Our Background - Dor-2-Dor (UK)
DOR-2-DOR is a trading name of Zone Marketing which was formed in 1987. Zone Marketing was initially established in Harpenden Hertfordshire to provide discount voucher marketing services to local shops and businesses. This was a concept that our founder Jeff Frankling had first seen working in the USA in the early 1980’s.
In the USA letterboxes or postboxes are not in the door but at the front of the drive or on the perimeter of the property. The postboxes are the sole domain of the US Mail and independent companies are not allowed by law to place items or marketing material into them. Therefore a system of co-operative envelopes containing vouchers and offers from local shops and businesses has been established by many companies who use the US Mail to deliver them.
Jeff Frankling realised that no such system existed on this side of the Atlantic and set out to establish a similar operation in the UK. Jeff named the discount voucher distribution service Val-U-Pak and this developed into a very successful operation until the brand was purchased by Val-Pak of the USA.
This is a very successful operator in the US and apparently they wanted to set up in the UK but despite a small start in London in the mid 90’s it never got going for them and soon after they retracted back to the US.
In the early 90’s as the demand for dedicated door drops grew rapidly Jeff Frankling established DOR-2-DOR to fulfil the local need. From the outset it was clear that DOR-2-DOR could be built into a franchise system so that expansion of the service to other parts of the UK could take place.
In 1992 we appointed our first franchisee, with Hayley Widlake trading as DOR-2-DOR Swansea and which itself has now grown into a very significant business for Hayley and her team.
The unique DOR-2-DOR system has developed significantly since its inception and we now provide a wide range of services to those businesses who want to find new customers through the medium of the letterbox. The franchise network has also grown considerably and we now cover over 60 main conurbations across the UK with hundreds of surrounding villages also included.
The letterbox as a marketing channel is now well established for the 21st century and despite the growth of the internet, email and social marketing it is proving a very popular option for local businesses now and the forceable future.
In 2008 we introduced our Dor-Dropz cooperative mailer – DOR-DROPZ ‘Through your Letterbox on the Internet’. This is in A5 and A4 format printed in full colour and distributed to 10,000 or 20,000 households depending on the location. This offers local businesses a low cost method of getting their messages to the letterboxes of local residential householders. In addition the mailer is published with links from all adverts to their respective websites on the www.dor-dropz.com website. This additional service is free of charge to all Dor-Dropz advertisers. DOR-2-DOR is currently developing a A3 format cooperative mailer which will be known as the Zone Post. Zone Post has already been trialled in 2 franchise areas with great success.
In 2010 we launched our D2D Print website where you can order anything easily online not just leaflets but also a wide range of business stationary (business cards, letterheads, compliment slips etc), handouts, books, booklets, boxes, playing cards, beer mats and a wide range of promotional material. The website includes comprehensive information about our printing processes and also design templates for use with any of your specific printing requirements. The website is fully automated so you can view prices, order and upload your artwork all through the website without the need to call us, unless you want to that is. If you do choose to call us you will find all our staff friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and only too happy to fulfil your printing needs. Our print service is very reliable and predictable and the quality of the finished product of the highest standard. We invite you to give us a try – you will not be disappointed.
DOR-2-DOR has now been granted a PostComm licence by the governments communication regulator Ofcom. This now legally entitles DOR-2-DOR to deliver addressed mail. There are a very limited number of distribution companies across the UK who have been granted a PostComm licence. One other such company is the Royal Mail who are the major deliverer of addressed mail in the UK. A new website is being developed that will fully explain how the D2D Mail service will enable you to send addressed mail to residential and businesses addresses in the areas that DOR-2-DOR operate in.
DOR-2-DOR are full member of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Jeff Frankling was elected 3 times by members to serve on the Door Drop Council and was chairman of the marketing committee for 4 years until 2011. DOR-2-DOR have been full members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) since 2008 which has over 250,000 members in the UK. In January 2012 DOR-2-DOR was invited to join the Approved Franchise Association (AFA) which was accepted.