Aco-op mail program aimed exclusively at African Americans is expected to quadruple in size next year as it picks up more national advertisers.

By the end of this year KLS Direct Marketing's Imani co-op will have gone out to some 2 million African-American households. In 2004, the Atlanta-based mailer will expand this program to 8 million packages in four drops to New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Nashville, TN, Jackson, MS, Dallas and Houston, Washington, Baltimore, Detroit, Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte, NC, New Orleans, and Norfolk and Richmond, VA.

According to KLS president Lamont Stanley, all Imani mailings are sent to a database derived from response (not compiled) lists.

The demographic target for Imani is African-American women over the age of 18.

At present, Imani has about 30 advertisers. “We add about six or seven new advertisers per mailing,” says Stanley.

Other advertisers include Walgreen's, Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, seasonings maker Lawry's, African-American-oriented book clubs, as well as magazines like Heart & Soul and Savoy.

In addition, Stanley says, KLS will be launching another co-op in April — Maria Direct, aimed at Hispanic prospects. No further details were available at press time.

Stanley got the idea to start his own firm in the late 1980s when he was a salesman at coupon co-op mailer Valpak. At that time, he'd suggested targeting the African-American market specifically, only to be brushed off and be told that African Americans don't use coupons and weren't worth going after as a separate, targeted group.

He disagreed.

Stanley estimates that there are about 38.1 million African American consumers and that only 30.5% are exposed to direct mail. The entire market is worth around $500 billion.

“We make the products appealing to African Americans,” he says. “Advertisers are now looking at new ways of reaching potential customers.”

And direct mail is a more effective way to reach them than radio or television. “People go to their mailboxes every day,” he says.

Stanley started Imani with only a 100,000-piece mailing in 1999 and it grew progressively since then — up to this year, when he was able to send out some 2 million packages.

He admits KLS was helped out last year by being included in U.S. Postal Service print ads in Black Enterprise magazine and some regional and local publications. This helped the firm sign up some major national accounts for Imani.