P.O.P. and Ad Specialty NEWS...
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01/17/11
Direct Mail Facts:
- 23.6% of all mail sent in the United States is addressed inaccurately (USPS)
- The quality of U.S. addresses declined by 17 percent each year (USPS)
- Internal duplication rates of up to 20% are not uncommon (Dun & Bradstreet)
- 42% of businesses make no effort to measure data quality (The Information Difference)
- 42% of you are staking your future on what is effectively a blind data date
- U.S. businesses waste more than $600 billion each year due to defective data (TDWI)
- Direct Marketing has bucked the downturn in advertising by contributing GBP50.5 billion to the United Kingdom economy in 2007, a growth of 15.4% on the previous year, according to the DMA's Economic Impact of the Direct Marketing Industry 2008

07/06/10
Houston, Texas, supplier LandesUSA (UPIC: Landes) has ramped up its domestic sewing capacity to build absorbent sheets for a local environmental company to aid in cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company sews a one-inch piece of webbing to fabric sheets 18 inches by 75 feet used as “sweeps” to absorb the oil, says Sonny DeShong, president of Landes. The company’s 30 employees are producing 1,800 units a week, he says.

“The volume is tremendous,” DeShong says. “Our employees have already put 224 man-hours in production of the sweeps.”

DeShong, a native Houstonian, says he is excited to help with the clean-up effort.

“The Gulf of Mexico is a cherished part of our landscape here in Texas, and we are thrilled to be able to participate in the effort to restore the gulf coast beaches and marshlands for our neighbors to the east,” he says. “From the beach at Gulf Shores to the canals and marshes of Venice, Louisiana, I’ve witnessed firsthand the beauty of this region, and we are all crushed by the tragedy of this event. We will do all we can to aid in the cleanup.”

03/2010
Healthcare Bill Passes with Sunshine Provisions Act
After extensive floor debate and committee compromises in Congress, President Obama has now signed a sweeping health care reform bill that will affect every American, from the uninsured to the wealthy business owner. Besides eventually offering nearly universal health care, providing subsidies to certain families and awarding tax credits to small businesses, the bill includes provisions requiring drug and device companies to publicly report payments they make to doctors. A companion bill, which is likely to be passed in the U.S. Senate, will force the public reporting of any payment or gift given to a doctor that is $5 or greater in value.
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03/2010
FDA Bans Tobacco Companies Use of Promotional Products
Tobacco companies will be barred from distributing branded merchandise under new provisions enacted by the Food and Drug Administration. The restrictions, which go into effect June 22, have already been in place for over a decade in all but four states as a result of a 1998 legal settlement (Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi and Texas had reached separate agreements). The new regulations enforced by the FDA expand the ban nationally and covers all tobacco companies and retailers. "The regulations being announced today are designed to prevent our children from becoming the next generation of Americans to die early from tobacco-related illnesses," said Howard K. Koh, U.S. assistant secretary of health.
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