Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

Illuminations Lights Up the Halloween Season

Candle and home decor retailer Illuminations gives its customers the opportunity to create a truly spooky ambiance this Halloween. The 32-page Halloween 2003 book offers 9 pages of fun, ghoulish, holiday decor, beginning with the front cover that features Illuminations' unique holiday lanterns. These handcrafted lantern designs--scary bats, cats and pumpkins--all set the Halloween mood with "spellbinding sparkle," and are sold as part of the company's "1/2 Price Halloween Lantern Event." Consumers who purchase any lantern at the regular price ($20 - $30) will receive the second Halloween lantern of equal or lesser value at half price. This special offer is advertised on the cover and the first two pages of the catalog. The remainder of the book includes other unique seasonal merchandise like miniature haunted castles, a large variety of fall-scented candles and home accent pieces. While Halloween-themed merchandise has been featured in past autumn books, the is the first Illuminations catalog tracked to specifically title itself "Halloween." Orders can be placed online or by phone.

All Souls Day Appeal from the Benedictine Monks
With Halloween becoming an increasingly popular holiday, more and more merchandisers are mailing specially themed catalogs that tap into the other-worldly festivities. But there's more to Halloween than plastic masks and candy corn. Part of the celebration's historic roots lie in the Christian commemoration of the departed faithful called All Souls Day, and a recent solicitation from the Benedictine Monks in Wisconsin uses this religious holiday (observed on November 2nd) as the basis for its own seasonal appeal. This particular effort is from the Benedictine Monks of St. Benedict's Abbey in Benet Lake, Wisconsin. The package is spare, with a one-page solicitation letter, reply form and "An All Souls Day Remembrance" card. The letter itself, written by Abbott Edmund Boyce, O.S.B., is a highly personal one, detailing the sad circumstances of his own mother's death and tying that story to the ongoing need all people have to express the loss of deceased loved ones. The "Remembrance" card is designed to be detached, with one side containing "A Prayer for November" keepsake card. The other side is meant to be returned (with or without a donation) to the Benedictine Monks, and the recipient is encouraged to list those they would like remembered at the St. Benedictine Abbey when the Monks celebrate a memorial liturgy after Mass on All Souls Day. The donation ask ladder is $5/$10/$15/other.

Artfilm Brings Independent Movies to the Mail
The Artfilm Collection, a new catalog celebrating international and independent films, recently debuted. Produced by the Wellspring World Film Foundation, the catalog plays a supporting role in helping preserve, restore and produce future noteworthy and award-winning movies. A portion of the sales from the catalog is donated to filmmakers to "keep the channels open for films that won't play at your local multi-plex." The 48-page catalog includes hundreds of titles, with sales copy that offers a brief story synopsis along with listing the major stars, what other films they have appeared in and what, if any, awards the film has received. In fact, most of the titles have received or have been nominated for awards including the Oscar, the Golden Globe and the Independent Spirit Award. As independent films generally tackle diverse topics, the catalog is broken down into easy-to-find sections including New & Notable, Director's Showcase, International, American, Documentary and Animation. Some notable offerings include the widely popular "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Do the Right Thing" and award-winning titles such as "Roger Dodger" and "Mauvais Sang." Most films are available on VHS or DVD format, priced anywhere between $14.95 and $29.95. Orders can be placed through the mail, on the web or by phone. Orders of $50 or more are complemented with free shipping.

The direct mail pieces appearing in Mail Stream are tracked and analyzed by ParadyszMatera, New York, through its online competitive direct mail and e-mail tracking tool MarketRelevance(tm). Click here to visit the site: MarketRelevance.com