AdPack USA is a New York-based

tissue-pack marketing is a type of guerrilla marketing that attaches advertisements to portable facial tissue packages to move advertising copy directly into consumers' hands. Its origins date back to the late 1960s in Japan as a replacement for free promotional mat ...

company. It is the North American subsidiary of

Itochu is a Japanese corporation based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It is one of the largest Japanese ''sogo shosha'' (general trading companies). Among Japanese trading companies, it is distinguished by not being descende ...

Corporation, a Japanese trading company.

Background

AdPack USA is founded in 2004 and is a division of Itochu International, a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

company. It specializes in intercept marketing, using packed tissues with branded messages given away for free. Its first tissue advertising was introduced in New York in 2005. The company has since served American clients including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Commerce Bank, Five Below retail stores, and Lowe's.

Environmentally friendly

AdPack USA developed eco-friendly products and services; the packaging and the tissues in the green tissue packs are made from renewable resources and are

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...

, and their resources are harvested and replanted in new growth forests.

Campaigns

In 2007, AdPack USA produced 50,000 tissue packs for Bloom Supermarkets.

On Broadway

Legally Blonde The Musical ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2007 musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach. It is based on the novel ''Legally Blonde'' by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. The show tells the ...

was the first musical AdPack USA partnered with. Over 20,000 tissue-packs were distributed near

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

. Partnership with Legally Blonde The Musical commenced through Brand Marketers. Distribution of the Legally Blonde-branded tissue-packs began in October 2007, 6 months after the show opened, and shortly after the

Broadway strike 2007 Broadway Stagehands Strike was a strike action by stagehands represented by Theatrical Protective Union Number One (Local One) of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) against the Shubert, Jujamcyn, and Nederlander ...

. After a $10,000 media buy (about 10,000 tissue-packs), approximately $150,000 ticket sales were produced. In the spring of 2008, AdPack USA partnered with the musical,

A Catered Affair :''The article is about the stage musical. For the 1956 film, see The Catered Affair.'' ''A Catered Affair'' is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film '' The Catered ...

. A Catered Affair was managed by Serino Coine, a previous relationship of AdPack USA. Through the success of the Legally Blonde distribution, Serino Coine decided to try tissue-pack advertising. 10,000 pieces were distributed by Street Sampling (a street team distribution company) around the

TKTS The TKTS ticket booths in New York City and London sell Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, music, and dance events and West End theatre tickets, respectively, at discounts of 20–50% off the face value. New York City New York City's TKTS (w ...

ticket booth stations; distribution occurred shortly before the close of production in July 2008.

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victo ...

opened on Broadway on November 7, 2007. Before production closed on January 4, 2009, AdPack USA partnered with the musical and distributed about 10,000 tissue-packs through

direct mail Advertising mail, also known as direct mail (by its senders), junk mail (by its recipients), mailshot or admail (North America), letterbox drop or letterboxing (Australia) is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The d ...

marketing. The most recent musical that AdPack USA partnered with is the 9-5 musical. The team at 9 to 5 approached AdPack USA, again, through Brand Marketers, and a 20,000 piece distribution of eco-friendly tissue-packs was established. The Broadway production of 9 to 5 closed on September 6, 2009.

References

AdPack USA
''AdPack USA'' 2010

''Marketing Week Marketplace'' 2007-5

''Mobiz '' 2007-4
U.S. Army and Ad Council Use Tissue Packaging to Promote Campaign
''Daily News '' 2007-1
AdPack USA Launches Tissue Pack Design Contest
''Graphics.com'' 2007-1
U.S. Army and Ad Council Use Tissue Packaging to Promote Campaign
''Media Buyer Planner'' 2007-1
AdPack USA Challenges Creative Community
''The Free Library'' 2007-1
Commerce Bank Distributes Tissues to Customers and Prospects
''Business Word'' 2006-9

External links

{{Portal, Companies
Official website

Itochu website

Brand Marketers
Advertising agencies based in New York City Marketing companies established in 2004 American subsidiaries of foreign companies Itochu