A First! Saks Fifth Avenue Launches 10022-Shoe ZIP Code as Basis for Multichannel Ad Campaign
Monday, 20 August 2007
Saks Fifth Avenue on Friday celebrated the grand opening of its expanded New York designer shoe salon that now fills the entire eighth floor of its Manhattan store. The new space, “10022-SHOE,” will hold a place in marketing history as the first retail floor to brand its location as a literal shopping destination. Saks is using a unique ZIP Code in a multichannel advertising campaign that includes direct mail and customized postage.
While 10022 is the correct ZIP Code for the store, the additional four letters are part of an ad campaign and not used in the delivery of the mail to that location.
Building on the campaign’s message that the new shoe floor is so big it has its own ZIP Code, customers will be able to send a postcard marking their visit. The postcard contains one of about a dozen branded, customized postage designs Saks has produced featuring artwork from top shoe designers. Stamps.com is the Postal Service-licensed vendor providing the customized postage for Saks.
The US Postal Service received no financial consideration from Saks for the marketing campaign, said Anita Bizzotto, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, but is proud to be associated with the retailer.
“We are delighted that Saks Fifth Avenue used a symbol of performance and service to help launch such an innovative campaign,” Bizzotto said.
Customized postage allows a customer to personalize postage with pictures or images using Customized PC Postage technology. Customized postage has two parts: a customer-supplied image and a state-of-the-art bar code. All customized postage is compatible with the Postal Service’s automated mail processing systems.
PC Postage is not a stamp and the use of customized postage does not affect the Postal Service’s production or commitment to postage stamps.
“You can customize postage, but you can’t customize a ZIP Code,” Bizzotto said, explaining that the Postal Service currently has no plans to consider adding letters or words to ZIP Codes.