Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

Holiday Wishes Granted by Brylane

Building on the success of its BrylaneHome Kitchen book, the multi-title specialty cataloger Brylane launched a new catalog just in time for the start of the hectic holiday shopping rush. With 76 pages of "Gifts, Decor and More," BrylaneHome Wishes presents an ideal holiday shopping resource. BrylaneHome Wishes offers a distinct product mix compared to Brylane Home or BrylaneHome Kitchen. Instead of bedding, kitchen and cooking merchandise, Wishes is filled with a variety of inexpensive gifts, toys, games, dinnerware and items for the home -- a lighted snowman door wreath sells for $29.98; a hand-crafted bottle caddy is available for $19.98. Humorous gift ideas include a "Director of Bada Bing" desk plaque ($9.98) or a wooden Santa Claus dressed as "Disco Santa" or "Hippy Santa" ($19.98). Gifts for children include a Sponge Bob Squarepants aquarium set ($29.98). While smaller than the regular Brylane Home catalog at 9" x 6-3/4", the Wishes book shares Brylane's core marketing strategies by offering deferred payment with credit card orders. Credit cards include the major ones (MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express) as well as the Brylane family of affinity cards (Brylane Home, Chadwick's, Lane Bryant, Roaman's, Lerner, King Size and Jessica London). Orders can be placed through the mail, by phone or online.

World Impact's Fundraising Catalog
A small but growing number of fundraisers have tapped into the holiday gift market by offering catalog-style mailings that present each organization's programs and services as tangible gift-sized projects. Arriving in the mail with regular commercial catalogs, these efforts not only provide a great gift alternative to scarves, ties and knick-knacks, but also serve to underscore each organization's goals in a meaningful way. The Christian missions organization World Impact mailed a holiday donation catalog this season which puts a pronounced emphasis on the group's missionary work in urban areas throughout the U.S. The catalog offers whole items or shares of higher priced items, and nearly all have a clear Christian focus. Examples include "Sponsor a Child in a Christian School" for $40, "Buy snacks for Bible-club students" for $2 and "Sponsor a Family Vacation" at a World Impact Christian camp for $150 ($15 for a single share). The World Impact book is designed to give donation gifts to others, with an order form that provides enough room for three "Gift Honorees." World Impact sends out the acknowledgement cards to recipients on the donor's behalf. As there is a clear Christmas focus to the book (itself called "Christmas Gift Catalog"), there is no option for requesting delivery of the gift cards for non-Christian holidays.

Fortnum & Mason Offers Holiday Teas Fit for a Queen
The Fortnum & Mason catalog brings fine teas, marmalades and desserts all the way from its famous Food Hall in Piccadilly, London to U.S. mailboxes just in time for the holidays. From a marketing standpoint, it also brings the quality and cachet of having Royal Warrants of Appointment to British royalty, notably Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. These "Purveyors of Distinctive Foods since 1707" mailed a tall, 20-page catalog near the start of the holiday catalog season. The first few pages offer traditional Christmas pudding, a "jealously guarded Victorian recipe" of dried fruits, almonds, brandy and rum in a ceramic basin ($45/lb or $65/two lbs) and wicker hampers comprehensively filled with tea and sweets ($95 - $450). Tea selections come next in the catalog, including black, green, jasmine, chai and fruit teas ($6 - $18), as well as herbal infusions and gift sets. The final few pages offer jars of marmalade ($9 - $15) and honey ($18), chocolates ($20 - $40) and a children's hamper ($95). The North American catalog and its corresponding website offer an impressive, if only representative, array of products with regular domestic shipping costs and U.S. pricing. However, the full selection can be ordered online through FortnumandMason.com, if one's willing to pay in British pounds and incur international shipping charges.

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