Valassis Communications, Inc. is a
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 95,535 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which ranked it as Michigan's ninth most-populated municipality.
Livonia is a part ...
-based company that provides
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
and
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
services in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and Canada. It is one of the largest
coupon
In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.
Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods
or by retailers, to be used in r ...
distributors/processors in the world.
Valassis companies include Valassis Digital, Valassis Direct Mail, Inc., Valassis Canada, Promotion Watch and NCH Marketing Services, Inc. It has approximately 7,000 employees in 28 states and nine countries.
Valassis has relationships with more than 15,000
advertiser
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
s worldwide in various industries, including automotive, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, financial services, franchise food, grocery, specialty retail, and telecommunications.
In February 2014, Harland Clarke Holdings, a subsidiary of
M&F Worldwide, completed purchase of Valassis for approximately $1.8 billion. Before this, Valassis had been a
publicly traded
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...
corporation.
History
Valassis was started by George Valassis in 1970 and it purchased its first printing press in 1971. In 1986 it was acquired by
Consolidated Press Holdings
James Douglas Packer (born 8 September 1967) is an Australian billionaire businessman and investor. Packer is the son of Kerry Packer , a media mogul, and his wife, Roslyn Packer . He is the grandson of Sir Frank Packer. He inherited control o ...
(CPH) of Sydney, Australia, owned by
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...
. In 1992 CPH took the company public on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
as Valassis Communications, Inc. (VCI). In 1997, CPH, which had kept 49% ownership in 1992, divested its interest in VCI, making the company fully independent.
In 2001, Valassis closed Save.com, an Internet coupon website that had launched in September 1999, saying that Save.com was unable to gain a "critical mass of advertisers interested in an Internet couponing vehicle." In 2003, Valassis acquired NCH Marketing Services, Inc., a coupon clearing and marketing services company with offices in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, England, United States and Mexico making Valassis an international company.
[Valassis company history](_blank)
, retrieved 2011-07-19
On Oct 17, 2005, Valassis became the recipient of a Caleidoscope of Culture Award (COCA), which recognized southeastern Michigan organizations and businesses for their ongoing efforts and steadfast commitment to diversity.
In early 2006, Valassis settled a complaint by the
U.S. Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...
that it had attempted to collude with
News America Marketing, its top rival, to eliminate competition between the two. Under a consent order, Valassis was barred from engaging in similar conduct.
In 2007, Valassis's purchased Advo, a direct-mail marketer, for $1.2 billion. Valassis had sued to get out of the acquisition, saying it had found problems with Advo's financial figures, but the purchase was completed.
In December 2008,
Fraser Papers sued Valassis for nearly $1 million, allegedly due to unpaid bills for 1.8 million pounds of specialty paper. Valassis settled the case in March 2009 for an undisclosed amount.
In 2010,
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
paid $500 million to settle a case brought against it by Valassis in federal court, after Valassis had won a $300 million verdict in state court in Michigan against News America Marketing, a subsidiary of News Corporation. The lawsuits by Valassis were based on claims that News America had gained
market share
Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
by forcing its packaged-goods customers to sign long-term insert contracts or risk huge price increases on their in-store advertising displays. The settlement included News America entering into a 10-year shared mail distribution agreement with Valassis Direct Mail, a Valassis subsidiary.
Valassis purchased Clipper Magazine and Total Loyalty Solutions in November 2015.
Valassis recent acquisition in 2017 is Digital Marketing Technology Company MaxPoint.
RedPlum/RetailMeNot Everyday
RedPlum was the consumer-facing
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
of Valassis. According to the company, RedPlum's newspaper inserts and direct mailings reach more than 100 million consumers a week.
Redplum.com is a savings and lifestyle site launched in January 2008. The site is targeted at women ages 25 to 50. Registered members receive a bi-weekly e-newsletter featuring deals and offers.
In 2018,
RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot, Inc. (formerly Whaleshark Media) is an American multinational company headquartered in Austin, Texas, that maintains a collection of coupon web sites. The company was founded by Cotter Cunningham. The company owns RetailMeNot.com and ...
became a partner in Valassis' FSI holdings, renaming RedPlum to RetailMeNot Everyday.
America's Looking For Its Missing Children Program
In partnership with the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pres ...
(NCMEC) and the
U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
, Valassis distributes pictures of missing children as part of its "Have You Seen Me?" picture program. The program was launched on May 24, 1985, featuring missing
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
girl
Cherrie Mahan on their first flyer.
The "Have You Seen Me?" program is currently responsible for 87% of the leads called in to NCMEC. According to NCMEC, photos are the number one tool that parents and law enforcement officials have in their search for missing children. By featuring recent and/or age-progressed photos of missing children, and their alleged abductors when possible, Valassis empowers the American public to take part in the effort to help safely recover these children. Of the 2,000 children featured in programs such as "Have You Seen Me?", more than 1,200 have been recovered.
NCMEC history
* Inspired by the September 1984 (October 1983?) premiere of the TV movie ''
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
'', the company developed a public service program plan to assist local and national efforts to locate missing children through the mass distribution of pictures.
* The U.S. Postal Service changed its postal regulations in March 1985 to allow pictures and data of missing children provided by the NCMEC to appear on detached address labels.
* In an effort to remember all children still not recovered, the company initiated a white ribbon campaign on May 25, 1992 – now designated as
National Missing Children's Day
National Missing Children's Day has been commemorated in the United States on May 25, since 1983, when it was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan. It falls on the same day as the International Missing Children's Day, which was established i ...
.
* In January 1997, the company secured the participation of its regional direct mail companies to expand the program's reach to 17 million additional households.
* The company began targeting its photo distribution in April 1998 to leverage the NCMEC's and the FBI's intelligence, when possible, on the likely whereabouts of a missing child. A child's photo can now be targeted to any one of six regions of the country, or distributed nationwide over a six-week period.
* On Sept. 19, 2000, the 100th safe recovery was celebrated with an event hosted by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis Hastert (; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician and convicted felon who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. The longest-se ...
on Capitol Hill. Attending were John Walsh, host of ''
America's Most Wanted
''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...
'', Members of Congress, representatives of the U.S. Postal Service and the NCMEC, as well as the 100th recovered child and her mother.
* In May 2007, the photo program moved from the detached address label to a full-color position on the direct mail piece itself.
* In January 2008, the program expanded from the RedPlum Direct Mail Package to also include the RedPlum Free-standing Insert, increasing its reach to potentially 130-140 million households as well as online.
References
{{reflist
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Mass media companies of the United States
Mass media companies established in 1970
Marketing companies established in 1970
Livonia, Michigan
Companies based in Wayne County, Michigan
Economy of Michigan
1970 establishments in Michigan
2014 mergers and acquisitions
American companies established in 1970