, so maybe you should instead read this list of ways to make your next direct mailing less damaging to the environment and less annoying to your prospects.

"9 1/2 Ways — To Get Customers to Open Your Direct Mail" [Kiplinger Business Resource Center]
"5 tips for better direct mail" [Trump University] (!)
(Photo: Getty)

Man Documents Efforts To Get Off Spam Lists

Chris Walters — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:34:00 EDT

Jonny Halleran has taken on the sort of masochistic project we love to watch here at Consumerist: trying to get himself removed from all direct mail and marketing lists, and documenting it on YouTube. His first attempt involves Verizon, and it's clear by their escalating series of mixed messages that they've created a sort of antimatter version of "customer service," one that's designed to confuse and mislead customers so they'll hang up and just sort of sit there in stunned silence for a little while.

Our favorite moment: when Halleran asks, "If I cancel my account with you guys, will that stop the mailing?", and the man on the other end just sighs in angry exasperation.

(Thanks to Taryn!)

"Off The List" [YouTube]

HOWTO: Stop Supermarket Circulars

popkin — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:12:28 EST

Don't want to save 10 on three hams anymore?

Trixare4kids writes in on how to get the supermarket circulars out of your mailbox.

She received the "Shop Wise" ads from Advo, who, according to their answering machine is, "the nation's largest full service targeted direct mail marketing company."

She then called 888-241-6760 and requested removal. You can also use the form here.
If your ads don't come from Advo, there should be a number somewhere, often on the cover with your address, informing you where to call.

We, on the other hand, are considering signing up for the Advo ads. Look at that Jollibee mascot. That's what we're going to dress up as for our next ritualistic sacrifice/satanic orgy (also referred to as "Sac-n'-Org's).

UPDATE: We've been informed the picture displayed is for the Shop Wise store, not the "Shop Wise" packet which contains ads for Walgreens, Longs, Albertsons, Safeway, etc. We're going to keep the photo up anyway because we think the horror of the Jollibee somehow represents everything that's wrong with opt-out based direct mailings.

USPS Delivers More Junk Mail Than Love Letters

popkin — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 10:08:30 EST

If you've noticed your snail mailbox getting fuller, it's not because you've become more popular, because odds are, you haven't.

However, the volume of "Standard Mail," or bulk mail, surpassed all other classes for the first time in American history in 2005.

Why your mail slot will only explode further, after the jump.

Direct mail gains increasing favor in the face of the so-called 'splintering' and 'fracturing' and 'dismembering' of traditional advertising channels, especially television. In contrast, direct mail is targetable, its results quantifiable and cost thousands of times less than a thirty-second tv spot.

The West Coast office of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has a blog with nifty charts breaking down all the numbers.

Todd Heyman, Creative Director at OgilvyOne Worldwide, the direct marketing division of advertising megalith Ogilvy, tells The Consumerist, "Frankly, I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of what direct mail can accomplish. Too much of the direct mail that's sent out today follows a rather bland, tired formula. Our goal is to make the mail we produce impossible to ignore..."

Marketers wouldn't send direct mail wouldn't if it weren't profitable. If you receive a mailer you consider unwanted, that's the marketer's fault for not targeting his list effectively enough. In an ideal world, there is no such thing as junk mail. Instead, every single piece of bulk mail caters to your interests, needs and desires.

And don't forget, if you don't like it, you can always opt-out!