WhatTheyThink.com Hosts Election Year Direct Mail Webinar

Mailing Expert Mary Ann Bennett Discussed Role of Direct Mail in the 2008 Presidential Election in Webinar hosted by WhatTheyThink, Sponsored by BCC Software and MCS Incorporated

February 11, 2008 -- Lexington, Kentucky USA -- WhatTheyThink.com conducted a free printing industry educational webinar, One Vote - One Mailbox: Leveraging Election Print Opportunities, led by mailing expert Mary Ann Bennett, President and CEO of The Bennett Group. The program was sponsored by BCC Software and MCS Incorporated, and was held Wednesday, February 6, 2008.

Bennett pointed out that direct mail has been a reliable, tried and true way for political strategists to reach voters.  Mail is a dependable communications means with high reliability in deliverability, and offers an opportunity for print service providers to benefit from the political process to drive incremental revenue. “At the same time,” she says, “you can help make the political process greener by helping candidates and their staffs produce more targeted, effective communications with potential voters. And by helping them to ensure that the mail is deliverable, you can help them reduce print and mailing costs and reduce the amount of mail the Post Office must dispose of because it cannot be delivered.”

Bennett, also the founder of the Mailing Training Institute located in Rochester, NY, is a nationally recognized expert on USPS postal automation, a frequent speaker at direct marketing conventions and communication forums and a sought-after contributor to national publications whose reader base includes the mailing and print industries. 

“Bennett shared her extensive mailing expertise with our listeners,” said Randy Davidson, President, WhatTheyThink, “and provided lots of good insight into how print service providers can capitalize on this busy political season in new and innovative ways.  We are pleased that BCC Software and MCS, Inc., through their generous sponsorship, allowed us to present this valuable session to our listeners at no charge.”

Attendees learned:

• The factors to be considered when selecting a class of mail (Standard rate or First Class) for a "personalized" mailpiece
• Steps that printers/mailers should take to speed entry into the mailstream and avoid USPS acceptance problems
• How to use mailing software to generate new revenue streams and reduce internal production costs
• Guidelines for selecting fields from address data records that should and/or must be selected for printing on the mailpiece/document in order to claim the largest postage discounts
• How to clearly identify mail related services that can be provided to customers and their costs
• How to maximize mailpiece design to experience the lowest postage costs and the fastest mail delivery
• Suggested policies, procedures and illustrations that they can be immediately utilized to successfully get mailpieces not just into the mailstream…but delivered into the mailbox!

This webinar is available for only 30 days in the WhatTheyThink archive due to special arrangements with the presenters. The MP3 audio and PDF of the slides are available at this link:

http://members.whattheythink.com/home/webinars/webinar080206.cfm

About BCC Software

For more than 25 years BCC Software Inc has offered high-performance software and solutions for professional mailers. The company is committed to providing clients with the highest level of customer service and technology training. Current BCC clients include such well known names as Harvard University, The Miami Herald, Anheuser-Busch Company, Inc., Wal-Mart, Papa John’s, American Civil Liberties Union, R.R. Donnelley, K/P Corporation and the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2005, BCC became a BÖWE BELL + HOWELL company.

For more information, visit www.bccsoftware.com.

About MCS Incorporated

MCS, Inc., designs, manufactures, sells and supports the most successful inkjet imaging systems and inserter matching systems for the mailing industry.  The company offers stand-alone inkjet systems, in-line inkjet systems for inserters and tip-on machines, web based inkjets and matching systems using HP Technology, and has been in business since 1989.

For more information, visit www.mcspro.com.

About The Bennett Group

The Bennett Group, Inc. is a mailing training and consulting firm and has the single focus of the development and delivery of educational products, services and training for the mailing industry. Located in Rochester, NY, the Mailing Training Institute is an 8,000 square-foot facility featuring state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, conference rooms and offices designed and equipped for employees and vendors to innovatively and aggressively develop products and services that encompass all aspects of the business of mail. Products developed at the facility include text books, publications, kits & templates, on-line forums and web-based seminars.

For more information, visit www.The-Bennett-Group.com.

About WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink.com is the printing and publishing industry's leading online media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink.com also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites and through RSS.

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