Mt. St. Helens Erupts!
The 
Erupts on the Scene!
Hillsboro, Oregon - May 1980
t. St. Helens had just erupted with a vengeance. It was snowing ash! Day turned into night.
Everywhere you looked, there were three-foot tall piles of ash shoveled up on sidewalks and
driveways. The streets were nearly void of traffic, even during rush hour. Those that did venture
out covered their noses with surgical masks and their vehicle carburetors with nylons. SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES HAD NO BUSINESS!
In talking with local business owners, Jim and Anne McKercher (then owners of a regional aviation publication) kept hearing the same sad story: many local businesses would not be able to weather the storm and would be forced to CLOSE THEIR DOORS FOREVER, unless things turned around soon, and improved enough for them to overcome the loss of revenue.
Having experience in the print industry, Jim felt the answer was in a strong direct mail advertising effort. However, many shop owners indicated they
simply could not afford the kind of high costs charged by the typical direct mail vehicle. Jim, who had been wanting to do something for local
business for some time, found this to be a challenging opportunity to create an advertising alternative that could produce expensive DIRECT
MAIL RESPONSE, while at the same time remaining INEXPENSIVE and AFFORDABLE to small, local businesses. Thus the 
became the
original coupon paper. Intended as a ‘one shot’ effort, the was a BIG HIT and was actually credited with saving many businesses in Western
Washington County! Virtually all businesses wanted a “repeat performance” as soon as possible! The has been published every month since!
Today the popular is a HOUSEHOLD NAME and the highest circulation local
paper in Oregon as well as the highest circulation, family owned, publication in
the state! Our mission statement of “better for less” hasn’t changed. We still provide the
RESPONSE OF DIRECT MAIL FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST!
There are several local editions, primarily in the greater Portland Metro area. Each edition is
THE HIGHEST CIRCULATION PAPER in that particular market. The , a tabloid
shopper containing popular coupons and display ads, is circulated to homes once each month and
to grocery and retail stores, as well as news stands many times throughout the month. This combination
provides direct mail impact plus steady, longer term, “grass roots” response not found
with mail pieces.
The has helped thousands of businesses, even saved a few, but the beauty is we are
AFFORDABLE FOR ANY SMALL BUSINESS AND EFFECTIVE YET INEXPENSIVE
ENOUGH TO BE ADDED TO ANY SIZE ADVERTISING BUDGET!
As one longtime advertiser recently said, “If I ever have to cut my advertising budget, the
LAST thing I would cut would be the . Or, as another summed it up,
“JUST KEEP RUNNING MY AD UNTIL I DIE!”
WE CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS TOO! GIVE US A TRY!
Note: Deadlines are up to one month in advance. THE ALWAYS SELLS OUT
so reserve your space early!
503-640-1879