ALC MarketWatch
ALC's MarketWatch, the must-read newsletter from ALC is now Monthly. We still scan the top publications to keep you in touch with key direct marketing news.we just do it more often! Look for us in your e-mail box every month with all the news that is NEWS in your industry.
April 2005
The U.S. Postal Service reported that for the Oct. 1- Feb. 28 period, they generated a net income of $1.8 billion, which was $1.1 million over budget. Also, revenue totaled $29.9 billion, which was $808.5 million better than planned, an increase of 1.8% from the year-ago period. Expenses of $28.1 billion were $252.9 million under plan, but up 3.5% from the year-ago period. Total year-to-date mail volume of 90.2 billion pieces increased 3.3% from the year-ago period. Standard Mail volume increased 6.9%; Priority Mail increased 2.7%, Express Mail 0.7%, First-Class 0.3% and International 0.1%.
Blue Shield of California's customer service strategy uses offshore and onshore outsourcing as well as an automated response system to complement an internal call center, reducing cost per call by 35%. In 2001, Blue Shield began a pilot with teleservices provider TeleTech, to outsource inbound calls from healthcare providers to a call center in Enfield, CT. TeleTech takes only provider calls because California law requires health insurers to handle calls from insurance plan members internally. Since the launch, the project has handled more than 5 million calls and has expanded with the addition of a call center in Manila, the Philippines. Blue Shield is a not-for-profit health insurance company, providing health plans to 3.6 million consumers and generating annual revenue of $6 billion.
Time
Inc. reported that it completed the previously announced acquisition of the
remaining 51% of Essence Communications Partners it did not already own. The
acquired company publishes Essence, the nation's No. 1 lifestyle
magazine for African-American women. Essence has a monthly circulation
of 1,057,000. The magazine claims a readership of 7 million African-Americans
monthly. Sister magazine Suede launched in September, covering fashion
and beauty. The guaranteed rate base for the new 9 issues per year title is
250,000 in 2005.
Body + Soul is
getting a makeover with its May 2005 issue. The magazine hits newsstands March
29 with an updated look. It is intent on entrenching itself as the editorial
authority on natural living. The changes come just as circulation is up 26% to
275,000 from August 2004, when Martha Stewart Living bought the 8 issues per
year the title.
Clothing
retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. reported a 72% increase in quarterly profit,
beating the average Wall Street forecast, due to cost controls and higher
sales. The retailer, which operates Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and Free
People stores, reported that profit increased to $31.7 million, in the fourth
quarter ended Jan. 31, from $18.4 million, a year earlier.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported that quarterly earnings increased. Earnings for the fourth
quarter ended January 30 rose to $102.6 million, from $102.1 million in the
year-ago period. Williams-Sonoma, which owns the Pottery Barn, Hold Everything
and Williams-Sonoma chains, forecast 2005 earnings per share in a range of
$1.83 to $1.87 for its current fiscal year, with revenue rising to a range of
$3.50 billion to $3.57 billion. It forecast same-store sales growth of 3% to
5%.Williams-Sonoma said it plans to add 26 new retail locations in 2005, increase catalog
circulation and intensify marketing of its bridal and gift registry businesses.
Shareholders signed off on Kmart Holding Corp.'s $12.3 billion acquisition of Sears, Roebuck
and Co., clearing the way for the two struggling rivals to combine into the
nation's third-biggest retailer. The deal creates the No. 3 U.S. retailer and
brings together Sears' top brands Craftsman and Kenmore with Kmart's successful
Martha Stewart and Joe Boxer product lines. It also furthers
Sears' strategy of moving away from shopping malls to the more profitable
off-mall sites that Kmart stores typically occupy.
Brookstone's sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 29
totaled $499 million, a 14.9% increase over the previous year. Same-store sales
increased 6.35 for the year. Also, the retailer's direct marketing sales jumped
21% last year to $91 million. This was after the company nearly doubled its
catalog circulation in 2004. The company's Web site, www.brookstone.com,
generated 8.7% of total sales for the period. Sales for Brookstone's fiscal
fourth quarter ended Jan. 29 totaled $238 million, an 8.5% gain over the
previous year. Same-store sales were flat for the period. Direct marketing
sales increased 24.5% in the quarter to $48 million.
The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers is urging its members and other direct marketers to pay close attention to a customer support ruling issued this month addressing Nonprofit Standard mail rates. The Feb. 14 ruling aims to help mailers understand the revised Domestic Mail Manual standards that take effect June 1 regarding the use of personal information in Standard mail matter. When the ruling takes effect, personal information may not be included in a Standard mail piece unless three conditions are met. The mail piece contains explicit advertising for a product or service for sale or lease, or an explicit solicitation for a donation. All personal information is directly related to the support the advertising or solicitation in the mail piece. The exclusive reason for inclusion of all personal information is to support the advertising or solicitation in the mail piece.
American Express’ OPEN Small Business Network 2005
Semi-Annual Monitor finds small business optimism has risen sharply. 85% of
small businesses report seeing growth opportunities for their companies over
the next six months, up from 72% in the spring of 2004 and 56% in the spring of
2003. In addition, 57% of businesses surveyed say they expect their revenues to
exceed last year's, while 35% expect revenues to remain steady. Only 7% expect
revenues to fall short of last year's. On average, small business owners expect
their revenues to grow by 20% over their current fiscal year.
MasterCard International and Visa International announced that they have reached an
agreement to share a common communications protocol and associated testing
requirements for radio frequency-based contactless payments at the point of
sale. This protocol is based on the MasterCard® PayPass™ ISO/IEC 14443
Implementation Specification. Contactless payments, like MasterCard PayPass
and Visa Contactless programs, allow cardholders to speed through checkout by
paying with a simple tap or wave, eliminating the need for customers to hand
over their payment card to a merchant or fumble for cash and coins.
The
AP-Ipsos consumer confidence index increased to 84.2 in early March. It gained
6.4%, an increase from February’s reading of 79.1. It was the largest one-month
gain since a 13.9% rise in August 2004. Consumers were feeling better in March,
according to the responses they gave to the latest survey. The view of current
economic conditions had risen by 12.3%, the biggest percentage increase of any
of the four main components that make up the overall index. Feelings about job
prospects rose by 10.9% in the March survey compared to February while feelings
about personal finances increased by 10.6%.
America's
factories saw orders for big-ticket goods increase by 0.3% in February. The
increase in February pushed up the total value of new bookings for durable
goods to $200.8 billion the Commerce Department reported.
The Commerce Department reported that the economy grew in
the closing three months of 2004 at an annual rate of 3.8% supported by solid
business and consumer spending. For the current January-to March quarter, the
economy is expected to grow at a rate of around 4% or slightly faster,
according to some analysts' projections. The economy added a sizable 262,000
jobs in February, the most since October. Analysts are hopeful that another
220,000 were created in March. In the GDP report, consumer spending grew at a
4.2% rate in the final quarter of 2004. Business spending on equipment and
software increased 18.4% in the fourth quarter.
VerticalResponse, a provider of self-service and customized direct marketing solutions, was chosen as the e-mail service provider for cataloger The Swiss Colony Inc. They were selected to provide customized direct email campaigns for seven of The Swiss Colony's branded catalogs: The Swiss Colony, Through the Country Door, Seventh Avenue, Monroe & Main, Ginny's, Midnight Velvet and The Tender Filet. VerticalResponse's flagship product, iBuilder, helps businesses create, deploy and monitor email marketing campaigns as well as printed postcard campaigns delivered through the U.S. Postal Service. With iBuilder, marketers with no technical experience can create customized, branded HTML emails in minutes.
Microsoft Corporation will build software for managing identities into Windows in order to beef up security by giving users more control over their personal information. The ID technology called "info-cards" will give users more control over their own personal information in order to shop and access services online. The initiative is the latest effort by the software giant to improve the reliability and security of its software. Identity theft has become a growing concern in the United States as personal data is increasingly used to make purchases and log into Web sites for vital information and services.
With the addition of five industry specialists to his Insert Media team, ALC/IM Managing Partner Dean Barile is on a mission to bring Insert Media advertising to the masses. Barile points out that many marketers are simply unaware of how Insert Media can impact their businesses. “We win a lot of converts by showing marketers how to cost effectively acquire new customers, generate low cost leads, and leverage the value of their customer contact avenues,” he says. “ALC’s analytic approach to data marketing with lists can be applied with equal effectiveness in the Insert Media sector. But first, it takes Insert Media experts to make it happen.” To that end, ALC has named five new Insert Media specialists to both the customer acquisition and the program management sides of the business: Bernadette Joachim, Kerri Obojkovits, John Toscano, Janet Galimi, and Jennifer Mercaldi. According to Barile, Insert Media is an excellent opportunity to put a message into the hands of prospects actively shopping, opening packages, or viewing customer communications. “If recency is the most important driver of response, nothing is more hotline than deliveries of orders and communications,” he says. “In many cases, Insert Media is a chance to get in the door before a customer name even makes it to the list.”
