Media Money
- Facebook's Biggest-Ever Holiday Shopping Season
- Facebook's New Dual Class Structure - Slow Steps to an IPO
- Can Murdoch Help Bing Challenge Google and Shift the Content Equation?
- Twilight, Inc., A Worldwide Craze
- Oprah to Leave Syndication in 2011
- Sony's E-Reader Shortage and the Digital Book Battle
- Salesforce.com Brings Facebook and Twitter's Social Capabilities to Businesses
- Sumner Redstone's Companies Face Off Yet Again
- Can YouTube Revolutionize Citizen Journalism?
- What MGM's Sale Could Say About Value of Content
RSS FEED
MOST SHARED
- Ritz-Carlton ?Struggling? in the US: President
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- The 'Real' Jobless Rate: 17.5% Of Workers Are Unemployed
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- New-Home Sales Jump 6.2% To Highest Level in Over Year
- Oil Price to Average $75.40 in 2010: Poll
- Obama Reiterates Commitment to Boost US-India Ties
- Consumer Mood Improves, But Anxiety Over Personal Finances
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- 4 Food Stocks to Stuff in Your Portfolio: Analyst
- S&P at 1050-1200 Trading Range Next Year: Strategist
- Treasury On Mortgage Modifications
- Blue Jeans Expected to See Another Green Christmas
- Investors Thankful for Gains This Year
- Thanksgiving & the Markets
- Art Cashin: Caution 'Growing' in Financials, Dividend Moves
- New-Home Sales Jump to Highest Level in Over Year
- Consumer Mood Improves, but Anxiety Over Finances
- Airlines Hit With Penalties for Stranding Passengers
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- US Said It Will Reduce Emissions by 17% by 2020
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- Black Friday: Can Banks Tap the Frenzy, Too?
- Blue Jeans Expected to See Another Green Christmas
Text Size 
Correspondent
In this era of Facebook ads and company-customer interaction through Twitter, direct marketing that shows up in your mail box seems incredibly outdated.
I mean, junk mail? Really?
That's why I was surprised to see that UPS [UPS
Loading...
()
] is experimenting with a new marketing and sampling service, called Direct to Door, that will allow companies send samples directly to UPS customers along with products they've ordered.
Here's the big question: will this be the ultimate targeted marketing? Or will it backfire?
Imagine opening up a package you've ordered from Pottery Barn [WSM
Loading...
()
] or Zappos.com . In there with your shoes is a sample, say of a new toothbrush from Crest or brownie from Procter & Gamble [PG
Loading...
()
]. Maybe it's just some marketing material.
Will you be annoyed to have to recycle another box and dump some more junk mail? Or will you be thrilled you don't have to go out and buy a new toothbrush?
I'd guess that the economy would work to UPS' advantage, making people more receptive to free samples. But then there's the question of bombarding people with products they haven't asked for and may not want. I'd guess that this test would yield the best results if the likes of Williams Sonoma [WSM
Loading...
()
] and Zappos.com participating in the test asked consumers what they'd want to test when they're checking out and paying for their purchase.
UPS certainly needs all the help it can get as digital delivery and the recession have eaten into results - package volume in the US is down for the sixth consecutive quarter. This will be a key test of whether UPS can create a viable new business model, which will entail bringing the cost of reaching 1,000 consumers down to the cost of the price of direct mail. That seems ambitious - shipping a "pak" sounds more expensive than an envelope full of ads. No matter what this is worth watching.
There's nothing more fascinating than watching a tech-savvy business revisit and try to jazz up an old fashioned marketing ploy.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes