Any U.S. people have experience with ValPak?

I haven't got any junk mail from valpak since the late 1990s.

Many Val Pak territories have indeed, gone belly up, but so has a lot of direct mail, the Red Plum just changed hands, the TOWN NEWS is shrinking but some areas are still mailing co-op envelopes, like Val-Pak out, and some have switched to POSTCARDS (my preference for co-op ads).

If there is a secret to getting them to work, you must have a very strong offer. It has to better than any other tyoe of offer they will see in the pak, or in other direct mail media.

I'll give you an example. Oil changes. Two guys competing, one had a 24.95 offer on his co-op, the other a 14.95, which was a loss leader. It depends on the back end, can a lost leader bring in customers for other products or services?

If all you do is oil changes, the 14.95 isn't a good deal for YOU. But if you do brakes, lubes, and some auto repair, then maybe it will bring you some good long term customers.

Go thorough the current ValPak for your area, if it is Honolulu, see what has been sent out recently, if any competitors are in it, and see if there is an alternative, maybe your own postcard with co-op non competing business on it, they basically pay you to run a free ad.

Do your due diligence before you go with them, they are expensive so crunch the numbers to see what sort of a return you will need, and what your Lifetime Value of a Customer is, if you have that.

If it is a one off campaign, you'll need a very low price or a great offer to get attention.

GordonJ

PS Their salespeople are trained like TV and Radio and Newspaper guys, they will tell you a YEAR of ads is what works. I say, watch and learn, and commit because their DEADLINE is coming up, a strong arm tactic.

Advertising what?

Yeah, it matters.

I placed an ad with them back a number of years ago and I would say from my results and for what I spent and it wasn't cheap, I would say pass on it and don't waste your money, your better off advertising in your local shoppers paper or pay and have your business flyer distributed door to door, this always got me sales when done, it's one of the most unused ways to advertise a business offline, but one of the best!

I think Valpak is still active in some states/regions but not in others. I haven't seen a ValPak since moving to Ohio 3.5 years ago.... but had them weekly in Mississippi and saw a couple of them recently in Georgia.

They are still found here in N.J. but they go straight into the recycle center, without being opened.

We actually looked for them in MS because local restaurants ran 2 for 1 coupons every so often....and the best "person powered" car wash in town had $10 off coupons.

For the OP - I'd talk to neighbors and see if they know what a Valpak is - if they receive them, use them, etc. I'd do that before I went to the meeting....

Why don't you do EDDM Every Door Direct Mail. Val pack is cluttered with other advertisers. EDDM is separate and you will save on postage. You can choose your own zip codes and area.

You can check it In the USPS website.

Also for a targeted response you can get a list based on criteria's.

This will allow you to target your audience directly without wasting money.

I get ValPak 2-3 times a month. My kids love rummaging through it.

Having said that, we do usually look through ValPak and similar promotional packets every time we move to a new area... or are bored. It still is used.

Helpful tip: Large, engaging imagery, few words, good promotion. Don't have like a 15% coupon. It has to be 2 for 1 or something like that for my family to use it.

There are other competitors I receive in the mail like Clipper Magazine and Money Mailer, it would be a good idea to see which company gives you the best advertising package. I was wondering if this would work for my AMSOIL business offer of 25% + Free shipping offer?

I would listen to Claude on this as he has actually made money on this and ignore everyone else.

People ignore advertising no matter the medium. It's your job to make them not ignore you.

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"I rest my case."