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Countries
and Address Formats
Change
~ by Merry Law, president of WorldVu
LLC
Since 1990, 26 countries have come
into existence and 9 ceased to exist. The breakup of
the U.S.S.R. alone added 14 countries to the world's
total. Yugoslavia's split has resulted so far in 6
countries. Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia and Timor
Leste split from Indonesia. Other changes have also
occurred - and more are expected.
In just the last 8 years, there have been more than 80
changes in postal addressing formats around the
world. Some of those new countries kept their former
address structure as they worked out their own new
system. Regime changes can lead to new names for
countries, states and provinces, and cities, as well as
the address structure. For example, more than 30
countries have changed a postal code since 1999.
Iraq's old 5-digit code was replaced by a new 5-digit
code. As countries grow, so might their code from 4
digits to 5 digits or more. Mechanization also plays a
role with more refined machine sorting, as it has been
in the U.S. with the ZIP + 4.
More and more countries are instituting zip or postal
codes. At least 20 countries have introduced postal
coding systems since 1999. The Universal Postal
Union (UPU), the international body that facilitates the
flow of international mail, is actively encouraging the
establishment of postal codes by its member
countries and, according to their Web site, "117 UPU
member countries use postcodes as part of their
addressing systems."
One final caveat in this discussion: having a postal
code does not always mean using a postal code.
One country designed a postal code system in the
1990's but requested that the code not be used until
this year. Another has said, ""We forecast that maybe
in the first year, only 10 percent of the population will
be effectively using the code." The reasons why a
country may not wish to use a postal code or why their
citizens may adopt it less quickly can vary greatly with
individual circumstances. It may be a cultural
attachment to tradition, resistance to the introduction
of automated equipment, limitations in literacy or
communications, or some combination of all of
these. |
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Greetings!
The only constant is change. You no doubt live this
truism on a daily basis, right? In the Northeastern US
change brings us spectacular fall foliage colors this
time of year. Regardless of where you sit as you read
this issue of GZ News, change is most definitely
impacting your daily work lives. International direct
marketers are no strangers to change. As you read
our fall issue some articles detail how change is
impacting us personally, professionally, locally and
globally. It is said we are creatures of habit. The pace
of change can be, at times, unsettling. Our challenge
is to embrace change, participate in it and enjoy the
opportunities that are ahead for all of us. These are
very exciting times in this constantly changing
international direct marketing industry! We look
forward to what lies ahead.
In this issue we welcome and thank Merry Law for
contributing our feature article: "Countries - and Address Formats -
Change". Also, Stacy Berver brings us the third in
her series of information-packed articles.
Thank you for your continued feedback and
contributions to GZ News. Please keep the emails
coming. We want to bring you articles of interest to
our readers, so please speak up.
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| DM Basics: The Last of My Secrets... (Part 3) |
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~ by Stacy Berver
DM360, Inc.
(Stacy@DM360Inc.com)
...at Least in This 3-Part Series.
Honestly, I didn't want to title this article with what it's
really about, for fear of you running in the other
direction. But really, do you have three minutes to
spare? If so, then read on.
Accurate Reporting & Detailed
Analysis
Sounds boring (insert snoring sound here), doesn't
it? But, what if I told you that you could ruin your
business if you're not using some of the strategies I'll
suggest?
Or that in combination, these strategies could allow
you to mail smarter, mail more and ultimately acquire
more customers?
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To read Stacy's full article click here... |
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| Selling Less of More |
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~ by Marty Shaw
When I was in college I took a course that required a
20 minute film as a project final. It took a team of 5
fellow students a full semester, the college's "state of
the art equipment" (in the late 80s), and some good
old fashioned inspiration and perspiration to produce
the final edit. Fast forward. This past weekend my two
pre-teen children, along with 4 friends, scripted, filmed
(with two home video cameras and one Windows
computer with a free copy of Movie Maker
preinstalled), edited, and finalized a 15 minute sketch
which is part 3 in an ongoing "action adventure"
series. Each of the three parts has taken one day to
complete, and while I got an "A" on our college film
project I suggest to you that the films my children and
their friends are creating are better quality. What do
mine and my children's film making experiences have
to do with direct marketing, you ask? If you've read
Chris Anderson's "The Long Tail" you know what this
means to direct marketers, specifically, and our global
economy, more generally. It's the best book I've read
in a long time and I encourage each of you to pick up a
copy (audio
book and print); it will change your perspective on
direct
marketing in many ways-guaranteed.
My college film experience was in a time of classic
economics-economic scarcity. My children's film
experience is very different-economic abundance.
This is the basic foundation of Anderson's book and
he goes on to provide great historical evidence and
current trends that are reshaping our economy and
how we market within it. The Long Tail details "why the
future of business is selling less of more."
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Read how the long tail may impact your business... |
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| Direct Marketers Focus In On Chicago |
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It's the Direct Marketing Association's annual
Conference and Exhibition coming up next week. If you
will be attending you will be in the heart of the action!...
not just at the McCormick Convention Center. Time to
focus. On Sunday, Oct. 14th the Chicago Bears play
host to the Minnesota Vikings, and with the Cubs
currently in the playoffs against the Arizona
Diamondbacks there's a good chance baseball fans
will have more playoff action in Chicago after this
division series (Colorado Rockies or Philadelphia
Phillies). Sorry Diamondback fans! Hockey fans have
the Blackhawks hosting the Dallas Stars on Saturday,
the 13th. You work hard. You can play hard, too, right?
The DMA Conference & Expo always proves to be a
great show. This year will no doubt keep that record
going. Check out the full range of options available to
attendees and exhibitors. Kudos to the DMA team for
coordinating such a resource-packed conference! As
we have done for many years, this year Global-Z will
be exhibiting at the conference. Please stop by to see
us at Booth #1036. Also, feel free to Contact Us to schedule time to meet
with one of our team.
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Learn more about the DMA Conference... |
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| Meet Ed Barbeau |
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Edward Barbeau works in our Research &
Development Department and has been with Global-Z
since April of 1999; originally as part of our Data
Specialist Department.
Edward's core focus at Global-Z includes product
development and design, maintenance of existing
systems, researching existing/ new postal systems
as well as providing operational support to our other
departments.
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Learn more about Ed... |
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