GLOBAL MAILINGS: Avoid Dropping Your Mail at the Wrong Times

The worst time to mail in any region or country is when consumers or businessmen are celebrating a holiday, event or festival and are either away from home or preoccupied for a period of a week or more. If your mail is delivered at the beginning of such a period, you will find this hurts response, unless your quantities are small and very targeted. You can expect a fall of up to 35% in expected response rates when your mail is delivered at the wrong time. To avoid this, you should ask your mailing house to hold back dropping regional and major market mail likely to be affected until after that relevant holiday period is over. These are some of the more important holiday periods to avoid:

1. SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HOLIDAY PERIOD (January).

January is the month in Southern Hemisphere countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America, when summer is at its height and people take their holidays. When people elsewhere take their holidays in July and August, this is "winter" in the Southern Hemisphere when people stay at home and response is at its highest.

2. CHINESE NEW YEAR (Moveable).

This is an important period in Asia when many local Chinese (and expatriate individuals and businessmen) take at least a one week holiday. Chinese businessmen frequently take a two-week holiday. Countries affected are: Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. Other countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines are marginally affected.

Chinese New Year: January 26-28, 2009

3. CHRISTIAN CARNIVAL PERIODS (Moveable).

These can be significant holiday periods beginning the Thursday or Friday before Ash Wednesday, affecting the following countries: Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, France, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Bolivia, Luxembourg, Venezuela, Dominica, Aruba, Uruguay, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti.

Carnivals: February 20-24, 2009

4. CHRISTIAN HOLY WEEK/ LENTEN SEASON (Moveable).

This affects most Christian countries in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere. Sometimes countries start Holy Week observance from Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday. Others start on Good Friday through Easter Monday, and there are others who observe only Easter Sunday and Monday. The basic point about Easter is that many individuals take a week or more holiday at this time.

Good Friday: April 10, 2009

Easter Sunday: April 12, 2009

Easter Monday: April 13, 2009

5. GOLDEN WEEK IN JAPAN (First Week in May).

The first week of May is widely taken by Japanese as a holiday since they celebrate the following fixed holidays during this week:

Showa Day (Showa no hi): April 29, 2009

Constitution Day (Kenpo Kinenbi): May 3, 2009

Green Day (Midori no hi): May 04, 2009

Children's Day (Kodomo no hi): May 5, 2009

6. OBON FESTIVAL IN JAPAN (July).

Obon is one of the most important events for the Japanese. The period of Obon is usually from July 13 to 15. Most government offices and companies are closed during this time with most people taking the whole week off. The Obon week is one the few occasions of the year when a large number of Japanese take holidays.

7. RAMADAN - Fasting Period in Moslem Countries (Moveable).

This is a 30-day period of fasting in the Moslem calendar during which strict Moslems do not eat until after sundown. Not all mail gets delivered during this period, and it takes a while for postal administrations to deliver accumulated mail after Ramadan is over. The following countries are most affected by Ramadan: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Maldives, Mali, Tajikistan, Malaysia and Indonesia. The end of Ramadan is marked by the EID AL FITR feast which normally lasts for about 3 days, during which many Moslem families and businessmen take a holiday.

Ramadan (start date): August 21, 2009

Eid al Fitr (end of Ramadan): September 20, 2009

8. JEWISH HOLIDAY PERIODS (Moveable).

These holiday periods obviously affect mailings into Israel or if you're mailing to Jewish populations elsewhere.

Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year): September 18-20, 2009

This is the start of 10 days of penitence that ends with Yom Kippur. This is their day of atonement.

Yom Kippur: September 27-28, 2009

Other major holidays in the Jewish calendar are Hanukkah that lasts for 8 days, and Passover that lasts for one week.

Hanukkah: December 11-18, 2009

Pesach (Passover): April 08-16, 2009

9. HARVEST MOON / MID-AUTUMN MOON FESTIVAL (Moveable).

This is another 3 - 4 day holiday which affects Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Harvest Moon / Mid-Autumn Moon Festival: October 03, 2009

10. TAIWAN NATIONAL DAY (October).

National Day in Taiwan falls on October 10, and any large mailing to this country should be avoided around this date since many Taiwanese take a week's holiday at this time.

11. DIWALI FESTIVAL in India and Nepal (October / November).

Diwali (or Deepavali) is a major Hindu Holiday. It is also known as "Festival of Lights" and is celebrated for five days. Most offices and businesses are closed during this time.

Diwali Festival: October 15-19, 2009

12. US THANKSGIVING (November).

Thanksgiving Day is one of the most important holidays in the US. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. It is a four-day or five-day holiday and is one of the busiest times for travel in the US when people get together with family and friends for a holiday feast.

Thanksgiving: November 26, 2009

13. EID AL ADHA in Moslem Countries (Moveable).

This is a 4-day holiday period in Moslem countries which marks the culmination of the Hajj, a holy pilgrimage.

Eid Al Adha: November 27-30, 2009

14. THE EMPEROR'S BIRTHDAY - Japan.

This is a national holiday in Japan. The date is determined by the present Emperor's birthdate. Currently, this is celebrated on December 23rd.

15. OTHER NOTABLE PERIODS.

Response from European countries deteriorates during the summer holiday period of June - August (some stop mailing by mid-May), and few global mailers like to see their mail dropped later than early November prior to the Christmas holiday season. September is a big month for mailing globally, so there's a strong case for getting ahead of the pack by dropping your mailings before the end of August (starting with Southern Hemisphere countries where August is winter and produces strong response). Remember that tests using different international mailing points have shown that "drip-feeding" your mail generates higher response. At all costs, avoid dropping large quantities of mail before or too soon after the major holiday periods listed above.