Sweepstakes Clearinghouse A recent prospecting effort from Sweepstakes Clearinghouse uses a traditional catalog in lieu of the general merchandiser’s long-running packages and snap-packs. The majority of past efforts have been cash offers for a handful of solo products that ranged between $69.95 and $699.95 each. These packages are highly promotional, using a sweepstakes-like "$300 Credit Voucher"
Sweepstakes Clearinghouse
A recent prospecting effort from Sweepstakes Clearinghouse uses a traditional catalog in lieu of the general merchandiser’s long-running packages and snap-packs. The majority of past efforts have 
been cash offers for a handful of solo products that ranged between $69.95 and $699.95 each. These packages are highly promotional, using a sweepstakes-like "$300 Credit Voucher" to accentuate merchandise discounts (e.g. luggage for $89 rather than $389). The latest 7" x 7" catalog is much more straightforward. Titled "Sweepstakes Clearinghouse Inventory Blowout," it contains a variety of less expensive products, including knives, jewelry and inkjet refill kits that range in price from $8.95 to $89.95. A few of the items are marked "As Seen on TV," but the majority are not. As an added incentive, Sweepstakes Clearinghouse offers a free unspecified gift with any purchase, plus free shipping on orders of four items or more.
The English Home
The latest promotion from home decor publication, The English Home breaks several rules of direct marketing, the key one being verbosity. One would be hard-pressed to find a subscription order 
form with so many dense clumps of text. Then again, British culture is often considered more verbal than visual, so what better way to hook American Anglophiles - the target audience for this promotion - than with a bit of excessive British banter? The grand and wordy copy ranges from a proper "Certificate of Entitlement" to the regal "Bestowed this 14th Day of January 2002." This new 6" x 9" package -- which is a departure from The English Home’s innovative double and triple postcards of the past -- already has a track record with sister publication, The English Garden. The one item that has not changed on this latest outing is the soft offer: $24.95 for 6 bimonthly issues (1 free).
Southwest Indian Relief Council
"This Wool Can Make a Difference!" says Southwest Indian Relief Council about the contents of its latest appeal package: a swatch of soft brown wool that will be used to make a warm blanket for 
children or the elderly. The elaborate, freemium-like involvement device follows in the footsteps of things like seeds and pennies, which fundraisers stick into packages along with instructions to return them, usually stressing to prospects how essential these items are to the cause. This new "forced involvement", combined with a lower donation ask ladder ($12/$20/$35/$50/Other), indicates a strategy designed to increase overall response more than individual gift size. The front of Southwest Indian Relief Council’s yellow, bill-sized envelope shows off its clever insert with a large cellophane window, and just in case the instinct to touch the fuzzy square isn't sufficient to get the envelope opened, the nonprofit beseeches, "Please Open Immediately!"
The direct mail pieces appearing in Mail Stream are tracked and analyzed by Paradysz Matera, New York, through its online competitive direct mail and e-mail tracking tool MarketRelevance located at http://www.MarketRelevance.com/newsletter.cfm.
