San Francisco, CA - October 17, 2006- Transcontinental, a leading North American printing and publishing company announced today that that they have won an ECHO Award - the most prestigious honor in direct marketing. Transcontinental’s tri-dimensional direct mail campaign, which produced an unprecedented 74% response rate, was named a winner by a panel of over 200 international judges. Commonly referred to as the Oscars of direct marketing, the ECHO is the only international award where companies are evaluated on the basis of their strategy, creativity and campaign results. Transcontinental’s marketing team created an innovative campaign entitled ‘Get the right combination’ which consisted of a high end metallic combination lock box that was locked. A luggage tag invited key prospects to go on-line to complete a 15- question survey. Once finished, respondents were provided with the combination to open the box and then received a Transcontinental USB pen as a gift. By using this creative marketing strategy that incorporated an aspect of permission marketing, Transcontinental was able to show decision makers that they were not only about putting ink to paper, but know their industry, their concerns and issues. Mrs. Anne Douville, Vice President Strategic Marketing, Transcontinental, explains the business value of being different from the competition: ‘’When it comes to direct marketing, creating a strong impact and a memorable first impression are an absolute must. Our experience has shown us that to generate a higher response rate it is important to use a highly targeted approach and leverage industry know -how so as to produce the desired results.’’ Transcontinental received top honors in the B2B sector, scored by acclaimed critics from all over the world on strategy, creativity, and campaign results.