Clif Bar
Sports performance snack maker Clif Bar is the latest retail grocery brand to promote samples of new products through the mail. By shrink-wrapping the latest concoction to the front of a 4" x 6"
package, the mailing quickly reveals two important features of "The Ice Series" (a new line of caffeinated Clif Bars) for outdoor sports enthusiasts: its convenient mini-sized portability (the product itself measures only 4-1/4" x 2") and its seeming indestructibility for surviving the postal stream (and, by extension, one's pocket during extreme activity). Of course, the real kicker is that these diminutive snacks each contain a "shot of caffeine equal to a can of soda." In addition to the free sample, the promotion contains a coupon for another free Ice Series bar (with the purchase of two), as well as a list of various retail locations where the new product can be purchased.
Population Connection
Arriving almost a year since its last tracked promotion is a petition effort from Population Connection, the re-named version of Zero Population Growth. According to its call to action letter, the
organization's board of directors has been reviewing and considering a name change over the past year. The new name was ultimately chosen because Population Connection wanted "people everywhere to recognize the critical connection between population stabilization and a better, safer, and less-crowded world." In the new effort, Population Connection presents the emotional story of a 13-year old Nepalese girl named Min Min Lama who, with the help of Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN), was released early from a 20-year prison sentence (which she received for having an abortion). The story provides a link between Population Connection's call to action and FPAN being barred from receiving U.S. funding due to President Bush's "Global Gag Rule." Four members of Congress are spotlighted as possible legislators who will "listen to reason" by repealing the gag rule, and personalized petitions are offered for each. To help with its mission, Population Connection asks for contributions in the amounts of $25/$40/$50/other.
Bose
Home electronics innovator Bose has made great use of direct mail to market its Acoustic Wave Music Systems and QuietComfort Headset. Priced between $299 and $499, these products represent
some of the more expensive consumer goods promoted solo via mail, but as it turns out, they are among the least costly items found in Bose's new Summer Catalog 2002. The 12-page book features Bose's premium line of surround sound home theater systems, each comprised of the advanced proprietary technology and compact design for which the manufacturer is known. The speaker systems come with a steep price tag, ranging from $999 to $3,499, far surpassing most competing products. The catalog offers the same incentives typically found in Bose's solo product mailings. Shipping is free within 60 days, and 12-payment installment billing is available for all products.
The direct mail pieces appearing in Mail Stream are tracked and analyzed by Paradysz Matera, New York, through its online competitive direct mail and e-mail tracking tool MarketRelevance. Located at:www.MarketRelevance.com
