Zumbox Partners With ALC to Launch First National Paperless Postal System
June 10, 2009 — Zumbox, the world’s first paperless postal system, today announced a strategic partnership with ALC, the industry’s leading data marketing service provider; ALC’s Chairman and CEO, Donn Rappaport, will join Zumbox as CEO, while retaining Chairmanship of the company he founded in 1978. The partnership between Zumbox and ALC will leverage ALC’s sales and marketing resources, as well as its network of regional sales offices.
Zumbox is a secure, street-address-based web platform that enables both organizations and individuals to send paperless mail (such as financial statements, bills, direct mail, catalogs, publications, fundraising appeals, and personal correspondence) to a digital mailbox — a Zumbox — that has been created for every household and business address in the country. Zumbox allows interactive formats such as HTML, Flash, audio and video to be easily incorporated into digital content. Recipients can access their Zumbox mail from anywhere in the world via the Internet.
Postal mailers using Zumbox can expect to reduce expenses to a fraction of their current postage, paper, printing and mailing costs. Zumbox also compares favorably to e-mail: because it is a closed system, there is no spam; since it is targeted to individuals at their street address — and is independent of their e-mail address — it allows senders a high degree of segmentation; and it provides bank level security. From a consumer perspective, “going paperless” by activating a Zumbox account represents a significant step in responsible environmental stewardship.
“Today’s announcement signals an important milestone as the next evolutionary stage for the company,” said Maury Friedman, Zumbox founder and Chairman. “We look forward to combining ALC’s customer acquisition and data management expertise with our innovative technology to bring the Zumbox paperless postal system to market.”
With more than 30 years in the data marketing business, Donn Rappaport is the chief architect of ALC’s outstanding record of success. Mr. Rappaport is also a member of the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Board of Directors since 2000 and served as its Chairman in 2008. He was a member of the DMA Board of Directors Standing Committee on Ethics and Privacy, as well as its Environmental Task Force, where he co-authored, “The DMA Environmental Resource for Direct Marketers,” a guide for helping organizations minimize the environmental impact of their marketing activities.
“Zumbox is a breakthrough, game-changing solution,” Mr. Rappaport said. “It provides businesses with a powerful and extremely effective means to respond to the ecological concerns of their customers, while enabling them to preserve and, in fact, nurture, interactive one-to-one customer relationships. Speaking both personally, and on behalf of all the employees of ALC, we are very pleased to be partnering with the Zumbox team to lead the paperless charge.”
Under Mr. Rappaport’s leadership, Zumbox is poised to launch the first stage of a national rollout of its service in September, 2009.
About Zumbox
Zumbox is the world’s first paperless postal system. Zumbox delivers mail electronically to the same household and business street address databases used by the postal system. Zumbox provides both national and local senders a more accountable and environmentally responsible alternative to paper mail, allowing marketers to effectively target customers and prospects, while reducing postage, paper and printing costs. In addition, it offers them a viable secure, spam-free alternative to e-mail that allows a high degree of segmentation. It enables consumers to easily access their mail from anywhere at anytime via the Internet, with no need for an intermediary to sort, scan or forward paper mail. Zumbox provides bank-level security through its closed system and is in compliance with PCI, BITS and HIPAA security rules and regulations. Founded in 2007, Zumbox is privately held and is based in Westlake Village, CA. For more information, visit http://www.zumbox.com.
About ALC
ALC is one of the direct response industry’s leading data marketing service providers. ALC’s focus is to enable its clients to grow, increase market share and improve bottom-line profitability through the innovative gathering, application, and integration of marketing data. ALC clients include the leaders in virtually every category of business. Widely regarded as a leading proponent of innovation, ALC has been a pioneer in developing and applying sophisticated information marketing solutions in both the off-line and digital marketing worlds. Founded in 1978, the company was included on the “INC. 500" list of fastest-growing companies in the country for three consecutive years. ALC is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and maintains a network of regional sales offices in New York City, Tarrytown, Minneapolis, Dallas and San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.alc.com.
