June 27th, 2005
Although Internet access and e-mail usage are prevalent in Canada, the majority of Canadians still prefer receiving information and documents by regular mail and consider this communication method far more secure and reliable than e-mail. According to Pitney Bowes' Canada 2005 Household Mail Preference Study, more than half (58%) of Canadian households with access to e-mail favour receiving documents, letters and messages by mail while less than a third (30%) prefer the electronic version. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of respondents (81%) believe regular mail is more secure than e-mail with only eight percent holding the opposite opinion. The survey of more than 250 households across Canada outlines Canadians' habits, behaviours and attitudes toward the receipt and use of regular and electronic mail, as well as their stance toward telemarketing.

The high degree of confidence in the security of regular mail also translates into Canadians' preference to receive sensitive information such as bills, bank statements and other financial information by this communication method. Eighty-five percent of respondents with e-mail access still choose to get financial data in hardcopy format compared to only 11% who prefer receiving it electronically. This bias in favour of regular mail is also prevalent for communicating other information such as new products and services with two-thirds of households preferring to receive regular mail from businesses compared to around 20% who like to be informed by e-mail.

"The study provides interesting insights on how Canadians would like to be approached by businesses and service providers. Surprisingly, although Canada scores high in connectivity levels with two-thirds of households connected to the internet and e-mail, many of them still prefer to receive information by regular mail," said Bill Mackrell, Vice President, Marketing & Global Credit Services, with Pitney Bowes Canada. "Whether embarking on a new marketing campaign or for ongoing communication with clients, aligning the appropriate communication channel with recipients' preferences plays an important role in achieving successful business results."

But while regular mail seemed to be the favourite business communication channel in Canadian households, telemarketing is at the other end of the spectrum. Three-quarters (75%) of Canadian households acknowledged that if Canada had a Do Not Call registry, they would want to be on it. Interest in a Do Not Call registry in Canada is even higher than in the U.S. where, in a similar survey conducted by Pitney Bowes, less than two-thirds (61%) of households indicated interest in being on the list. Also, unlike their peers south of the border, 53% of Canadians expect the number of unsolicited telemarketing calls to increase over the next year, compared to just 13% of respondents in the U.S. Telephone is also the channel least preferred by Canadian households for receiving information on new products and services from companies they don't do business with (52% least prefer telephone, 22% least prefer e-mail and 19% least prefer regular mail).

Additional Key Findings

• Canadians are more likely to discard unopened unsolicited e-mail than regular mail (69% vs. 26%).
• 61% of Canadians spend less than 15 minutes on reading and responding to incoming mail, which puts more pressure on direct-mail marketers to communicate quickly.
• While 20% of Americans devote more than 30 minutes to review mail, only 10% of Canadians spend the same amount of time.
• 79% of respondents find unsolicited phone calls more intrusive than mail (14%).
• The same percentage (62%) of Canadian and U.S. households believe the volume of e-mail will increase over the next year.
• Three-quarters (76%) of Canadian respondents said regular mail was most convenient, and 45% found it most persuasive.
• Survey Methodology
• Commissioned by Pitney Bowes of Canada and based on a similar study carried out by Pitney Bowes in the U.S., research company BrandTrust surveyed more than 250 households across Canada. Phone interviews included questions about households' mail, e-mail and telemarketing use and preferences. The findings provide a snapshot of Canadian habits, behaviours and attitudes towards the receipt and use of mail, both regular and electronic - as well as telemarketing.
  
  
  

June 2005 - PostLinx Receives Mailing Ingenuity Award
PostLinx was recognized this month with the “2005 Mailing Ingenuity Award” from the Mailing & Fulfillment Services Association (MFSA) annual conference, held at the Hilton Riverside Hotel, New Orleans.

Each year, the association conducts its “Awards for Excellence” competition and asks its 600 plus members to submit notable entries based on various mailing categories. Industry experts judge the competition and the results are made public during the awards ceremony at the annual gala. The award categories include creative problem solving in management, data & variable imaging as well as mail production services.
PostLinx recently created and introduced a Customer Performance Scorecard which tracks and measures quality, mail volumes and on-time performance. The scorecard captures and provides quantifiable performance data, which can then be presented during client reviews.

This year’s award marks PostLinx 13th Ingenuity Category award with the association. PostLinx has been an active member of the MFSA for nearly 20 years.

April 2005 - PostLinx achieves ISO 9001:2000 Certification
PostLinx announced today that it has successfully completed the requirements and is now registered to the ISO 9001:2000 quality standard.
Over the past year, PostLinx, a subsidiary of Pitney Bowes of Canada, and its employees have formally embarked on a mission to provide quality controls and improvement processes throughout every aspect of its client mailings and to drive continual improvement throughout its organization. The resulting improvement in quality control, operational procedures, and increased efficiency contributed to the organization's registration to the ISO 9001:2000 standard on April 1, 2005.

ISO 9001:2000 is the international standard for establishing and maintaining a quality management system. This includes what an organization does to fulfill

• A customer's quality requirements, and
• Applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
• Enhance customer satisfaction, and
• Achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.

Keeping personal information secure is also very important to us at PostLinx. We have recently upgraded our entire information system architecture based on ISO 17799 standards, and we are working to achieve this important Certification. As PostLinx’ President, Greg McKenzie says, "ISO 17799 registration will provide the company and our clients with a foundation for the escalating requirements around data management, privacy and information security.”

May 2004 - Michael Price receives CMA lifetime achievement Award
CMA Annual Conference, Ottawa
Michael Price, PostLinx Corporation’s Vice President of Business Development, has been elected an Honourary Life Member of the Canadian Marketing Association in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the marketing community, and for the furthering of the Association’s vision and evolution.

Mr. Price joined the CMA Board of Directors in June 1995 and served on the Board for three years. More recently, he chaired the CMA Postal Issues Committee and served as CMA's representative to the Canada Post Joint Technical Committee. He has also chaired the Mailing Services Council, and is currently active on the Ethics and Privacy Committee.