News Releases

Seek and hide with fetch^TM
Calgary gets first chance to be Intimate and Anonymous^TM

Jan. 24, 2005

Canadians are bombarded with more than 3,500 commercial messages in the course of their day¹ - radio jingles, transit ads, email, direct mail, billboards, the list is endless. This over abundance of messaging can often become overwhelming, confusing and even intrusive as consumers are added to countless marketing lists. Today, with the launch of fetch^TM, Canada Post addresses the problem with an original new approach. fetch is an innovative way to quickly seek the information a consumer wants while shielding them from other invasive advertising. fetch gives Calgarians the opportunity to instantly respond to various marketing initiatives, or request additional information about a product or service, knowing their privacy will remain protected - even from the advertisers they are approaching.

Canada Post developed fetch to help consumers take control of how, when and where they interact with advertisers. Starting today, Calgarians will see the fetch symbol in advertisements in magazines, billboards, television, online and hear the fetch 'sound' on the radio. To request more information about the product or service advertised, or to participate in a special offer, consumers simply look for the fetch keyword (adjacent to the fetch symbol) and call 1-877-FETCH-03 (1-877-338-2403) or text the defined keyword to FETCH (33824) using the text messaging feature on their mobile phone. For an even faster response, Calgarians are encouraged to register as a fetch user via the fetch website www.fetch4.info.

"Fetch is one of the most innovative advertising opportunities I've seen in a long time," said Rick Broadhead, one of the country's leading technology experts and authors. "It gives advertisers an exciting new way to build relationships with consumers while protecting - and respecting - their privacy. It's a win-win situation for both advertisers and consumers - everyone benefits."

Aside from being instantaneous, fetch is completely anonymous. A fetch user's personal information is never shared with any of the advertising partners. Personal privacy is completely protected by Canada Post, the same organization Canadians have trusted with their personal correspondence for the last 150 years. fetch allows consumers to take immediate advantage of an advertiser's offer without fear of being added to anyone's mailing list.

"Consumers told us that the invasiveness of some marketing tactics prevented them from taking advantage of what they recognize as valuable information," said Warren Tomlin Canada Post's director of Marketing and Product Development - Multi-Channel and co-inventor of fetch. "The message was clear: consumers want control over the ads and offers that come into their lives and fetch provides this. As well, advertisers know the huge value of sending a message to someone who has asked for it."

To date, twelve organizations in the Calgary area (Shoppers Drug Mart, Safeway, Telus, Domino's Pizza, Royal Lepage Benchmark, Royal Lepage Pinnacle, Royal Lepage Foothills, H&R Block, Whiskey Nightclub, Mynt Ultralounge, CitiFinancial, Pointe of View Development) will be using fetch as an innovative way to speak to their consumers.

fetch is the result of three years of work between Canada Post and its development partners: Sun microsystems, Pulse, Impact Mobile, CGI and Innovapost. By working with these industry technical leaders, Canada Post was able to incorporate innovative, interactive technology with the stability, performance and integrity of a 150-year-old company.

At the present time, fetch is only available in Calgary. However its anticipated success should have Canadians across the country fetching information and offers in the very near future.

¹ "Sales & Marketing: The Battle for Brain Space," by Ted Matthews, Profitguide.com, PROFIT-Xtra, September 23, 2004

FACTS

What is fetch^TM?

fetch is a new service that lets consumers interact instantly and anonymously with advertisers without ever giving them personal details. With fetch a consumer can respond as soon as they notice an advertising offer with the fetch logo or audio signature, or when they want more information. But because they make the request through the third-party fetch service, advertisers can never contact them again - unless the consumer wants them to. With fetch, consumers are always in control.

How does fetch work?

It's easy, it's fast, it's free and it's private - there's just one phone number, one website or one text message code to remember. You can fetch anywhere, any time, with your home phone, cell phone or on the Internet. Information and offers are delivered instantly to your computer via e-mail, to your phone via text message or in a matter of days via regular mail - whichever way you want. There are never any charges to use the fetch service and your information is always protected and never shared with advertisers.

Advertisements from participating companies or organizations will be 'tagged' with the fetch icon and/or a distinctly "fetch" sound for radio ads. These ads will offer information, products, coupons, samples, etc. that a consumer can request through the method most convenient for them. For example, using text messaging from a cellular phone to respond to a billboard ad, the Internet to respond to a website banner ad or the telephone to respond to a television ad.

What happens to a consumer's personal information when they use fetch to respond to an advertisement?

fetch is completely Intimate and Anonymous^TM. Consumer personal information will never be passed on to participating advertisers or sold to other companies. All personal information is the responsibility of Canada Post and it is kept secure and private. Just as important, responding to fetch-enabled ads via the Internet will not generate spam or unsolicited mail from other companies or organizations. And because the offer or information is delivered by Canada Post, you know you're dealing with an organization you can trust.

What are the benefits for advertisers?

Advertisers using fetch should expect better results since customers will be actively seeking additional information from them, indicating a predisposition to their products. Advertisers will also benefit from the established trust that consumers already have in Canada Post.

Why is Canada Post involved in fetch?

fetch has been developed by Canada Post and some leading technology companies including SUN Microsystems and Impact Mobile in response to the growing concern about consumer privacy and decaying value and effectiveness of marketing communications. In addition, Canada Post has a mandate to compete in the electronic services market and is already doing so through epost and PosteCS.