The Kansas City Star has been using the umbrellas successfully for years. The amazing thing is that as long as we have offered them they haven't lost any of their appeal. We have had people pull their cars over and yell out their windows for one.

I can count on my phone ringing nearly everyday it rains. People see their neighbors with a Bristol Herald Courier Umbrella and want to know what they can do to get one of their own!

The response to the umbrellas has been wonderful. The comic and flag umbrellas we have been ordering from you has prompted thousands of our subscribers to respond and convert their subscriptions to our EZ-Pay auto-debit program.

Overall, we have ordered 4,000 of these umbrellas in the last three years as they continue to be our hottest premium item. Because of the umbrella's popularity, we will continue to order them.

The comic umbrella is by far the most successful premium I have ever used. In the four years I have spent in kiosk and crews, I would say that I have given away over 25,000 umbrellas with new subscriptions.

When we open an umbrella and place it beside the Kiosk as natural flow of customers stop and ask "How do I get one?". We see a 15% increase in long term sales when we have the Comic Umbrellas as a POP closer.

Since February 2002 through December 2004, we have increased our EZ pay subscriber base by 39%. Obviously, its a win, win, win for HOP, The Huntsville Times and especially our customers.

The umbrellas are a consistent part of our circulation sales efforts year in and year out and their popularity never seems to wane. It's by far the most successful circulation platform premium we have ever used.

It's a tremendous sales tool that has enabled us to obtain immediate commitments for our CPP (pre-paid subscriptions) program. Because of the success we've had in increasing our circulation, we plan to continue using them.