Media & Marketing Professionals Join Valpak® as Franchisees in Coastal Carolina

Husband-and-Wife Team Brings The Blue Envelope® to Local Businesses and Residents

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Jul 15, 2013, 10:07 ET

LARGO, Fla., July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Valpak, a leader in local print and digital coupons, announced today that it has signed a franchise agreement with husband-and-wife team, Jim and Toni Hackett, to assume local ownership of the Valpak of Coastal Carolina franchise. Their first Blue Envelope^® was recently mailed to the residents of Wilmington, N.C., which includes New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.

"Having worked in the media industry, I have been aware of Valpak for a long time. When it came time to venture into becoming a business owner, Valpak was top of mind," said Jim Hackett, Valpak of Coastal Carolina franchisee. "My wife and I are new to the community, so owning a Valpak also gives us the opportunity to immediately contribute to the success of local businesses in the area."

Jim Hackett has a long history in the media industry. He spent 30 years in a senior-level sales and marketing position with Parade Publications, Gannett and Market Source. He also served on the board of directors for the Promotion Marketing Association (PMA). His wife, Toni Hackett, most recently served in an administrative position at the prestigious Princeton University. Prior to joining Princeton, she worked for Capital Cities Communications, formerly known as ABC/Capital Cities.

"We are thrilled to welcome Jim and Toni Hackett as our newest franchise partners and have them take over the Coastal Carolina market," said Todd Leiser, director of franchise sales at Valpak. "Their vast experience in the media and marketing industry will prove very beneficial as we continue to expand our footprint in the region."

A leader in cooperative direct mail, Valpak mails over 20 billion coupons to more than 40 million demographically-targeted households per month in more than 100 markets in 45 states and four Canadian provinces. Today, in addition to its flagship blue envelope, the brand offers its business customers an impressive portfolio of digital advertising products including Smartphone apps, which are also integrated into the new Passbook and Windows Phone Wallet, QR codes, online coupons and SMS/text messaging to reach consumers at home, and on-the-go.

Ideal candidates for Valpak franchise ownership should possess a desire to join a trusted industry-leading brand, work within a proven franchise system, develop relationships with local businesses and have a comfort level with selling new, digital technologies. Franchisees should also possess a minimum liquidity of $75,000, and a minimum net worth of $150,000.

Valpak franchisees benefit from extensive training and support including more than 300 hours of classroom, in-field and online training. Additionally, the Valpak peer mentoring program pairs tenured Valpak franchisees with new franchisees for a two-year period. Valpak also handles all of the coupon design, printing, collation and postal logistics for its franchisees, allowing them to concentrate on selling branded direct marketing campaigns to customers within their exclusive territory.

Since its launch in 1968, Valpak has been broadly recognized and trusted, which has contributed significantly to its current success. Valpak's state-of-the-art, 470,000-square-foot manufacturing center in St. Petersburg, Fla., makes it possible for the company to mail to more than 500 million homes in North America. Valpak is also backed by experienced leadership with Cox Enterprises, one of the largest media companies in North America, which acquired the brand in 1991. Recently, Cox Target Media also acquired Savings.com, a leading online source for savings and personalized deals. Working together, Valpak and Savings.com will offer consumers a more extensive selection of offers and rewarding shopping experience as content is shared across platforms.

For more information on advertising with Valpak of Coastal Carolina, please contact Jim Hackett at [email protected] or (910) 520-3523.

For more information on Valpak franchise opportunities, please contact Todd Leiser at [email protected] or (800) 678-2743 or visit www.valpakfranchising.com.

About Valpak®
Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America, is owned and operated by Cox Target Media, along with Savings.com. With nearly 170 franchises across the United States and Canada, the signature Blue Envelope® delivers savings and value to nearly 40 million households each month. Annually, Valpak will distribute some 20 billion offers inserted in more than 500 million envelopes. Valpak also offers digital solutions with Valpak.com, an online site for free coupons, e-commerce and coupon codes, which has nearly 70 million offer views each month, as well as mobile coupon app for smartphone platforms. For more information about advertising with Valpak, please contact 1-800-676-6878.

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps. Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America's leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings. The company's operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 57 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 30 million TV viewers, more than 4 million print and online newspaper readers, and 14 million radio listeners. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.

CONTACT: Carmen Ordonez
Fish Consulting
954-893-9150
[email protected]

SOURCE Valpak