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Marketshare Publications represents the foundation for the Marketshare Group of
companies. The company was started by its founders in August 1985 with the first
card pack ever mailed to consumer hobbyists. The Ultimate Outdoorsman Action Pack
was mailed to 100,000 outdoor sportsmen, four times per year – a whopping 400,000
in annual circulation.
In the spring of 1987, the company purchased Products for Woodworkers, an existing
card pack targeting buyers of woodworking tools, equipment and accessories from
Whitesville Wood Products. With four mailings of 100,000 each, this acquisition
effectively doubled the company's annual circulation. In that same year, Marketshare
Publications formed an exclusive partnership with the North American Membership
Group to sell advertising in card pack mailings sent to their consumer membership
clubs.
In early 1989 The American Gardener Response Pack was started. It was the first
card pack mailed to buyers of gardening products, seeds, bulbs and nursery stock.
With an individual circulation of 500,000, the growth of annual combined circulation
at Marketshare Publications climbed dramatically.
The year 1989 also saw the formation of List Locators & Managers, Inc, a sister
company to Marketshare Publications, Inc. Its services included list management
and list brokerage specializing in response-based consumer lists. This alliance
was a great benefit to both companies. List Locators & Managers developed list services
relationships with many of Marketshare Publications' advertisers, and Marketshare
Publications was able to take advantage of the list expertise and industry knowledge
that List Locators & Managers could provide.
As both companies grew and significantly increased their number of employees, a
third company was spawned. Market Services, Inc. was formed as a service company
providing Accounting, Human Resources, Production/Graphic Arts and Information Technology
to Marketshare Publications and List Locators & Managers.
Throughout the '90s the company as a whole gained momentum, adding new card pack
titles, increasing circulations and providing expanded list services. Then in 1999,
growth was further fueled by two additional acquisitions. On February 1st, 1999,
Direct Response, Inc. was purchased from World Marketing, Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska,
a division of the Omaha World Herald Newspaper Corporation. Included in the purchase
were two separate business units, a consumer card pack business (Direct Response
Decks) and a compiled list brokerage business (Direct Response Lists), sharing office
space in Omaha, Nebraska.
The second acquisition involved a purchase of Solar Direct, another consumer card pack business with multiple titles, from Solar Communications in Naperville, Illinois. These acquisitions were essentially merged together in the Omaha location, expanding the company to two locations with the main office in Overland Park, Kansas.
Click here to read more about the acquisition posted in the Kansas City Star.
On January 1, 2000 the name, Market Services, Inc., was changed to Marketshare Group, Inc. Additionally, the separate companies, Marketshare Publications, Inc., List Locators & Managers, Inc. and Direct Response, Inc. were restructured to become subsidiaries of Marketshare Group, Inc.
In fall 2007, several new websites were developed to provide better and more convenient customer service. Potential customers now have easily accessible information via the website about the Marketshare Group and the wide array of products and services it provides. Existing customers can access their own detailed information pertaining to scheduling, billing and artwork for all card pack mailings.
Now in business over 25 years, the Marketshare Group of companies continues to thrive, offering innovative direct marketing products and services designed to support, and enhance, the profitability of their card pack advertisers and list services clients. With 18 different card pack titles totaling 13 million annual circulation, plus an extensive menu of list services, the Marketshare Group offers solutions to many direct marketing needs.
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