Move With Your Customers (cohereone.com)

The coronavirus has been a life-changing event. We've never experienced anything like this before. Baby Boomers were young when polio was nearly eradicated with the Salk vaccine in 1955. At that time, very little was known about polio, which paralyzed and often killed young children. Science has greatly advanced since then. Even so, until we have a proven vaccine, the spread of COVID-19 will continue and the so called “new normal” will evolve and become even more of a reality with every day that passes. COVID-19 has brought about changes in ways we never imagined. Changes in the way we shop, how we work from home, homeschool our children, entertain ourselves, and so much more. What we wouldn't have imagined prior to the coronavirus is becoming the new normal today. Some of the changes we've made will revert back to the old way of doing things once the virus passes. Many of the changes will remain at least for an extended period of time. Many consumer catalog and online businesses have seen a significant increase in response to the way people shop during the coronavirus — i.e., “The COVID factor.” The increase varies by product category.

LocaliQ, Gannett Co., Inc.’s Digital Marketing Solutions business, successfully achieved Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type II audit and certification, which validates LocaliQ’s robust controls, effective risk management and adherence to industry best practices. LocaliQ is an all-in-one marketing platform used by local businesses across the country to attract, convert and retain customers. The certification provides a greater level of trust for both current and prospective business partners and customers after an extensive review which evaluated LocaliQ’s control design, implementation and operating effectiveness. Designed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the SOC 2 Type II auditing procedure examines a company’s commitment to data privacy and information security standards through five key criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. Obtaining SOC 2 Type II certification demonstrates rigorous safeguards protecting clients’ sensitive information and reassures stakeholders that client data is in capable hands.

According to the Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMail), during Q2 the average piece of direct mail was interacted with 4.58 times, an 11% increase year-on-year and a record high since JICMail began tracking mail activity in Q2 2017. Door drops also garnered record levels of consumer engagement, with the average item interacted with 3.19 times, which represents 15% growth year-on-year. Business mail, essentially addressed mail that contains some form of bill or statement, also reported higher interaction figures, up 7% to 4.87 times. The various channels all recorded significant increases in the amount of time they live in the home with all three effectively extending their life-span by a day year-on-year: DM 8.5 days; door drops 6.9 days and business mail 9.6 days.