Mail Stream: July 6
Foods Across America Offers Culinary Road Trip
Complete with maps, pictures and postcards, the 32-page slim-jim Foods Across America catalog takes shoppers on a tour of iconic foods and beverages from all corners of the nation. While many retailers focus on a specific niche of the food market such as barbeque or sweets, Foods Across America incorporates a wide range of famous foods, some of which are not readily available for purchase outside a particular region. The popularity of food-focused television programs such as “$40 a Day” and “Food Finds” seem to suggest consumers’ growing awareness of regional cuisine. Items such as Vienna Beef’s Hot Dog Condiment Kit ($29.95) are accompanied by local taste tips like “Chicago style = absolutely NO ketchup.” Other featured items include various sodas sold in six packs ($34.95), Fox’s U-Bet Egg Cream Gift Kit from Brooklyn ($39.95), and Connie’s Deep-Dish Cheese Pizzas from Chicago (2 for $59.95). Recipients are encouraged to “Check the web for specials!” at FoodsAcrossAmerica.com, and orders can also be placed by mail, phone or fax.
Latest Newsweek Promotion Seeks “The New Newsweek Type”
Newsweek is promoting its newly reorganized and redesigned magazine with an old-fashioned format: an edit-based stretch package. Posing the question “Are you the New Newsweek type?” on the front, the promotion uses a “yes” involvement sticker to encourage an affirmative response. Sales copy profiles readers as intelligent, well-read and informed. The package outlines several new sections (“Scope,” “Features,” “The Take,” “The Culture”) which collectively strive to offer “new connections” to the news and provide “more of the big picture and more of how the long-term effects of what’s happening affect you.” The package also includes a bookmark freemium, which previous mailings have not. Subscriptions are offered at $25/$50 for 54/108 issues, which the letter positions as “a price straight out of the Good Days – 91% off the newsstand price.”
Zappos Celebrates 10 Years
Zappos.com mailed its Active 2009 edition of Zappos Life featuring a note from CEO Tony Hsieh thanking customers for ten years of business. The company attributes its success to two concepts: “constantly striving to deliver the best service to our customers, and constantly working to build our service-focused company culture.” As the highest ranked newcomer of Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” the letter stresses that “all of this would not have been possible without loyal customers like you that inspire us to constantly come up with better ways of delivering to you, the best service and selection possible.” Hsieh also credits the merchandising team with finding the best brand selection in shoes, clothing and accessories. Under a banner reading “Our Buyers Understand the Active Lifestyle Because They Live it Every Single Day” are pictures of employees in places like Mount Rainer, Mount San Gorgino, and the Red River Gorge. The 32-page book features brands such as Adidas, Asics, and Nike, as well as more specialized active brands like FoxRiver, CW-X, and Keen. Beyond the Asolo TPS 520 boots ($252) presented on the cover, products include the Salomon XT Wings trail running shoes ($129.95), the Chaco Paradox webbed shoe/sandal ($104), and Maui Jim Hanalei Polarized sunglasses ($185). Orders can be placed online or by phone.
The direct mail promotions appearing in Mail Stream are tracked and written up by ParadyszMatera, a media brokerage services company, through its MarketRelevance(tm) Promotion Library. Click here to visit their site: <a href=”http://www.paradyszmatera.com/direct.cfm”> ParadyszMatera.com.
