Mailing Services
Update
National Postal Policy Council
December 12, 2013
Tom Foti
Manager, Mailing Services
New Products and Innovation
1
Agenda
■
First-Class Mail Trends
■
Jan 2014 Single-Piece update
■
Alternate Postage
■
2013 Promotions Calendar Update
■
2014 Promotions Calendar Overview
2
First-Class Volume 2013
F irst-Class Mail Volume
( % Change over S PLY)
Aug
Sep
Total Presort Letters and Cards
Total Single-Piece Letters and Cards
Linear (Total Presort Letters and Cards)
Linear (Total Single-Piece Letters and Cards)
Oct
No v
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
A pr
May
Ju n
Ju l
Aug
Sep
15%
10%
5%
0%
-0.3%
-5.9%
-5%
-10%
-15%
-20%
-10.3% -0.9%
-5.5%
0.6%
-3.2%
-6.9%
-0.5%
-5.2% -4.6%
-1.7%
-4.6%
-8.0%
2.8%
-0.8%
-3.9%
-3.6%
-7.8% -6.7%
-7.8%
-12.2%
-13.7%
-10.2%-10.0%
-12.9%
-10.0%
-15.1%
3
Single-Piece
Residual Rate Changes
Task Team 21 reviewed and clarified eligibility and
acceptance processes for residuals:
■ Blended price for combining 1 oz and 2 oz
pieces; not eligible for new meter price
■ Option to separate pieces by weight and pay
prevailing Single-Piece prices at the new meter
price
 New Meter price for all Single-Piece letters with
meter, permit imprint, precancelled stamps, PC
Postage
■
4
Alternate Postage Update
5
Alternate Postage
Alternate Postage Payment: An easy, convenient way to send
single-piece First-Class Mail® – letters and postcards – without
a stamp or postage affixed
How does it work:
Alternate Postage Payment relies on Intelligent Mail ®
technology:
• Sent from anywhere to anywhere & charged back to a
company
• Identifies and scans each unique mail piece as it moves
through the postal system
• Counts the mailpieces during normal mail processing
• Uses the mail piece counts to debit the company’s
Centralized Automated Processing System (CAPS)
account.
• Filed with PRC:
November 5, 2013
• Target Launch Date: January 2014
Pending PRC approval
9
Alternate Postage
Creating a New Opportunity for the Mail
• Businesses providing access to customers and consumers to mail
to anyone buy eliminating postage process
–
–
–
–
Retail purchase opportunities (greeting cards, gift cards, etc)
Loyalty opportunities (i.e., thank you notes in gifts)
Direct Marketing
New emerging opportunities
Pending PRC approval
9
2013 Promotions
Calendar Update
8
2013 Promotions Calendar
9
9
Earned Value Results
■ Customers earned about $10.7 million in credits
■ 68% of acquired credits have been used:
 70% for FCM mailings
■ Customer Survey Results
 277 responses (114 MSPs, 163 mail owners)
 63% had never participated in a promotion
 65% enrolled to reduce mailing costs
 Approx. 10% increased outgoing reply mail pieces as part of
the promotion
 Using the Earned Value credit:
■ One third plan to increase their mail volumes
■ One third plan no changes in their mailing behavior
10
2013 Promotions Calendar
11
2013 Promotions Calendar
12
2014 Promotions
13
2014 Promotions
21
2014 Promotions
General Updates
■
■
■
■
PRC approval of 2014 promotions
External webinar planned December 12
Additional requirements posted on RIBBS
Quick Start guide for enrollment available in early
December
22
2014 Proposed Promotions
• Eligible Mail:
 Standard Mail letters and flats
 Commercial First-Class letter, cards, & flats
• Discount: 2 percent per eligible mailpiece.
• Qualifying mailings must include either:
1. A creative mobile barcode that incorporates one of the following:
a) two or more colors set against a background (other than black or white)
b) a trademark or graphic and at least one color (other than black or white)
2. color digital image recognition technology
NEW
• Registration opens December 15
• Full Requirements posted on RIBBS
• External Webinar planned for January 2014
16
2014 Proposed Promotions
Mail campaign should utilize customization
through urls, websites or mobile experiences
with both relevant messaging and content
linked to the urls, websites and/or mobile
experiences. Both the mailpiece and
PURL/website must be customized and/or
personalized to qualify for this promotion.
www.ChristopherStevens.tonicConnect.com
• Registration: March 15 – June 30
• Promotion Period: May 1 – June 30
• Eligible Mail:
 Standard Mail letters and flats
 Commercial First-Class Mail letters, cards and flats
• Discount: 2% per eligible mailpiece.
• Detailed program requirements will be posted on RIBBS/usps.com in early
December
17
2014 Proposed Promotions
Encourage USPS customers to continue to
provide Business Reply Mail® (BRM) and
Courtesy Reply Mail™ (CRM) as options for
consumers to communicate with them.
• Registration Period: February 15 – March 31
• Program Period: April 1 – June 30
• Credit
 2 cents credit per eligible, returned CRM or BRM mailpiece.
 Participants in the 2013 Earned Value Promotion whose CRM and BRM
counts increase in 2014 will receive 3 cents per eligible mailpiece
• Credit Receipt/Redemption
 Credit will be applied to the mailer’s Permit Imprint account
18
2014 Proposed Promotions
Premium Advertising Product
Promotion
The promotion offers an upfront discount on
First-Class Mail postage on letters
composed entirely of marketing or
advertising content.
• Registration Period: Feb. 15 – June 30
• Promotion Period: April 1 – June 30
• Eligible Mail: First-Class Mail® presort and automation letters (IMb
full-service mailings only)
• Eligible Participants: Customers who mailed $6 million or more in
Standard Mail letter postage in FY 2013
• Eligible Customers contacted by USPS by Dec 20, 2013
• Postage Payment: Permit Imprint only
19
2014 Proposed Promotions
Color Print in First-Class Mail
Transactions Promotion
Encourage FCM mailers to the utilize
dynamic printing of color ink on onserts with
bills and statements, which can produce
greater connection and response from
consumers.
• Eligible Mail: First-Class Mail® presort and automation letters sent in IMb fullservice mailing
• Upfront 2% postage discount to mailer who use variable color print on
transactional mail (required to be mailed as First-Class Mail)
• Eligible pieces must have dynamic color printing on the bill or statement
• Color messaging must be for marketing or consumer information purposes and
within the contents of the bill or statement
 Use of color inserts and pre-printed paper stock, do not qualify for the
promotion
 Color in transactional fields alone of the mailpiece will not qualify
 Cannot be an addendum or separate page added to the bill or statement
20
2014 Proposed Promotions
Color Print in First-Class Mail
Transactions Promotion
1. Pre printed color paper
stock does not qualify
2. Color content is marketing
or consumer information
3. Color messaging is
dynamically printed
21
2014 Proposed Promotions
Messaging at end of
statement
Must appear as part of the
statement (same header or
footer, paper stock, page
#s, etc)
Messaging within
contents of the
bill/dynamically printed
Page 4 of22
4
Promotions User Group
MTAC User Group #8
■
■
Co-Lead Industry
 Rose Flanagan, Data Mail/MTAC Product
Development Industry Lead
 Co-Lead Industry, Sush Parikh, AT&T
Co-Lead USPS
 Krista Becker
 Co-Lead USPS, Roy Gordon
Promotions User Group
User Group Focus
■
New promotion ideas – Focus on CY2015
 Focus of next meeting on 12/17
■
Opportunities for Implementation Enhancements
 System & software requirements
■ USPS
■ Industry
 Business and Customer processes
 Communication of issues and resolution with mailers
 Industry education
Future of Mail
25
Questions?
26