There’s been some news on the 2015 postal promotions since our last blog article. The USPS just last week submitted their four postal promotions to the PRC for approval. We expect to hear whether they are approved in the next three weeks. If the past is an indicator of how this will go the PRC will approve them as they stand.

There are three promotions that are geared toward catalogers:

1. Earned Value Reply Mail Promo (May 1 – July 31, 2015) – Will build on the success of prior years and is intended to slow the volume decline of First-Class Mail as well as Business Reply Mail (BRM) and Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM) pieces. Mailers who register their MID information and use eligible Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) barcodes on their reply pieces will receive a postage credit for each mailpiece that is returned to the mailer during he promotion period. At the end of the promotion, the reply piece will be totaled and the earned postage credit will be applied to your Permit account and can be used for future mailings. You probably won’t be interested in this promo unless you already use BRM or CRM pieces already in your catalog.
2. Advanced and Emerging Technology Promo (May 1 – October 31, 2015) – To participate, the mailpiece must incorporate advanced print technology such as innovations in paper and ink, the use of standard NFC technology or an “advanced” or “enhanced” augmented reality experience allowing the recipient to engage in an interactive experience. An advanced augmented reality experience uses elements such as 3D animation or gamification. Other advanced technologies with similar functionalities and platforms to NFC and augmented reality may be considered on a case-by-case basis. The requirements document with details on this promotion hasn’t been released yet, however if it’s similar to last year’s promotion Dingley will have a solution to help you qualify.
3. Mail Drives Mobile Engagement Promo (July 1 – December 31, 2015) – This promotion requires the use of a QR code and a fully functional mobile optimized website like in years past. As far as we can tell this will be exactly like the other QR promotions that were done in previous years.

One big change in these promotions is the duration time they run for. In the past these promotions typically ran for only two months. For 2015, these promotions are running much longer (6 months), which will help you save more on your postage than ever before. We did learn that even though several of these promotion dates overlap, that you can’t “double dip” on savings. For example, the Emerging Technology and Mail Drives Mobile overlap for 4 months and each saves you 2% upfront on your postage. By participating in both you cannot save 4% during the overlapping months. However, you still can participate in both and save 2% for each of the months you’re mailing.

Dingley can help get you register for any of these promotions, and provide details on what you need to do to qualify and realize your postage savings. Keep an eye out for additional information about these promotions by reading our newsletter articles and blog. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, your account manager or sales representative. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.