Acacia Provides Shelter and Healing
Earlier this year, Acorn Media Group, which is best known for its British DVD and gift catalog, launched Acacia, a new product line and catalog devoted to products that help consumers develop and maintain a healthy, natural lifestyle. Text on the cover of the Summer 2006 edition reads "Body," "Home" and "Spirit," promoting the diverse merchandise offered inside. According to the catalog, Acacia is a term for a sheltering tree that is a source of healing materials and essential oils. The shelter and healing aspect is promoted throughout the 40-page book, which offers a plentiful selection of home decor, gift, apparel and personal care items. Shoppers can choose from framed prints, bed linens, pajamas, DVDs and homeopathic oral sprays. Prices range from $14.99 for an instructional yoga DVD to $299 for a vintage, weatherproof Adirondack chair. Orders can be placed by mail, phone or online at AcaciaCatalog.com where customers can quick shop by catalog number and sign up for Acacia's email updates.

National Foundation for Cancer Research Stresses Nutrition
In a recent fundraising appeal, the National Foundation for Cancer Research mailed a nutrition-themed package paired with recipe cards. On the outside, the plain #10 package is completely blank, without teasers or any artwork, other than the decorative part of a few address labels showing through a clear window. Inside though, three "Recipes for Life!" cards give instructions on how to prepare foods, such as baked tomatoes, that are helpful for cancer prevention or treatment, along with information on the specific benefits of food categories such as tea or cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, radish, broccoli). The package also contains a letter (something not usually found in the "Annual Fund Drive" package). It tells the story of one donor who lost her mother to cancer, and how she discovered that the foundation had "actually been able to identify ways we can decrease our cancer risk through better nutrition." The address labels, a freemium often found in the group's fundraising appeals, are decorated with fruits and vegetables including red peppers, oranges, apples, cranberries, kiwis and blueberries to complement the theme. Lastly, two information sheets are included. One exclusively covers the food pyramid and dietary guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and features the copy, "There are two fronts to this war on cancer. The first is nutrition, and while you are fighting that one, with your support, NFCR will fight cancer in the laboratory." The other, a regularly used insert, has a Cancer Detection Guide table showing the preventative exams that females and males should have at different ages. The ask ladder is $12/$20/$25/other, which is similar to the one used previously.

Netflix Mails Start-Up Package
Online movie rental service Netflix recently mailed a start-up kit promoting "hassle free DVD rentals!" The red jumbo package, reminiscent of the service's reusable mailing envelopes that transport the DVDs, contains everything recipients need to get started with a Netflix subscription. The enclosed contents of the package are listed next to the address panel on its front. These include a coupon for up to 10 free rentals, a new release calendar and the Top 200 movies as chosen by Netflix members. Inside, the free rental coupon is attached to the top of the personalized introductory letter, which provides details of how the service works promoting it as the "no-hassle, no-limit way to rent DVDs." The coupon spells out the offer, which is actually a two-week free trial with up to 10 free rentals. Recipients who can't think of 10 movies off the top of their heads can check the Netflix Top 200 or the new release calendar, which are described as "Free Gifts!" Each of the enclosed inserts directs recipients to Netflix.com/specialoffer to begin the free trial as well as search over 60,000 movie titles.

The direct mail promotions appearing in Mail Stream are tracked and analyzed by ParadyszMatera, a media brokerage services company, through its MarketRelevance(tm) Promotion Library. Click here to visit their site: ParadyszMatera.com.