See how making something fun can affect people’s adoption rate. Brought to you by our friends at Volkswagen.
Using the trash can just got intriguing:
Got any ideas how to make reducing unwanted mail more fun, let us know by posting a comment.
National Geographic, one of our participating merchants, offers a wide range of green products. They have everything from rechargeable batteries and organic cotton towels to the 2007 Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth.
Price:$29.95
Item#:1073375
Looking for other cool products from National Geographic? Their iCatalog is packed with their entire product selection. Shop right from here or click Get & Share and put it on your desktop or personal homepage.
Promo Magazine report that a study published by Forrester Consulting on behalf of ExactTarget found that “80% of marketers claim that customer preference is a key factor but only 12% ask customers their preferred frequency for email messages.” A few other interesting facts:
Only 32% of the marketers surveyed reported knowing how customers behaved across channels and only 37% even knew what channels their customers preferred to use. Even more interesting, only 37% of marketers know what channels their customers prefer to use.
The take away from the study is clearly articulated by Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget’s director of research and strategy:
The bottom line is that in an industry where new digital communications make it easier to send a variety of messages, it’s imperative that marketers not only send the right message, to the right person, at the right time, but that they use the right channel as well
Companies that use Catalog Choice know consumer preferences for direct mail and why consumers are making opt-out choices. Based on 6.5 million survey responses collected over two years 55% of consumers do not want direct mail because they want to use digital tools, because they either prefer to use the internet (15%) or want to help the environment (40%).
Looking for cool gifts from recycled materials? Uncommon Goods, one of our participating merchants, offers a huge selection of unique housewares and beautiful jewelry, much of which creatively breathes new life into recycled materials. Check out these wine glasses made from recycled auto glass.
RECYCLED WINDSHIELD WINE GLASSES – SET OF 2
$22.00
ITEM NUMBER: 16706
MATERIALS: recycled glass
NOTE: dishwasher safe.
SIZE: 5.5″ H, 18 oz.
Handmade in Colombia of recycled glass from old car windows, these substantial stemless wine glasses will add an interesting twist to any glass of wine. Sturdy and strong, the thick glass has a slight green hue from the tint originally added to lessen the sun’s glare. Beautiful and interesting, these stemless wine glasses are an uncommon take on a stylish design. Each is one of a kind and will vary. Sold as a set of 2.
Looking for other cool products from Uncommon Goods? Their iCatalog is packed with their entire product selection. Shop right from here or click Get & Share and put it on your desktop or personal homepage.
Your company’s catalog at the Doctor’s office – that is great advertising for any marketer. On the web, it is not so easy to show off your great assortment of products on the wide array of web sites your customers visit every day. That was then. But now, with the iCatalog you can put your entire product inventory in an easy to navigate 300 x 250 widget and run it as an advertisement on any website where your prospects and customers might visit. We have taken rich media ads to a new level.
Take a look at this video and see how the UncommonGoods iCatalog becomes a natural part of the Naturalpath.com website. Want to learn more about going paperless with iCatalogs? Drop us a note at merchantservice@catalogchoice.org. Put the video in full screen mode to get the best view.
Ad Unit example from Catalog Choice on Vimeo.
Today is an important day for consumer choice. October marks the beginning of the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) enforcement of a new labeling provision. This guideline states that a DMA marketer must provide existing and prospective customers and donors with notice of how to eliminate or modify direct mail solicitations from their organization. That means that catalogs, credit card offers, and nonprofit fund raising appeals all need to state how you as the consumer can opt-out or reduce frequency of the mailing. The notice needs to appear in every marketing offer and it must be “easy to read, find, understand, and act upon.” This provision is part of DMA’s Commitment to Consumer Choice (CCC) that was announced two years ago, about the same time that Catalog Choice appeared on the scene. The CCC program and notice policy apply to DMA members, but all mailers are encouraged to comply.
We all know how convenient and effective labeling rules can be. Whether it’s a printed warning on a cigarette packet about smoking’s health hazards, the listing of trans fat on a food label, or a recycling logo on packaging, labels inform our choices and empower our actions. We are hoping that you’ll see more Catalog Choice logos printed on catalogs and that marketers will make mail preference choices more visible and convenient on their websites.
And here’s where you can help. Look at the catalogs you receive this month and through the holidays. Can you easily find the notice for how to modify or eliminate the mailing? Is it easy to read and understand? Let us know which companies are doing a good job and which ones need improvement. We’ll pass on the results of your findings to mailers and the DMA. Thanks for your help!
Here’s another simple, yet elegant, solution for eco-living from Gaiam, one of our participating merchants. The ChicoBag Reusable Shopping Bags are so compact and strong, that you’ll always have your bags when you need them.
ChicoBags Reusable Shopping Bags – set of 3 Item #04-9393
$24.00
Though we have the best intentions, we often forget to bring our reusable shopping bags with us when we’re out. If that sounds familiar, you’ll love these! They compactly fold into their own tiny sewn-in pouch (about the size of a cell phone) to stay – on call – in purses, packs or pockets or on keychains. Featherweight nylon fabric means you’ll never know they’re there yet each holds an impressive 20 lbs. China.
Looking for other cool products from Gaiam? Their iCatalog is packed with their entire product selection. Shop right from here or click Get & Share and put it on your desktop or personal homepage.
Catalog Choice was created because we believed that consumers deserved choice over what comes in the mailbox. We are pleased that the DMA followed our lead and created the Commitment to Consumer Choice (CCC). You can read all about it at DMACCC.org. Simply stated, the new policy is:
The CCC requires that you notify consumers of the opportunity to modify or eliminate future mail solicitations.
The DMA’s CCC launched shortly after Catalog Choice in late 2007. It originally gave marketers 12 months to comply. They increased the phase in period to 24 months – October 2009.
There are four specific elements of the CCC that everyone should be aware of:
If your company does not have a spot on your website where you can refer consumers to in order to set their mail preference, you should consider Catalog Choice’s new hosted Contact Preference Center. Learn more about our solution. If you want to offer opt-down options rather than just opt-out, we can make that happen. If you want to sending the consumer somewhere other than your privacy policy to set their mail preference, we have a solution for you.
