PRC approves USPS mail promotions for 2017

June 22, 2016

A number of nonprofit mailers have taken advantage of past USPS mail pricing promotions, and now there are more, with more advance notice, and in some case covering longer periods of time. So they are well worth looking into. Here is what USPS had to say about the promotions:

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has approved six USPS Mailing Promotions for calendar year 2017. These promotions continue to build on the engagement strategies of the 2016 Promotions. The promotions focus on providing marketers with the opportunity to engage their customers by using dynamic color, new print techniques, mobile technology, and traditional and innovative mail techniques. 

The 2017 promotions calendar provides some exciting new opportunities. The Earned Value Reply Mail Promotion has been extended to six months, offers credits for use of Alternate Postage (also known as Share Mail) mail-pieces, and increases the per-piece credit amount. The Personalized Color Trans-Promo Promotion will continue in 2017, and will allow new participants to qualify without meeting the personalization requirement. The Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion will incorporate Virtual Reality, and will flip the physical-to-digital model by encouraging “programmatic” and “retargeting” direct mail strategies, under which physical mail-pieces are generated automatically as a result of consumers’ online actions. For Standard Mail, the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Mail-piece Engagement Promotion will continue, as will the Mobile Shopping Promotion, which encourages mailers to include qualifying technology inside or on their mail-pieces that facilitates consumer purchases via mobile-optimized web sites or social media “Buy Now” functions. New to the roster for 2017 is the Direct Mail Starter Promotion, which provides an incentive to smaller businesses to get on board and begin using mail as a marketing channel.

“The promotions are designed to create excitement about mail, to encourage marketers and mailers to try new techniques and technologies that can help increase customer engagement, and to drive response rates. The calendar will provide multiple opportunities for mailers to enhance the value of their mail and will offer incentives or discounts to mailers throughout the entire year,” says Gary Reblin, VP, New Products and Innovation.

Further communications will be forthcoming with updates about webinars, Program Requirements, and updates to RIBBS. If you have any questions, please contact the Mailing Services Program Office at mailingpromotions@usps.gov.