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Welcome to the Talon Mailing & Marketing July 2005 Newsletter: 

 

To view this newsletter using your internet browser click here:

 

Organizations Return To Direct Marketing.

 

With government restrictions on telemarketing and e-mail marketing, and more elaborate spam filtering done by internet providers, companies are turning to a tried-and-true method to reach consumers:  Direct Mail.

 

Direct marketing is on the rise.  With declining newspaper circulations and hundreds of television channels available, marketers realize traditional direct mail is one of the best ways to reach consumers in an increasingly fragmented media market.

 

In 2004, companies and other groups sent out 96 billion pieces of direct mail — up 12 percent from 86 billion pieces in 1999, according to the United States Postal Service. Among the mailings are not-for-profit fundraising, pre-approved credit card offers, un-addressed grocery circulars, and "Dear Neighbor" coupon packages.

 

"Companies are trying to utilize mail as opposed to telephone and the largest areas of growth are in credit card mailings and mortgages," said Mark Aguinaldo, an analyst with the marketing research firm Mintel International Group Ltd. in Chicago.

 

Industry analysts point to the successes in blocking spam e-mail and marketing phone calls for the growth of the $49 billion direct marketing industry.

 

The latest report from the Direct Marketing Association showed that 22 percent of businesses plan to spend less on telemarketing to consumers in the next 12 months while 45 percent plan to spend more on direct mail.

 

Client Profile: MTH Electric Trains
By Michael Borkan

Mike Wolf, founder and owner of M.T.H. Electric Trains, became involved in model trains when he was twelve years old and began working as a train assembler for a neighbor who manufactured toy trains in his basement.  Over time, Mike began a business relationship with Lionel trains and then ultimately went out on his own.  Mike's Train House (MTH) was established in 1980 and has become a leader in the train industry.  MTH is known for their industry-leading quality products and the many  innovations Mike and his staff have developed.

 

Ask any male who grew up in the 1940's or 1950's; the annually produced Lionel Train Catalog was a big event.  Young boys could hardly wait to get their hands on the catalog to see what new products Lionel would bring to the market.

 

Fast forward to 2005:  The demographics have changed considerably.  Today's train enthusiasts are older and spend a lot more money in the hobby.  The most anticipated catalog is no longer produced by Lionel, it is made by MTH.  MTH which started as a very small business has become an 80+ employee company and is recognized for it's outstanding quality and as the most technologically advanced model train manufacturer in the industry.


Pictured Left: The MTH Model Train Catalog

For the last seven years Talon has had the distinct honor of mailing catalogs and newsletters for MTH.  We assemble and mail approximately 55,000 catalog packages a year.  We ship approximately 15% of the catalogs by Priority Mail to "Club Members" who pay annual dues to MTH.  The remaining catalog packages are inserted with other pieces of literature, and then polybagged and sent third or fourth class mail (depending upon the weight of the package). 


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Pictured above left: Our employees insert the catalogs into Priority Mail envelopes.
Pictured above right: Polybagged version is ready to be mailed. One side shows the catalog, the other side shows the address and new product features.


 

Just as the train enthusiasts of the 1940's and 1950's could hardly wait for the new Lionel train catalog, today's hobbyists are just as excited to get their hands on new MTH catalogs as soon as they are printed.  When MTH alerts us the catalogs will be arriving at our facility, we quickly schedule and perform the mailing project.  Running two shifts, we are able to assemble, sort and mail within several days.  Mailings go out each day until the entire project is finished.

 

The catalogs can contain 165 to 200 pages and is produced on quality glossy paper.  Many train enthusiasts save the catalogs as a collectible item.  To see the catalog on-line click here: http://www.mth-railking.com/catalog/index.asp

 

 

Win Yankee and Mets Tickets!

 

We are giving away two tickets to the Yankees and Mets!  To win be the first telephone caller (please call don't hit reply or email).  Call Michael Borkan at 631-667-5500 x 303.  One set per winner. All games will have fantastic seat locations.

 

  • Tuesday July 26th, 2005 Yankees vs. The Minnesota Twins 7:05 PM
  • Wednesday July 20th, 2005 Mets vs. The San Diego Padres 7:10 PM

 

 

New Clients:

 

Talon would like to welcome the following new clients this month to our growing roster of clients:

 

               Mailing Clients

·       Stainless Steel Products

·       Quadrangle Quickprint

·       Gene Mayer International Tennis

 

New Mailing Lists Housed at Talon (we house over 600 mailing lists)

·       American Thunder

·       Small Times Media

·       CollegeBound Network

·       Journal of Analytical Toxicology

 

 

Mike's Favorite Links:

 

Here are some links you probably are not aware of:

 

  • Opentable.com - Make Restaurant Reservations Online, free service, 3,000 Restaurants
  • DinnerBroker.com - Another online reservation site, over 1000 participating restaurants.
  • TV.com - Comprehensive news and information on your favorite TV programs.
  • Housingmaps.com - Houses for sale, apartments to rent, lists properties on map.  Very interesting concept.
  • Become.com - Provides buying guides, articles, forums, reviews, specs & information to help you purchase products.

 

 

Work Samples:

 

Did you know Talon offers the following services?  Click on the links below to see samples.

 

·        Color Laser Personalization

·        Bulk Email Blasts

·        HP High Quality Inkjet (near laser quality)

·        Data Entry (from 100 to 100,000 names and addresses)

·        Polybag and shrinkwrap services

·        Merge/Purge services with comprehensive reports that can instantly be retrieved from the internet

 

 

Newsletter Archives:

 

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Do you know of anyone else who would be interested in receiving our newsletter?  Please let us know by email:   mb@talon-mailing.com

 

To learn more about our company, please visit our web site: www.talon.com or contact Michael Borkan at (631) 667-5500 x 303.

 

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