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For broadcast on CBS Radio Network stations July 24-25, 2004:

Something strange in your mail.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries. 

Some day you may find a shark in your mailbox -- or a steering wheel. Under new postal 
regulations, advertisers can mail odd-shapped items that grab your attention.

"This is the first time that anybody's been allowed to send irregular-shaped mail...so 
our pieces are all cut out into the shapes of the  products they represent"
RUNS :08

Tom Becker of Ship-Shapes, a company that makes and mails these promotional pieces, says 
regular advertising mail -- marketers don't like to call it JUNK mail -- is boring.

"Most mail that you receive is very easily identifiable as, as standard mail, and 
therefore people don't tend to open the envelopes and look at what's inside."
RUNS :10

One company used a shark to advertise a pool-cleaning chemical. Other pieces have included 
a motorcycle and a dartboard. One of the first pieces, for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, may be 
displayed at the Smithsonian. Stamp collectors are sure to look for these -- as what they 
call "postal history."

And that's Stamp Collecting this week. 

I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News. 
*********************************************************
Special Longer Version:

Download this report as an MP3 sound file.

<You could find something strange in your mail soon. I'm Lloyd de Vries, and I'll have 
the story.>


Some day you may find a shark in your mail -- or a steering wheel or a box of doughnuts. 
Under new postal regulations, advertisers can mail odd-shapped items that grab your 
attention.

"This is the first time that anybody's been allowed to send irregular-shaped mail...so our 
pieces are all cut out into the shapes of the  products they represent"
RUNS :08

Tom Becker of Ship-Shapes, a company that makes and mails these promotional pieces, says 
regular advertising mail -- direct marketers don't like to call it JUNK mail -- is boring.

"Most mail that you receive is very easily identifiable as, as standard mail, and therefore 
people don't tend to open the envelopes and look at what's inside."
RUNS :10

And e-mail doesn't always get the job done, either.

"With all the spam out there, that gets kind of lost in the clutter, as well as direct mail 
does."
RUNS :05

One company used a shark to advertise a pool-cleaning chemical. 

"I think it was real effective because you're not used to seeing something like that in the 
mail."
RUNS :04

To avoid mangling in the postal automation, the pieces are made of plastic and shipped 
directly to local post offices for delivery. So far, it's all been business-to-business mail, 
but some day...

"If it fits in a 12 by 15 by 3/4 of an inch space, it's allowed to go under this 
classification of mail, so we see this product getting more sophisticated as we move forward."
RUNS :10

Other pieces have included a motorcycle and a dartboard. One of the first pieces, for 
Krispy Kreme doughnuts, may be displayed at the Smithsonian. Stamp collectors are sure to 
look for these -- as what they call "postal history."

I'm Lloyd de Vries

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