“This is an important step for our company,” Long said. “For the past 15 years our web address has been ‘mailings.com’ and the company logo has included a stylized postmark. While these have served us well, MCH has grown to provide services well beyond mailing lists. It’s time for our logo and URL to represent that growth.”

Read the full story on the MCH Strategic Data website.

“The budget issues for states are the most severe since we began tracking them in 2002,” MCH President John F. Hood said. “While the overall economic outlook turned the corner during the second half of 2009, funding trends for state and local agencies lag behind the general economy.”

MCH has published four editions of its BudgetAware Bulletin report during the current economic downturn. The company provides strategic marketing data to companies that sell goods and services to institutions like hospitals, schools, churches, and city governments.

The company bases its analysis on a combination of budget statistics and published reports of the steps taken to bring budgets in line. Hood said that last year’s economic stimulus package continues to be important for state and local funding. “The funding was extremely helpful in many states,” Hood said. “In 2010, institutions will actually spend more stimulus money, $107 billion compared to $52 billion in 2009.”

The firm’s analysis groups states into five categories: Stable, Light, Moderate, Strong, and Severe. The report notes that funding conditions are improving for some states. The firm upgraded Vermont to Stable, Indiana to Light, Alabama and North Carolina to Moderate, and Ohio to Strong. “In each of these states, we see evidence that budget conditions are less severe than in our prior report,” Hood said.

Among states facing greater pressure, the firm shifted Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas to Light. Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Virginia are now classified as Moderate. The report now classifies Hawaii and Minnesota as facing Extreme Pressure, a category for states that are severely slashing core services and have continuing budget gaps in the years ahead.

The BudgetAware Bulletin report is available for download from MCH’s website. The 57-page document includes an overview of the economic conditions, marketing recommendations based on state conditions, and a state-by-state report that shows remaining stimulus funds available.

Click here to review datacards that are suitable for marketers of group sales products then call your MCH sales representative to get a count on those “why didn’t I think of that?” institutions you may have missed.

The USPS began enforcing compliance with Move Update requirements on January 4, 2010. To meet the requirements, mailers must be using addresses on mailpieces that have been updated using an approved method within 95 days prior to the mailing date. The threshold that became effective in 2010 includes the following:

• There must be more than five pieces with a Change of Address that were not updated.
• A passing score requires updating 70% or more of the COAs.
• First-Class mail and Standard Mail will be assessed at 7 cents for each piece that isn’t compliant.
• Additional postage will only be assessed against the portion of the mail that is below the threshold.

Example: If verification results are 60%, the USPS will assess additional postage for 10% of the pieces in the mailing (70% threshold – 60% score).
Mailing total pieces: 100,000
Move Update score: 60%
Percent application: 70% threshold – 60% = 10%
Pieces for additional postage: 10% x 100,000 = 10,000
Calculation: .07 x 10,000 = $700.00

The USPS presented a Move Update Technical webinar in August 2009. The 81-page presentation contains information about acceptable methods of processing addresses prior to a mailing, the appeal process, and interpreting Move Update worksheets and reports.

You can view or download a PDF of the USPS presentation here.

In keeping with Dr. Long’s vision, MCH and The edWeb have partnered together to create a new forum for educators and educational marketers. The edWeb is an online forum where administrators and teachers from around the country can come together to discuss issues, get feedback, and provide resources and support. Marketers of educational products can utilize this new social media channel to build brand awareness and connect with customers that use their products and services. Marketers can create public communities to discuss issues in education that are particularly suited to their products and to provide information and customer support. They can create private communities to share internal communications regarding best practices, sales and marketing techniques, and training programs.

The edWeb, MMS Education, and MCH conducted a joint survey regarding K-12 Educators’ Use of Social Networks and Content-Sharing Tools. Two key takeaways are that educators see the value of social networking in many areas of education and they are more likely to join a social networking site dedicated to educators. When those educators join the edWeb, will they see information about your company, products, and services?

To learn more about the benefits of joining edWeb, contact your MCH sales representative today. Call 1-800-776-6373 or send a message to sales@mailings.com.

Download and PDF of the final report regarding the K-12 Educators Survey here.

This will be the latest in a series of webinars that MCH has conducted. You can check out our past webinars at: http://www.mailings.com/newsandevents/webinars/

Here are some examples of the types of people we would consider including as panelists for this topic:

• Healthcare marketing consultants
• Hospital, nursing home, or group practice business office managers or administrators
• Healthcare marketing journalists or bloggers
• Marketers who sell to healthcare institutions

If you’re interested in participating in our webinar or know of someone who might be interested please touch base with me at kirkc@mailings.com or 1-800-776-6373.

Social Media Explorer’s Jason Falls recommends a method to use search to prove social media’s value. If you’re looking to put a value on the time invested in social media, this is a very reasonable metric.

Social media strategist Shannon Paul imagines a world where traditional media and social media integrate. I think she’s seeing the not-too-distant future.

First and foremost, you’ll see much more activity. MCH Marketing Director Kirk Chritton (that’s me) will be the most common presence on the blog, but expect occasional guest blogs from the MCH team. Jackie Finnegan will continue to provide regular input, and CEO Peter Long and President John F. Hood are sure to make an appearance.

We are also expanding the blog’s focus to all aspects of business-to-institution marketing. We will be talking about the tips, tricks, techniques, and trends that successful marketers need to succeed in B2i. That said, our coverage of economic stimulus funding will continue — there are billions of dollars still being allocated to education, healthcare, and local government institutions that you need to know about.

As we go farther forward, this blog will move to a new URL and become more tightly integrated with our main website, www.mailings.com. More on that as the time approaches, though.

For now, thanks for visiting. Be sure to bookmark the site and keeping mind that you can follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MCH4B2i) for regular updates on new blog posts.

Click here to see the full list.

Which states have received the most funding?

Click here to see all states.

October is a big month on the ARRA timeline. Recipient reporting is slated to begin today with recipient contract data posted by October 15th and grant and loan data posted by October 30th.