USPS Mailing Promotions for 2017

by Stephen Lett

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 this year's promos, focusing 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. Below is a brief description of each promo. The first three are applicable to Standard mailers; the last two are only applicable to First Class. Click here for a schedule of the promos of interest to Standard mailers.

Standard Mail Promos:

Emerging and Advanced Technology: Will incorporate Virtual Reality, and will flip the physical-to-digital model by encouraging “programmatic” and “retargeting” direct mail strategies, under which physical mailpieces are generated automatically as a result of consumers’ online actions.

Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Mailpiece Engagement and Mobile Shopping: Both are Standard Mail focused and continuations of the same ones offered this year. They encourage mailers to include qualifying technology inside or on their mailpieces that facilitates consumer purchases via mobile-optimized web sites or social media “Buy Now” functions.

Direct Mail Starter: This one provides an incentive to smaller businesses to get on board and begin using mail as a marketing channel.

First-Class Mail Promos:

Earned Value Reply Mail: Extended to six months, offers postage credits for use of alternate postage (also known as share mail) mailpieces, and increases the per-piece credit amount. Personalized Color Transpromo: Continuation of the same one offered this year. Will allow new participants to qualify without meeting the personalization requirement. Republished with the permission of the AMCA.