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| AN INDUSTRY IN CRISIS - AN ADVOCACY GROUP PROVIDES HOPE AND STRATEGIES |
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| On June 26 and 27, 70 companies came together under one roof for two days to have the most important dialogue for the catalog community in the past year and a half, at least. Top level executives from catalogs of all sizes gathered along with industry suppliers to work together for reform and advocacy for the community on which their livelihoods depend. |
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| The young American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA), in its first year, called to order its first annual meeting, not only with a Who's Who of marketers, but with a group of executives who really care. The intensive agenda was packed with policy leaders, crafters and interpreters from the Government inside the beltway, postal officials including the Postmaster General himself, the DMA, and Chuck Teller, Executive Director of Catalog Choice. |
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| Participating in this Association is a must for all catalogers. It is the only organization advocating specifically for catalogers on a host of subjects including Do Not Mail, Postal Increases, Postage Regulations affecting cataloging and the health of the Postal Service generally. The event was well paced, included valuable content, allowed for audience participation, and gave a forum to company peers to share with each other and work together to launch and support a host of efforts to address real concerns and issues confronting our industry. There was an extraordinary level of detail shared that was both useful and actionable. |
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| Here are some clear take aways for your company: |
| 1. | Do Not Mail - There are 18 states which now have pending do not mail legislation. The effort is not organized and therefore does not currently have a groundswell of support. However, if it should get organized, the momentum could be overwhelming. Catalogers need to step up to meet this threat now so if more organized proponents materialize, we are ready to meet the challenge.
Send your local Representative a letter which details the size of your company, the number of people you employ in his or her district, and what you are doing to be environmentally responsible. Then follow up with a phone call to set up a meeting to share with your Representative your history, your product, and your value to the community. If there is another cataloger in your district, reach out to that company as well to coordinate the letter and the follow up meeting. |
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| 2. | Environmental Footprint - Tell your customers what you are doing to make your business greener, e.g. you have lowered your page count, paper weight, used soy based inks, use recycled paper, and contribute to reforestation efforts. Make sure your customers know that you support and comply with opting in/out and other consumer preference requests. Encourage your recipients to recycle catalogs. It is critical to maintain a dialogue between you and your customer. It builds confidence and loyalty. |
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| 3. | Catalog Choice - It is an individual decision whether to participate or not in so called "third party opt out services." Marketsmith's viewpoint is that the intent of the Catalog Choice organization may not be well-defined, its current business model may not be sustainable, and the organization will have to generate cash when its grant runs out. That being said, we see that currently, the momentum behind Catalog Choice is significant, and therefore should be weighed strongly.
Whether you participate or not, you need to be vigorous in your communication efforts to your customers and to your prospects. Let them know that you are actively working to improve your environmental footprint, that you listen to customer concerns, and you take action as a responsible business. Mailers should not need not to be bullied by an outside company to be respectful of the mailbox. |
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| 4. | Postal Costs - There definitely will be no postage cost rollback for the catalog community. However advocacy and education are paramount to ensure that annual postage increases are kept at bay every single year. The ACMA is on the front line to advocate for keeping costs to catalogers in check and is actively investigating other means to lower catalog companies' costs to use the mail. |
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| 5. | On the drawing board - Finally, the Post Office is looking at "prospect based pricing," "incentives for cleaner files," and the Postmaster General's baby, "Intelligent Mail Barcode" (IMB) system that is heralded to be as important going forward as the zip code has been in the past. |
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| In order to have a voice, to understand first hand, and to be a part of the solution you need to get involved. ACMA Forum attendees heard this message loud and clear from the Postal Regulatory Commission, Congressional aids, and the USPS itself. To be successful and make sure the future of this industry is vibrant, the ACMA needs the membership and support of every cataloger and supplier engaged in the catalog industry, no excuses. |
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| The ACMA Forum may have been the strongest conference I have attended in my professional history. The interaction of mailers was smart; participants were decision makers with a strong understanding of the fiscal impact at all operational levels. I was impressed by the level articulation and the heart of each cataloger there. I know I looked into the eyes of pioneers, those who are willing to invest their resources to be a part of a young association. |
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| The bottom line is - the ACMA delivered with extraordinary content, unprecedented access to policy makers, engagement of high level executives who are informed and savvy, and demonstrated the ability to pull all the pieces together to create and implement an activist agenda. |
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| In a time when so much is bleak, this little engine has the heart of lion and the focus of an eagle. The Postmaster General told all of us attendees, and I paraphrase, "You are a small group with a disproportionate economic impact on our system. You need to stay organized and continue to try to get other mailers, newspapers, publishers, greeting cards, and financial mailers together. Please tell your customers what you are doing to lower environmental impact. And, you have to work with us to continually communicate what you do. You are our customer and we need to understand your business better." The best way to maintain the dialogue and working relationships is to join the ACMA and be a part of fighting for your business and the future of the industry. This advocacy group has already showed that is significant, important, useful, and impressive. www.catalogmailers.org |
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