Despite the anthrax scare, business-to-business mailers are sticking with their mailing plans even though corporate mailrooms are wary of “suspicious” packages and less tolerant of direct mail.
On Monday, the Direct Marketing Association issued guidelines to mailers. Those guidelines encouraged business-to-business mailers to delay mail drops, and all mailers to clearly label their mailings and to avoid, if possible, bulky premiums.
But computer giant IBM and ATD-American, a large institutional supplies direct marketer, decided to maintain their usual mailing schedules, feeling that their mailings will most likely reach their expected destinations.
Bernice Grossman, chair of the DMA’s business-to-business Council and president of New York-based agency DMRS Group , yesterday reported receiving a mailing with a bulky plastic flying saucer containing a compact disc, in apparent violation of those guidelines.
She suggested that b-to-b agencies encourage clients to expand their online marketing. “It’s much cheaper and you can change your offers much more quickly,” she said.
To some in the b-to-b community, however, the prospect of not getting mail through to its proper recipients is nothing new.
“The anthrax restrictions don’t make any difference,” said Tracy Emerick, president of consultancy Taurus Marketing, Hampton, NH.
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