Sooner than we realize, it will be that time again. Spring really is right around the corner, next thing you know summer will be here! At this time of year we frequently get asked about “seasonal addresses”. What exactly are they and how do they affect your Residential mailing list?

The simplest way to think about seasonal addresses is as “non-permanent”. There are approximately 900,000 addresses coded as “seasonal” by the USPS. Rather than widespread and spotty, these addresses are pockets of the country where in general the population increases significantly – but not permanently – on a seasonal basis… typically the winter or summer months.

No matter the time of year or geographic location, seasonals are addresses where the resident does not permanently reside. Most of us are familiar with the “snowbirds” who winter down in the sunny southern parts of the country like Florida, however seasonals crop up in many parts of the country at different times of the year, such as summer vacationers in Nantucket, winter skiers in Aspen and so on.

The challenge in working with seasonal addresses usually comes down to timing. For these traveling households the permanent address is never coded as seasonal and the corresponding seasonal address is never coded as vacant. That is why for affected areas it is critical to consider the impact including seasonal addresses may have on your mailing list deliverability. For instance, a mailing to apartments on the Jersey Shore in the middle of winter could greatly increase the amount of undeliverables if seasonal addresses are not excluded! Mailers really need to remember that “seasonals” are an address type that will not be coded as “vacant” when not occupied.

Compact’s Resident List site allows you to review seasonal counts and include or exclude seasonal addresses in any list order. For zips that include seasonal addresses we also provide you with the months they are typically occupied as well – in short, our online tools allow you to make the most informed decision possible regarding these addresses. For further discussion on “seasonals” and the impact they might have on your mailing, give us a call!

Mary McCarty
List Services Manager

Starting Over. It’s more than a TV show or a John Lennon song. No one likes to begin something again- but we’ve found that starting over can be a beneficial thing for your customers. I’m talking to all of you who run radii for your clients- Especially those of you that copy and paste or upload the old geo-codes into the new count. You may find over time that you are missing addresses and have big holes in your mailing areas.

In the infinite wisdom of the USPS – they make route changes and send those out to the CDS holders weekly. They will add a few addresses to this route- take a few from that one, and re-configure route boundaries in an effort to become more efficient at delivering our mail.

The result of all of this USPS activity is that Compact’s weekly change file for the country is around 40-50 million addresses. If one address in the route changes- then the entire route has to be updated. You will find all of these changes listed by ZIP Code and route on the Compact Resident List site under Route Query. The date of the change is also listed. This is the same place you go when your client calls and says- “I had 358 people in CR003- where did they go?”

When you run a radius- it will incorporate all of the routes within the given Geo.

When you copy and paste old Geography into a fresh count- you may begin receiving 0 counts in some of your routes due to the movement of addresses or the deletion of a Route in its entirety. A zero should be an indicator that some kind of change has taken place. Depending on the size of the radius in question you could be missing significant market areas.

It’s really easy to re-run your radii – the starting address is still in the original count. So, instead of starting a new count and then copying and pasting – (clone the old order if you have to have the old original count) all you have to do is click a tab on the pop up window.

The job you are wanting to update (T000857004) is a radius job. Do you want to:
( ) Keep the existing geography
(X) Re-run the radius (any routes added manually will be lost)

By clicking the re-run the radius button you will automatically get the new Geo.

Should you and your customer email Geo files back and forth- it’s a good practice to run radii from their origination point quarterly and create new Geo files.

So rather than thinking starting over is a bad thing- keep your customers happy and sales on track- and re-run your radii!

Chris Slauter
Compact Information Systems

Here in Seattle the local City Council is pushing for support of a Do Not Mail list that they hope will become a nationwide initiative. Apparently the effort is being sponsored by the ForestEthics in an attempt to stop deforestation as a result of direct mail.

You can follow the storyline at the Huffington Post.

In response to Mr. Paglia’s assertions I sent the following comments to his article. The unintended consequences of such an initiative could be dramatic, it is incumbent upon all of us in the Direct Marketing Industry to do our part in trying to help educate everyone in how we perform our business and the value it has to the economy, as well as the real impact on the environment. I have been a green advocate for quite some time, I care deeply about this planet, the future of my children, the air that we breathe and the water that we drink – I also love hiking in the woods and would aggressively advocate for the protection of all old growth. But my environmental position is balanced with a realism and a pragmatism that serves to keep me focused on all aspects of the debate, not just the ones that serve my own personal viewpoint.

Anyway, here’s my short blog back to Todd, and his co-worker at Forest Ethics, Marika.

Todd/Marika.

Some points I’d like you to consider:

· Direct Mail drives the cost of all postage down. The industry is incredibly efficient, and helps enable the USPS to subsidize postage for citizens, not the other way around

· Direct Mail is so efficient because the USPS requires the industry to provide mail pieces in “walk sequence” – literally in the very sequence the postal carrier will use when she drives or walks the mail route

· Many local small businesses use Direct Mail to attract customers within their neighborhood to their store. A pizza parlor will mail every neighbor within 2 miles with a coupon for a pepperoni pizza. Take away Direct Mail from this local store owner and you will hand that pizza order to the multi-national chain who can afford TV advertising

· Should your initiative be successful and across the US the Direct Mail industry is dealt a mortal blow, what do you intend to happen to the people directly affected by the collapse of this industry? It is estimated to be approximately 40,000 people in Washington alone?

Finally, there are over 3 billion Christmas cards sent by citizens around Christmas. These are printed on board stock and mailed, typically inside envelopes that have hand written addresses. The USPS does an incredible job of delivering those Holiday wishes of our citizenry – - but the environmental impact cannot be ignored. Do you intend to sponsor a bill to eradicate the Christmas card too?

Rich Lancaster

CEO

Compact Information Systems