The familiar blue envelopes will be a bit harder to open starting this week.
Anthrax incidents prompted Cox Target Media to improve the seal on its Val-Pak co-op envelopes–and to get the word out to advertisers.
“Last week, we found an additive that could make the seal stronger in our envelopes,” said David Williams, Cox’s spokesperson. “It was something that we could do quickly that was readily available to us.”
The substance, added to the water mixture that seals the envelopes, will cost $50,000 a year more at each of the two plants that send out Val-Pak co-op pieces. The Cox Target Media headquarters is in Largo, FL.
Emphasizing that security at the plants in Largo and Elm City, NC, has historically been tight, Williams said the new sealant “is a way to prevent tampering at all.”
Security includes requiring all employees to wear badges, allowing only authorized personnel to enter certain areas and driving trucks, freshly loaded with co-op pieces, directly to the markets in which pieces are to be mailed.
After putting the sealant in place last week, Cox sent a statement about the change and other precautions to its 215 franchise owners and the advertisers to whom they sell.
“All we can do is assure our advertisers and consumers that we have procedures in place to safeguard our advertisers and consumers,” Williams said.
Mail deliveries have not slowed. Nor have response and sales rates dropped, he said. “Company-wide, we’re still seeing the growth we expected and are seeing markets that are still strong,” he added.
The co-op mailer drops between 40 million to 50 million envelopes across the country each month.
