Publisher's Multinational Direct issues tsunami alert.

Al Goodloe, publisher of Publisher's Multinational Direct, provides a good model for all of us to stay on top of our subscribers' particular concerns during natural and man-made disasters, as well as holidays and other special times--reminiscent, for example, of the practice of not mailing promotions to CPAs during tax time.

Following the tsunami, Al wrote a one-page Update: "For the last two weeks, we have been talking to our contacts in the USA and in the Asia/Pacific region. We asked, 'What marketing strategy would be appropriate over the near term for the countries that endured severe damage?' The consensus opinion is 'mail as planned.'

"We should point out that several experienced global direct marketers dissented. They felt that the tsunami was such a grave distraction that it was best to hold the mail for a while.

"The brunt of the disaster fell in distant coastal areas in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India. Our contacts keep emphasizing the resilience of the populations in that part of the world. People are getting back to work far more quickly than one might imagine.

"The mail seems to be getting through to major commercial and industrial centers where most of the customers and prospects for English-language publications reside."

Timely, detailed, consise advice for his global mailers!

Then, in the current issue of PMD, Al ran a detailed article on "The Impact of the Tsunami Tragedy--Lessons Learned."

Mailing into holidays

In his tsunami update, Al also included a warning: "Be careful. Don't mail too close to Chinese New Year. This important holiday which occurs February 9-11 will be observed in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan and by significant ethnic Chinese groups in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia. There is also a Muslim holiday during this period--Al-Hijra on February 10. Receiving mail within a week on either side of Chinese New Year could depress response."