Letters to the Editor

[Re: Loose Cannon: How We Lost Moscow, Direct Newsline, Monday, November 12, 2007]:

Several years back GE publicly announced this same policy of no longer delivering third class mail internally – and the direct marketing press promptly pointed out that much of GEs OUTGOING mail was…THIRD CLASS. So GE publicly rescinded the policy. Direct magazine played a role in this reversal.

Many universities and colleges use the non-and not-for-profit mail status to promote graduate courses that are delivered online, via night school, etc. If I wanted to influence mailers like these that use a discriminating incoming mail policy, I might publicly announce that I would no longer deliver mail to my employees that arrived from educational institutions hiding behind a discriminatory non- or not-for-profit bogus standing. I consider it bogus because they make money from these activities, although apparently not enough to claim “profit”…

If one visits the U o’ Moscow Web site, lo and behold, under “outreach” they have numerous courses that I am relatively certain do not use first class mail for promotion.

Hmmmm.

I often do not distribute third class promotional mail to my employee (me), as he is easily distracted. I occasionally have heated discussions with myself over the matter. Sometimes we come to blows.

I am sure Mr. Darin Saul, the sustainability coordinator, would love to own the high ground, but frankly, it smells like methane to me.

Not that I have an opinion.

Mark Amtower
www.EpiphanyBook.com

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When my daughter was in college she used the catalogs all the time for lots of merchandise — apparel, electronics and more — pointing out what she wanted for her birthday or Christmas. She loved them and it just made things easier. This is just a lot of baloney in Moscow.

Michael Mc Carthy
Mc Carthy Media Group, Inc.
Sun Prairie, WI

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“Why aren’t direct marketers setting up tent on the Moscow campus, actively promoting the ease of shopping — whether for folks back home during the holidays, or on-campus inamoratas, or, I dunno, bribes for impoverished teaching assistants — and so forth? “

Richard, Richard, Richard: isn’t the first rule of DM to “know your audience?”

Trying to pitch the ease of catalog shopping via PAPER catalogs will absolutely not work with today’s students — because they’re all already using ONLINE catalogs anyway. Paper catalogs are not just anti-environment to them, they’re also just SO 1990.

Kimberly A. Wadsworth
Reverie Productions
New York City

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So the “Junk Mailers” have struck again. You’re right, of course, that the Direct Marketing Association should fight this in court. If it doesn’t battle for the right to sell by mail — or by any other medium — what good is it? If they’re afraid to go to court for fear they might lose, they’ve lost already.

And why isn’t the Post Office screaming about this refusal by the U to deliver its mail? Aren’t there laws against arbitrary censorship?

One thing you can be sure about: The print media will ignore the story. After all, they’ve been trumpeting the evil of Junk Mail ever since it became a competitor to their advertising revenue, and do so today, despite the fact that they now spend more than $1 billion a year of junking themselves.

A long time ago I suggested that all this attacking of DM won’t stop until some major advertisers stand up and scream back — a “How dare you call our direct selling efforts Junk!” campaign aimed at the management of media doing the attacking.

Keep up the good fight.

Fred Hahn
Marketing Consultant
Golden Valley, MN