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Direct Mailer ValPack Turns to Newspapers Ads
- Editor & Publisher, Friday, February 20, 2009 9:45 AM
In an interesting twist, the big direct mailer Valpak is using newspaper advertising -- not direct mail -- to peddle its services during the downturn. A new national newspaper ad campaign
promotes its brand and product as "The original Consumer Stimulus Package." It is running full-page ads in 10 papers that cover 30 of its franchise markets. Valpak is a unit of Cox Enterprises,
which is the parent of Cox Newspapers.
The newspaper campaign is designed to help the company target what it calls "beleaguered business owners." Previously, the company has
advertised primarily to consumers. Valpak says it changed that strategy in 2008 with "blended consumer and business messaging."
"We have shifted our advertising budgets and efforts to be more focused on business-to-business advertising for our franchises," Valpak's director of marketing. The ads tell business owners that with the present "shift to thrift, even upscale consumers are looking for savings" via direct mail coupons. Among the papers running the ads are The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun and The Chicago Tribune.
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Just to clarify, the Valpak newspaper ads were the kickoff of the Valpak campaign - designed to draw in readers on the day of the signing of the economic stimulus package. It is an ongoing campaign that includes many elements, including ads in the Valpak envelopes.