Pitney Bowes Boosts Co-Op Mailings

Pitney Bowes will vastly expand its first-ever co-op direct mail program to small businesses next year.

Following a 100,000-piece test to customers this past September, the Stamford, CT firm is expected to send a total of 720,000 mailers to executives at firms with fewer than 22 employees in March, September and November 2004.

The mailings can be targeted to a business' number of employees, years in operation, industry category, revenue and location.

Madison Direct Marketing is implementing the program, which carries advertisements from IBM, Airborne Express, Checks Unlimited, American Express and three other companies. The package — a white 6-inch by 10-1/2-inch envelope — has the tag line “Delivering success for your growing business,” along with photographs of a businessman and businesswoman on either side.

Below that, recipients are urged to “Look inside for valuable offers your business needs.” On the flip side are logos for Airborne, IBM and Checks Unlimited, as well as three photographs of people apparently engaged in business-related activities.

For the foreseeable future, the co-op probably won't take on many more advertisers. “We don't want to inundate our customers,” says Mark Hudson, manager of business development at Pitney Bowes.

The company also uses package inserts and statement stuffers, which it admits are good for reaching customers en masse, “but co-op mail gives us [targetability], which we never had before,” notes Hudson.

Another attractive element of co-op mail is price. When considering how expensive postal lists can be, “Solo direct mail can cost upward of $400 per thousand while co-op mail runs at about $70 per thousand,” says Rick Greenberg, vice president at Madison.

Pitney Bowes has a database of 800,000 customers, according to Liz Lanza, director of product development for PB Direct, a division of the postage meter marketer.

On the Move

Separately, Madison is broadening a new-mover ride-along program with Sprint, SBC and Qwest telephone directories to Florida, Wisconsin, California and Illinois. Earlier this year Madison began testing these ride-alongs in directories in Arizona, Nevada and Texas.

At this point, inserts from retailers CVS and Ace Hardware as well as direct marketers Guthy-Renker and Bose are included.

Madison will look to increase this program's circulation even more next year, says Greenberg.