Google Introduces Ad-Measurement Tool, Privacy Sandbox Forces Change (mediapost.com)

Google Ads will implement a data-retention policy on November 13 that limits historical data access to 11 years. Data-retention policies have become a major point of contention between advertisers and the platforms they do business with. The industry trend toward shorter data cycles certainly played a role in Google’s decision as privacy concerns have mounted and global industry trials have increased.

The USPS will not be implementing zone pricing for Marketing Mail and Outside County Periodicals in January. The USPS has released guidance regarding what they are likely to propose for the July 2026 round of rate hikes. Continued mill closings are leading to higher prices in the paper market. And the trucking industry is bracing for the potential impacts of the recent federal ruling limiting the eligibility of foreign nationals to obtain commercial driver licenses.

Disrupt. Delight. Drive. Three words that, together, form a mandate for our catalogs. From crowded mailboxes our books need to stand out and garner attention; pay off that attention with content that creates desire, and – ultimately – compel our customers to click, call or visit. It’s a tall order. And that first piece, Disrupt, is the 1st priority. If it doesn’t happen, the other two won’t. We could mail an 11” x 17” oversized book. That will get noticed. So would a ‘scratch and sniff’ cover? But most of us don’t have budget to add a bunch of bells and whistles just to make us louder than the other guys. I’m particularly mindful of this as I wade through the current flood of women’s clothing catalogs in my own mailbox, most of them conveying the long-suffering mashup: covers graced with women pouring each other glasses of Rosé, or bikes with flower-filled baskets. Make no mistake: this is not a judgement, but a shared burden.