April 2010

Post&Parcel. Eighty-one percent of consumers will buy a product after they receive a free sample, and most prefer to sample products at home, according to the Opinion Research Corp. This is the idea behind the marketing strategy of a samples co-op box that the USPS plans to market test early next month. The “Samples Showcase,” to be distributed nationally on a limited basis as well as in larger quantities to consumers in Charlotte, NC, and Pittsburgh, is a box of assorted beauty, health and snack food items from multiple consumer packaged goods companies. The boxes will be branded with the Postal Service logo and include the tagline, “A selection of free product samples.” Another strategy behind the pilot test is making sure that direct mail is the sampling method of choice.

DMNews. Hallmark has launched the Postage Paid Greetings card line with the US Postal Service. The company announced the product at the National Postal Forum conference during the general session. The line of greeting cards has Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) technology that allows customers to buy them with pre-paid first-class postage. Customers' payments are linked to cards as they enter the mail stream. “We think this is a pretty innovative use of [USPS'] IMB technology,” said Cindy Mahoney, VP of product development at Hallmark Cards. “The Postal Service will count the number of pieces of mail as they enter the mail stream and enable us to track it.”

DMNews. The Postal Regulatory Commission approved the US Postal Service's plans to hold a second “summer sale” this year, offering rebates to corporate mailers. Trade groups the American Catalog Mailers Association and the Direct Marketing Association praised the decision. The initiative will provide a 30% rebate to eligible mailers on some services from July 1 to September 30. Eligible mailers will receive the rebate on standard mail letter and flats volume above a threshold of 5% more than its volume for the same period in 2009. The USPS is sending invitations to eligible customers. The PRC cited the Postal Service's financial status in its approval letter, noting that the USPS could have insufficient cash to meet its obligations before the end of this year.

Letter-Size Booklets and Folded Self-Mailers

SUMMARY: On March 14, 2008, USPS published in the Federal Register
(Volume 73, Number 51, pages 13812-13813) an advance notice of
intent to develop new mailing standards for folded self-mailers and

READ MORE LINK:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-30752.htm

January 18 Pricing Change – DMM and IMM Updates

USPS published domestic and international mailing standards changes to support the new domestic and international shipping services prices effective January 18, 2009. They encourage you to review this information and visit usps.com/prices, where you can find all of the January 18 prices, as you prepare for the pricing change.

Intelligent Mail Full-Service Guides

We updated three technical guides and added a new guide for customers who are implementing the Intelligent Mail® full-service solution for their businesses. The guides indicate what functions will be supported in Intelligent Mail Release 1 on May 11 and support Mail.dat version 09.1. We encourage customers to use these guides at http://ribbs.usps.gov/files/fullserviceguides/ as they prepare for the transition. 

PostalOne! Mail.Dat Technical Guide for Full Service 3.0 (New)
Mail.dat is an industry-defined database structure. Learn how to use Mail.dat to submit electronic information for full-service mailings.

Guide to Intelligent Mail for Letters and Flats (Updated)
Answers technical questions on the full-service option. Find out what changes are required to electronic documentation, how to populate electronic documentation files, and how to create or update electronic appointments.

PostalOne! Technical Guide for Mail.XML (Updated)
Mail.XML supports two-way communication in near real time. Customers can provide eDoc data, including qualification reports and postage statements; create FAST appointments; and receive start-the-clock, container scan, and address correction information.

A Guide to Customer/Supplier Agreements (Updated)
Customer/Supplier Agreements define mail preparation and entry for mailers and the postal plants where their mail is entered.

Move Update – New Customer Policy and FAQs
http://ribbs.usps.gov/files/Move_Update/MoveUpdateAdvisement.doc

New Flats Sequencing Strategy Web Page

Check out the new Flats Sequencing Strategy Web page on http://ribbs.usps.gov. You’ll find all of the presentations, resources, and FAQs related to the flats vision and the new Flats Sequencing System (FSS). Included are a scripted presentation and fact sheets on the new address standards for commercial flat-size mail. The page will update with new information and materials as soon as they become available.

From the RIBBS homepage, just click on “Flats Sequencing Strategy – All Things FSS” in the center of the page.