Financial Times

PostKard advertising hits Colombo streets
By Marisa de Silva
A new, innovative kind of advertising has hit the market in the form of the PostKard. Advertising via PostKards has become the latest fad, due to its widespread reach, easy accessibility and best of all, its zero pricing. These PostKards are given free of charge to all patrons at 140 venues (e.g. popular pubs, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, universities and gyms) that have PostKard stands installed in them.

Mailman Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., the largest and one of the most successful alternative media companies in China, is now in Colombo, and seems to have big plans for Sri Lanka. Having started out only in Colombo thus far, Mailman hopes to install their PostKard stands in 200 venues around the city, before moving to other locations around the country, says Managing Director of Mailman Lanka, Jason Firmin.

The basic function of a PostKard is to be displayed at as many locations around the country as possible. Mailman obtains advertising messages from their clients or jointly conceptualise customised campaigns according to each client’s specific requirements and preferences, added Firmin. The PostKard doesn’t have to be restricted to the shape and size of a conventional post card, it can change according to the specifications of the client, as long as it fits into the PostKard stands, he said.

Thereafter, Mailman prints the messages on PostKards and distributes them amongst their 140 venues across Colombo. Mailman has handled advertising campaigns for countless international brands including Nike, CK Jeans, Nokia, Sony, Levis, M&M, Coke, Mini Cooper, BMW and Volkswagen. Mailman, through its strategic advertising and focused marketing planning manages to persuade consumers rather than interrupt them. Mailman's model of advertising mediums is built around permission. They invite consumers to learn more about their clients' brands in new and innovative means, by presenting their campaigns at intimate, clutter free and protected environments, said Firmin.

“PostKards are a very effective media to advertise through because whatever the brand, it will be viewed by many people at the same time and as people can pick whatever PostKard that interests them, they’re more likely to respond to the advertisement,” he explained. Particularly, because these PostKard stands are installed in places where patrons are at ease and are most receptive, the likelihood of advertising recall is accentuated, he added. “And most important of all, it’s free.”

Founded in 1999 by half Sri Lankan, half Australian entrepreneur Kirk Jobsz, as Mailman Ltd. in China, the company was accepted into the International Freecard Alliance (IFA) in 2001 for recognition as a company that meets international business standards and ethics. Also in 2001, Mailman won the Australian Chamber of Commerce 'Business Entrepreneurial Award', an award that recognizes outstanding performance in Greater China. They also bagged the grand prize in the world-class International Freecard Awards, last year.
Mailman has branch offices around the world, stretching right across Europe, Australia, the Americas, China, Singapore, Thailand and an office in Vietnam just starting up and 50,000 distribution points throughout the world.

Mailman helps tsunami victims
Mailman Lanka is involved in a project titled ‘Scuba to Help the People of Polhena’, in providing a group of scuba instructors to donate their professional expertise to help the Tsunami-devastated village of Madiha, in Polhena.
The team of divers will be based in Polhena for six weeks and train tsunami survivors to become certified dive masters so that they can then create a viable form of income for themselves. The team will also survey and document the damage done to the coral reefs, to help begin the process of understanding and, eventually, re-propagating these precious eco-systems.

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