From: Hi Fructose
I may be oversimplifying here but I always liked Aristotle's thoughts on life-everything in moderation. Yes there is an obesity problem in this country.…
From: Is thin really in?
Positive reinforcement only goes so far with kids. Super thin models are not the only images that teens see everyday that make them think that anything…
From: Is thin really in?
I understand that some of these said modesl aren't naturally thin but you cannot change that. You can only change what is in your life. If you don't…
Who doesn’t hate junk mail? It fills up recycle bins around the country and weighs down mail carriers nationwide.
Alas, the story of junk mail has a silver lining: that all-pervasive Valassis, a massive database that stores virtually EVERY address of every consumer in the United States is now being used to track the repopulation of Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.
This direct-mail operation, normally charged with sending out promotional circulars, is now being used as one measure of the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans.
Two months before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, approximately 203,500 households were receiving mail in New Orleans. Now, three years later in June 2008, households receiving mail in New Orleans is down only 28 percent, leading analysts to believe that people and businesses are returning to the Big Easy.
Few will forget the pictures of homes enveloped in flood waters and people standing on roofs waiting to be saved.
Groups using the marketing potential of Valassis in New Orleans include children’s insurance outreach programs and organizations charged with luring entrepreneurs back into the city.
The Ninth Ward made infamous by the heart-wrenching picture of block after block of submerged homes is sadly described as looking like a prairie with only one out of 25 homes still standing. In another neighborhood, a FEMA trailer park of 80 households still remains 3 years later.
The owner of Valassis put itself out there for the greater good by revealing trade secrets on how its database works in favor of the rebuilding effort, as well as the database’s limitations and pitfalls. Although the US Postal Service has similar data, it is restricted by law in how it can share the data, making access more restrictive.
As much as we have come to hate junk mail, it appears that some are making it work for society in places where it’s more likely to be referred to as “treasure mail.”
In your opinion, is junk mail helpful or hindrance? Is direct mail an effective way to reach YOU as a consumer?
Photo Credit: Dr. Sabrina Segal
1. EmerilBang |Aug. 28, 2008 @ 1:18 PM