January 6, 2017

Marketing Mail change will be phased, have less impact

After surprising mailers with the news that it intended to change the name of Standard Mail to Marketing Mail as a part of the 2017 rate change, the USPS has listened a bit to its customers. It issued the following announcement before Christmas:

December 22, 2016

USPS™ Announces A Phased Transition for Marketing Mail™

In January 2017, Standard Mail^® will undergo a name change and be rebranded as USPS Marketing Mail™. It is expected that this name change will better communicate to mailers how this mail class can be used. In response to feedback from the mailing community, we are implementing this change in a phased transition period to allow both hardware and software changes to be implemented successfully.

• The new indicia and/or postage markings should not be used for letter or flat mail until January 2018 at the earliest.

• Tray label and pallet markings will be deferred until mid-2017 at the earliest.

Other types of changes, such as changes to postage statements and forms, can move forward with the January 2017 price change. This phased transition period will allow both hardware and software changes to be implemented successfully. A schedule will be published in early 2017 to assist mailers with implementation.

More important than technical implementation issues were the reactions by many mailers that this change is not necessary, and in fact could be counterproductive. Separately from the formal delay announcement, senior postal officials such as Chief Customer Officer Jim Cochrane have said at meetings such as MTAC that the USPS will not require any indicia visible to mail recipients to carry the words “Marketing Mail.” This would have reduced open rates in the opinion of many mailers.

Nonprofit mailers disagreed with the USPS rationale that “this name change will better communicate to mailers how this mail class can be used.” Mailers believe they already know what mail can do for them, and they do much testing and analysis to ensure they maximize its value to them.

Nonprofit mailers in particular expressed that they use Standard Mail for purposes other than “marketing.” Indeed, nonprofits see their missions as accomplishing higher priorities than marketing.

With Marketing Mail, USPS chose to be descriptive, specific, and relevant. Unfortunately, they selected a name that actually narrows what Standard Mail accomplishes, and one that would cause many recipients to react negatively. USPS also chose a name that is not scalable to other applications that might be invented in the future.