DIRECT TO VIDEO Blockbuster, Inc., Dallas, is offering the Blockbuster Bonus Pak, a direct-mail piece that can target various segments of the chain's customer base. The Pak will be mailed quarterly to 500,000 registered members and feature inserts from third-party marketers as well as Blockbuster offers. Participating brands include Direct TV, Sony, and T.G.I. Friday's. Blockbuster claims 90 percent of recipients open the packet. Info: 214-854-3190 or www.blockbuster.com.
TOP OF THE BOX Avecmedia, Inc., Stamford, CT, packages CDs or CD-ROMs in a dome top that fits promotional packages. The discs can be used to provide ads, product information, or entertainment content. Enchanté Accessories, Inc., a New York City-based marketer of health and beauty aids, worked customized audio CDs into its Romance Kit. Avecmedia has a strategic alliance with Sony Disc Manufacturing to supply the discs. Info: 203-406-9910 or www.avecmedia.com.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Push Online, Inc., New York City, will drive consumers to your Web site — or your money back. The company's Cost Per Visitor package includes site construction, server, domain name, and marketing through search engines and direct mail. Push Online charges 15 cents per visitor on average. Info: 877-478-7465 or www.pushonline.com.
CABIN FEVER InFlight Media Group, Phoenix, introduced SkyMedia, a program that delivers promotional messages on the tops of tray tables. Pricing is still being determined. Airlines will get approval rights over any proposed ads. (The only drawback: Ads won't be visible when trays are in the “upright position.”) Info: 602-795-8888 or www.inflight-biz.com.
WHEREVER YOU GO E-mail marketer ClickAction, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, introduced E-mail Matching Service, an acquisition tool that finds and appends accurate e-mails to corresponding names and addresses. Benchmark Brand's FootSmart.com used the service to keep track of existing customers when it shifted from an offline database to an online system. Info: 800-473-3141 or www.clickaction.com.
PRINT IS NOT DEAD PostNexus, Inc., Richardson, TX, is offering pMail, a service that transforms electronic documents into printed, postal mail. Documents are submitted via the Internet to the PostNexus data center, where they undergo an automated printing, finishing, and same-day mailing process. Documents can be black & white or color, and delivered in folded letter, flat, or glossy postcard formats. Info: 214-373-1601 or www.postnexus.com.
SHOP KEEPING ACNielsen U.S., Schaumburg, IL, signed supermarket giant Ahold USA, Chantilly, VA, as a client for its Category Business Planner management intelligence service. The online system enables category managers to access sales information from their desktops, scan news headlines, and compare performance with other operating territories and the competition. Info: 847-605-5686 or www.acnielsen.com/cbp.
WATCH AND CLICK Global-QVC Solutions, King of Prussia, PA, is helping TV networks develop direct-response programs and online stores. The nets run the spots, and Global-QVC takes care of customer service, fulfillment, and merchandising. New clients include Comedy Central, PAX TV, and the Golf Channel. Info: 610-491-7013 or www.gvcg.com.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE Cambridge, MA-based E Ink Corp., maker of “electronic ink,” is helping jazz up P-O-P displays with Ink-In-Motion, a technology that looks like paper yet flashes and changes like electronic signs. The displays are as thin as posterboard and powered by just two AA batteries (which can last for up to one year). Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, was the products' pilot client, running the displays on vending machines and within the pin trading area it hosted at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Info: 617-499-6000 or www.eink.com.
