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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

MAIL—Anthrax a Murky Swamp for PR

Just days ago, the workers at Edge Communications Inc. were getting ready to help launch a product for one of their clients a promotional mailing that was to include toy crocodiles to illustrate the rugged construction of the firm’s new handheld PC. Today, the Calabasas-based public relations firm is knee deep in crocs. As more reports of mail containing anthrax surface, even a harmless novelty hidden in a piece of mail is likely to arouse fear and suspicion, so most of the crocodiles will remain beached at the Edge offices. “We realize the joke is worth nothing if it gets opened by someone other than the intended recipient or if it turns people off,” said Ken Greenberg, president of Edge. “So we’ve definitely put the brakes on doing this as we initially planned it.” Despite indications that the outbreaks so far are not likely to spread to the general public or even most businesses, fears over anthrax have reached near panic proportions, forcing many communications companies and direct marketers to reevaluate tried and true strategies they once took for granted. Something as innocuous as a Columbus Day greeting containing candy sent by Berbay Corp. to its clients had people asking before opening, not just who the sender was, but what was contained in the envelopes. Bulky envelopes like Berbay’s or the one Edge hoped to send, as well as mail without return address and even packages that are merely unexpected are as likely to end up in the hands of the police as they are to reach the addressee. And even if the communiqu & #233;s get to their intended destinations, they run the risk of alienating an audience that could perceive the mailing as insensitive or frivolous. “Obviously, there’s a sensitivity to opening packages,” said Joann Killeen, chair elect for the Public Relations Society of America and president of her own L.A.-based Killeen Communications. “I also think everyone is more somber now. I think we’re more focused on what’s most important, and I don’t think any of us are in a frivolous mood. You don’t want your client to get a frivolous name in the business.” These kinds of concerns began to surface following the attacks of Sept. 11 and have escalated in the wake of subsequent events, including the latest anthrax scares. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. cancelled its quarterly catalog, concerned that its racy, freewheeling tone was not suited to the nation’s new mood. The Coca-Cola Co. dropped its “Life tastes good” slogan. The Emmy Awards ceremonies were canceled twice and premieres of movies like “Collateral Damage” have been placed on hold indefinitely. “We are rethinking the business, and we’ve already put out positions to our clients,” said Russell Kern, president of Kern Direct Marketing, whose client, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was first to call inquiring as to the company’s plans. “All mail needs to address the question of who is this from, and why should I open it.” For Kern, the answer lies in well-designed, professional correspondence that clearly delineates what is contained within. “All these things need to be answered in a split-second,” he said. Still, he and others point out that the growing sense of dread over the mail could not have come at a worse time for direct mail firms, which are entering the all-important fourth-quarter selling season. New screening procedures put into place in a lot of mailrooms are bogging down the pace at which mail gets to its destination and that affects the whole selling cycle. Some agencies say they are not overly concerned by recent events. “At this point, I’m going to proceed,” said Sharon Berman, a principal at marketing firm Berbay in Tarzana. “There are people out there who won’t open anything right now, and there are people saying, I’m just going to continue on.” While mailings without return addresses and other similar approaches designed to arouse curiosity, and therefore get attention, have long been used by some companies, others insist it is the message, not the medium that counts in direct mail solicitations. “If you write something and it’s a good idea, you can put it on toilet paper and people will run with it, and that’s been my experience,” said Laurie Golden, a partner at Jacob’s Well Public Relations and Advertising. Still, Golden has considered using messengers instead of the mails for some of her current announcements. “This really is rather frightening for a lot of people,” she said. Back at Edge Communications, they are testing the waters to see just how much of an impact recent events have had. Although the company scrapped its initial plans to blanket its crocodile teaser campaign on behalf of Seattle-based Intermec, it is going to send the novelties out to a select group of journalists it hopes will review the new PC, alerting them that the mailing is coming in advance. “Fortunately, we have a good story regardless of whether we can get the mailing out,” said Greenberg. “If there’s any sort of lesson I would take from this it’s probably that frothy stuff is just not appropriate for a variety of reasons. So I think if people can stick to the heart of the matter, the stuff that really gets the message across, that’s consistent with doing business, that stuff should continue.” Indeed, those companies that depend on direct mail and similar communication techniques can’t eliminate them entirely. As the recession deepens, staying in front of customers’ minds becomes all the more important. On the other hand, many believe that those marketers that have used tactics like blind envelopes and correspondence marked personal when it is not, instead of more strategic sales approaches, may be left behind, even if the current crisis passes. “I think it’s going to force the people that used the old tricks of the trade to reinvent themselves or go out of business,” said Kern. “It’s called direct mail advertising, not junk mail advertising. The industry needs to learn how to advertise in a way that promotes confidence, not something that tricks and instills fear.”

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