PCC
Summer Postage Sale – well, sort of a sale, no, more like a small rebate
summer sale
To those that are excited about the impending summer postage sale, there are a few details you need to know, first, did you receive a letter from the USPS recently?
Here is what it looks like: summer-sale-electronic-letter
Here are the details:
The USPS has made it official (almost) that they are going forward with the proposed ‘Summer Sale’ event. The PRC must still weigh in with their decision, which is expected in late May, to make this program official. This program would provide a 30% postage credit on mailings submitted between July 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009. This incentive program is designed to increase mailing activity during the usually dormant summer months, when the USPS has their most excess capacity available.
Unlike most sales however, there are a multitude of qualifiers that apply to the Summer Sale.
Who and what qualifies?
For the most part, the USPS has already determined what mailers qualify. Letters were sent out on 5/7/09 to approximately 3,200 mailers whom they determined will be eligible for this program by utilizing the mail volume data that exists within their internal system.
1. This program only applies to Presorted Standard letters and flats.
2. The next qualifier is that you must have mailed a minimum of 1,000,000 pieces during the time period of October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008. Total volume is calculated by mailer, so even if you utilize multiple permits, your total volume will be calculated across all permits that are associated to your organization. This also applies to “Ghost Numbersâ€, which are created if your mail is sent through a Mail Service Provider. If you feel you are eligible, but have not received a letter, then you can request a contact by emailing your information to summersale@usps.gov.
If you have met the criteria above, you are ready to begin to calculate the ‘Sale’ portion of the program. The 30% postage credit will be given only on the number of mail pieces that exceed your mailing threshold for the time period of July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009. The caveat to this all is that your mail volume in October must not fall below your mailing threshold for that month. If this occurs; the total credit accrued from mailings between 7/1/09 to 9/30/09 will be deducted by the amount of pieces that fell below the threshold in October and that will be the final credit. The credit will be issued at some point in December of 2009 once the USPS has completed the above calculations.
How to calculate your potential savings:
Below is an example of how to calculate the savings that you as a mailer may receive through this program. Listed in this example is the all important Threshold, which will be the key to planning your mailings to take advantage of this program.
1. Base volume (7/1/08 – 9/30/08): 500,000 pieces
2. Trend:
a. Volume 10/1/08 – 3/31/09 = 1,800,000 pieces
b. Volume 10/1/07 – 3/31/08 = 2,000,000 pieces
c. a/b = (1,800,000 / 2,000,000) = .90 or 90%
3. Base x trend = Threshold:
500,000 x .90 = 450,000
4. Rebate = (Actual volume – threshold) x (actual postage cost / actual volume) x 30%
a. Actual volume for 7/1/09 – 9/30/09 – threshold =
475,000 – 450,000 = 25,000 pieces
b. Actual postage cost / actual volume =
$103,075 / 475,000 = $0.217
c. Rebate =
25,000 x $0.217 x .3 = $1627.50
The October Effect:
It is important to keep your mailing volume for October in mind when factoring the potential savings. If your volume falls below the calculated threshold, then your overall credit will be impacted. Below is an example of how to calculate this effect.
a. October 2008 volume x trend (in #2 above) = October threshold:
300,000 x .90 = 270,000 pieces
b. If October 2009 (260,000 pieces) < October threshold:
Threshold – actual = adjustment
270,000 – 260,000 = 10,000
Rebate adjustment
a. Actual volume – summer sale threshold – rebate adjustment:
475,000 – 450,000 – 10,000 = 15,000
b. New rebate:
15,000 x $.217 x .3 = $976.50
For those of you that have received a letter; be sure to certify the volume that the USPS has provided to you since this will be a binding once you have agreed to enroll in the program. Also be sure to have your response in by August 1st, 2009.
This program is a great way to potentially reach more customers at a lower cost and therefore enhance your business’ ROI. The system is not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction for the USPS to utilize their new found pricing freedom to help mailers.
From the Federal Register today:
Federal Register Notices
DATE: Pending publication in the Federal Register.
Standard Mail Volume Incentive Program (aka Summer Sale)
AGENCY: Postal Serviceâ„¢.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Postal Service is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), to add section 709.2 which introduces new standards for a special volume incentive program for mailers of Standard Mail® letters and flats with mail volume exceeding their individual USPS™-determined threshold levels. The program period will be from July 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Gunther at 202-268-7208.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Postal Service is implementing a volume incentive program for qualified high-volume mailers of commercial or Nonprofit Standard Mail letters and flats, for volume mailed between July 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009, above their USPS-determined threshold level. This program encourages mailers to provide new volume and to take advantage of our current excess capacity to process and deliver additional volume.
Corporate Social Responsibility News
4.30.2009 – 12:04pm ET
CSR News from: SustainCommWorld
News Categories: Sustainability
The Big Debate: Print or Digital Media – Which is more Sustainable?
Strategic Business Leaders with answers to address The Green Media Conference
(CSRwire) MERCER ISLAND, WA. – April 29, 2009 – Which is more sustainable, physical mail or email, a magazine page or a web page, a book or an ebook? Which has the larger carbon footprint and what is the risk to a brand if their messaging says one thing and their media supply chain choices say another?
Publishers, advertisers, marketers and supply chain professionals are increasingly being challenged to make decisions that address climate change and that are consistent with the principles of sustainability.
Carbon Dioxide has been ruled a pollutant dangerous to human life by the EPA, climate change legislation is pending in congress, and the leaders of 192 nations, including the US, China and India, will meet in Copenhagen this December to agree on a climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. With an eye to the future, what efforts can be taken to measure the carbon footprints and otherwise qualify and quantify arguments for the sustainability of print and/or digital media?
Leaders from publishing, the postal service, and printing who are addressing this issue now, will be speaking at The Green Media Conference, June 9 in Washington, DC. They will be speaking in a session entitled: The Great Debate. Addressing the audience will be:
Hans Wegner, Vice President, Production Services, National Geographic
Mike Fanning, Manager Business Development, United States Postal Service
Dave Podmayersky, Director of Sustainability, Earth Color
Quote: Don Carli, Conference Chair and Executive Vice President, SustainCommWorld and Sr. Research Fellow at The Institute for Sustainable Communication
“Sustainable supply chains and climate action are becoming mainstream priorities for leading brands and for government. Just as their governance policies, products, packaging and messages are being scrutinized, so to are their media supply chain choices – print, websites, emails, direct mail, advertising, brochures, tradeshows and events – all are being scrutinized as the next big area for improvement in sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions.
“Key questions that our speakers will address include:
What standards and best practices can be employed to assess the sustainability of your operations and your media supply chain practices?
What are the most significant challenges you face in reducing their carbon footprint and making them more sustainable?
How will your media supply chain need to change in response to these issues, and what are the firms most likely to survive and thrive going to look like?
What risks do the precarious state of the printing, papermaking and publishing industries present to government, business and society?
What risks do the energy demands of IT, e-waste and the ephemeral nature of digital media present to government, business and society?
“These conferences bring thought leaders together with a focus on graphic communication, marketing, publishing and to discuss, challenge, learn and drive implementation of best practices in the greening of print and digital media supply chains.”
With the theme of “Expanding Lean & Green Opportunities,” The Green Media Conference brings together practitioners, best practices and real world case studies on the production of sustainable media and illustrating how to make money at the same time. Attendees to SustainCommWorld events are marketing and advertising professionals who need the latest information to make sustainable advertising, printing and web decisions as well as analyses the businesses within their supply chains.
This June there will be two conferences, one in Washington, DC on June 9 and one in Chicago on June 23. Each city will have a different group of speakers addressing these issues. For more information on conference program and additional speakers, visit: http://www.GreenMediaConference.com
About SustainCommWorld
SustainCommWorld is focused on educating communication professionals from corporations, institutions and government agencies how to develop sustainable green workflows and supply chains to lower their carbon footprint. SustainCommWorld currently produces major events including The Business of Green Media Conference in cooperation with the Cal Poly Graphic Communication Department and the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly, and The Green Media Conferences.
SustainCommWorld staff consults with institutions and enterprises on issues related to sustainable communication – the production of sustainable media and the associated business challenges and opportunities that face the graphic arts community, enterprise marketers and those involved in media production. Senior executives are frequent speakers at conferences around the world.
To further spread their green message, SustainCommWorld produces a bi-monthly newsletter Green Media Newsletter, Communicate Green Radio, a radio show debuting next fall and sponsors GreenMediaConnect, a social networking site featuring forums, blogs and resources. For more information visit, http://www.sustaincommworld.com
For more information please contact:
Lisa Wellman, CEO
SustainCommWorld
206 275 9992
206 236 0354
www.greenmediaconference.com
Newspaper Association Kills Off Print Magazine — Goes Online Only
I think the comments to this blog are actually more interesting than the story. Seems most don’t care about the printed piece!
Failures by Mike Masnick
Thu, Apr 30th 2009 2:25am
From techdirt http://techdirt.com/articles/20090429/1827544698.shtml
The Newspaper Association of America, who just recently has been out pushing the value of a print product as opposed to an online-only product, seems to not be taking its own advice. According to Romenesko, the NAA has not only laid off nearly 50% of its staff, but it’s also switching its own print magazine to an online-only production. Seems difficult to take the group seriously when it claims print is somehow fundamentally a better product, doesn’t it?
4 Comments | Leave a Comment..
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
by Matthew – Apr 30th, 2009 @ 6:01am
Actually, I don’t find this behaviour especially hypocritical. I happen to agree that print magazines are somewhat higher value to me than online publications. Most people would agree, though, that online publishing is LESS EXPENSIVE than print publishing. It could well be that, despite print being a superiour format, they’ve opted to go all-online in order to reduce costs. (One could disagree with their assessment of the value of print; I’m just saying, it’s not hypocrisy.)
You’re Right
by kirillian – Apr 30th, 2009 @ 7:22am
You’re Definitely Correct. Print does provide more value – it provides thermal insulation for those that can’t afford more expensive material to keep themselves warm…and SOMEONE has got to provide the fuel for all those trash can fires…
define fundamentally
by Stray Dog – Apr 30th, 2009 @ 7:28am
only when you want to line the bottom of a birdcage or some other task,, no this is not multi tasking, it’s recycling
Print
by Rick – Apr 30th, 2009 @ 7:52am
Disagree. Print still has value and I still enjoy reading while turning actual pages, but perhaps being a lithographer since 1970 has colored my judgement.
Finnish postal union to go ahead with stoppage
So check this out, at least I never recall the USPS stopping delivery on mail. See it can always get worse!
The Finnish Post and Logistics Workers´ Union (Pau) is to stage a six-hour stoppage on Wednesday, leading to delays in postal services for the rest of the week.
The union maintains that there is ambivalence about whether permanent unemployment pension could be treated as a legitimate outcome in cooperation procedure talks in government-owned companies like Itella, formerly known as Finland Post.
Jyri Häkämies (cons), the minister in charge of ownership policy, had previously approved permanent unemployment pension as a legitimate option.
Itella said last week it wanted to cut some 390 jobs.
Gangs running standover drugs-in-mail racket
I knew mail service is much tougher in other countries, but this is ridiculous…
From perth now
April 20, 2009 09:15am
ROMANIAN crime gangs are forcing innocent Australian residents to receive illegal drugs through the mail.
Many of those pressured into taking delivery of heroin, cocaine and amphetamine parcels from overseas are fellow Romanians.
Gang members rely on their legendary reputation for extreme violence as insurance against victims dobbing them in.
They prey on people with no criminal record or history and tell them parcels will be posted to their addresses.
The victims are ordered not to open the parcels and are told to whom they must hand them.
Some of those who receive the drug parcels are paid a small amount for doing so, but most are forced to do it for nothing.
The Australian Crime Commission’s 2009 report into the $10 billion-a-year organised crime market reveals “scatter importing” through the postal system is a common method of smuggling heroin and cocaine into Australia.
A senior underworld figure, and a former Australian Federal Police agent who specialises in Romanian crime gangs, separately told The Daily Telegraph about the Romanian-run mail racket.
“Millions of dollars worth of drugs – mainly heroin and cocaine but increasingly the more popular amphetamine-based pills – have been imported to Australia in this way and continue to be,” the underworld source said.
The former AFP agent – who is still involved in investigating Romanian gangs as a private investigator for insurance companies – said the parcel racket was centred on Victoria.
“They’re able to get away with it largely undetected because they put the fear of God into the people who receive the drug parcels,” the former agent said.
“Romanian gangsters have little or no respect for human life.
“They will burn your house down, bash you or kill you if you oppose or expose them.”
Police: Postal worker threw away mail because it was printed on inferior paper
The discerning postal employee…
A former postal worker in upstate New York has been arrested for tossing mail.
Glen Helmer was arrested Thursday morning and charged with destroying mail he was supposed to be delivering.
According to the criminal complaint Helmer admitted to throwing away bulk mail circulars.
Investigators caught Helmer in the act when they followed him on his route last summer.
It is estimated that Helmer tossed business mail between 100 and 120 times during the last eight years.
On the criminal complaint, Helmer said he didn’t like the flyers because they were printed on inferior quality paper.
Helmer’s next court appearance is set for June.
fmi in the Community
            Thousands of school children every year are asked the infamous question, “What do you
want to be when you grow up?†The normal responses are Professional Athlete, Rock Star, Actor etc… No one really says, “I want to be a Project Manager for a Direct Marketing Company when I grow up!â€
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Until now!
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I had the pleasure of participating in McClure Elementary School’s Annual PSSA Career Day a few weeks ago. I can honestly say it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my life. I went to the school as a representative of fmi direct and to show the children there are many opportunities in life and you can do anything you set your mind to.
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I spoke to third grade children about the importance of the subjects and skills they are learning right now and how they will carry those skills through the rest of their lives; skills such as studying, following directions, mathematics, geography, physical fitness and overall communication with others. These are just some of the skills I use everyday at my job here at fmi direct.
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I showed the children how an actual job for a real client is done and the proper steps it takes to achieve the finished product. They assisted me in finding secret inventory codes on mail pieces and putting together an actual mailing. Just seeing their faces light up with excitement when they located the secret codes was like winning the lottery. I told them these codes are on almost all of you mail and now you will know what they are when you see them. They were very excited to learn about all the large machines (I called them robots for effect) we have here at fmi that fold and stuff their mail. Some of the children even said they saw a show on TV about the robots and it was very cool.
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The children had a lot of great questions and were genuinely excited about Direct Mail. When my time was over in the classroom and I was getting ready to say my good byes there were two young girls that came up to me and gave me a huge hug and thanked me for spending time with them and telling them about my AWESOME job!
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I do have to admit that I wanted to be a famous actress when I grew up but who knew that I would end up being a Project Manager for fmi direct and that it would be 100x more rewarding!
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By  Roseanne Capaccio
Roseanne with the kids from Room 305
Pompous self-righteous dork
Ok Ok, my feelings are expressed in the title of this blog, I just don’t get it, and maybe I’m the idiot dork. What would the world be like without mail? Do you think you won’t get bills or other bad news? Do you know how many industries are supported by direct mail, what are you thinking? And do you think that little of savvy direct marketers that they think they can just use, as you call it “spam” or email instead of direct mail? If it were that easy and effective don’t you think this would have been done long ago? Is this really the bright spot of the economic downturn, less junk mail, is it really that bothersome? All questions i would love to know the answers for.
 You tell me, check out the video:
Interesting…savings accounts through the postal service
Postal sector feeling the pinch, but financial crisis not all doom and gloom
(Press release from the Universal Postal Union)
High-level conference reveals risks and opportunities for the sector and the world economy
The results of a recent Universal Postal Union (UPU) survey indicate that postal networks are increasingly trusted to further the growth of e-commerce and provide financial services. This trust is keeping this postal sector’s head above water as the financial crisis wreaks havoc on the global economy.
While operators are feeling the pinch, especially in the letter-post and express business segments, financial services and some areas of parcel post are showing signs of growth.
This is what the UPU reported today during a high-level conference on the impact of the financial and economic crisis on the postal sector, held at its Berne headquarters. More than 200 participants from 100 countries, including about 40 of the world’s postal CEOs and leading sector stakeholders operating in e-commerce, direct marketing, consulting and equipment and technology manufacturing, attended the special debate.
Results of the survey conducted among 15 of the world’s largest Posts and private courier companies show that the sector is certainly feeling the effects of the crisis, but it is not showing signs of an economic depression like other sectors. Surveyed operators account for 66% of total worldwide letter-post volumes, 88% of parcel-post traffic, and up to 75% of express volumes, providing a statistically valid sample to analyze market evolutions, according to UPU experts.
The worldwide postal sector employs more than 5.5 million employees and operates 660,000 post offices, making it one of the largest industry workforces and the world’s largest physical distribution network.
Strong competition in the parcels and express business segments prevents the UPU from sharing detailed information about country-specific mail volumes, but analysis of survey results provides positive and negative growth rates and thus a good overview of the worldwide postal sector’s situation.
Here are the key findings by business segment (unless otherwise indicated, all figures reflect same-quarter comparisons in 2007 and 2008):
Financial services
Postal financial institutions are experiencing tremendous growth since the crisis began. Some European operators, such as Swiss Post and Deutsche Post, are experiencing annual growth rates above 50% in the number of postal deposits and savings accounts opened in 2008. Interestingly, a similar phenomenon occurred during the Great Depression, according to UPU statistics.
Parcels
After dropping from 0.5% in the first quarter of 2008 to 3.4% in the third quarter, compared to the same periods in 2007, domestic parcel volumes recovered 1.1% on a year-to-year basis in the fourth quarter. Experts say the increase could be due to record e-commerce sales during the last quarter of 2008 or strong resilience of online sales to the crisis observed in several countries.
The news is not so positive, however, on the international parcels front. After experiencing growth in the first three quarters of 2008, volumes decreased by 4.5% in the last quarter among surveyed operators. Experts again believe that international parcels are not benefiting from e-commerce as cross-border sales remain challenging.
Letter post
Domestic letter post is feeling the brunt of the crisis’ impact. In a year-over-year comparison, operators reported a 5.9% decrease in volumes in the last quarter of 2008, due in part to less direct mail being generated, especially by the financial sector as credit thresholds have increased, experts believe.
As direct mail is less developed in the international arena, international letter post is showing more signs of stability. In a year-to-year comparison, Posts reported volumes varying between 3.7% and – 2.8% in the last quarter of 2008 in terms of quarterly growth rates.
Express services
Survey respondents reported a 4.4% decrease of domestic express service volumes in the last quarter of 2008, compared to the same quarter in 2007, while international volumes went from a 7.1% increase in the second quarter of 2008 to a 2.2% decrease in the last quarter.
In last-quarter comparisons of 2008 and 2007, express revenues declined by 7.9% worldwide. Experts explain this drop as a consequence of consumers and businesses moving more towards low-end express services.
Stock-exchange listed Posts
Five Posts – from Austria, Germany, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Singapore – are listed on stock exchanges as well as two express courier companies, Fedex and UPS. A comparison of the evolution of their share price with their reference index from August 2008 to January 2009, the six months covering the worsening financial crisis, shows that, while the share prices of some operators were closely correlated with their reference index, those of others evolved much more positively than the market (see graphic in main report; link indicated below). Considered defensive stocks, listed postal services’ shares tend to resist better during a crisis and can even gain value, say UPU experts.
Comparison with the Great Depression
To compare the effects of this crisis with the worst performances achieved during the Great Depression, UPU experts also looked at historical postal statistics from the 1930s. Here’s what they found (all statistics from the UPU, unless otherwise indicated):
• So far, the sector has not reached performance levels recorded during the Great Depression, when postal revenues decreased by 12.3% in the United States between 1931 and 1932.
• Between 1928 and 1934, franking revenues in the United States decreased by 21.9%, with the highest drop (12.3%) occurring between 1931 and 1932; postal employment dropped by 17.6%; and the number of post offices fell by 7.8%.
• Postal savings account deposits multiplied eight-fold in the United States in the 1930s, reaching 1.2 billion USD (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
• In France, the sharpest decrease in franking revenues (24.8%) occurred between 1931 and 1932, following a 15.5% drop between 1929 and 1930.
• In Germany, the largest decrease in letter-post traffic reached 16.6% between 1930 and 1931.
It ain’t easy!!!
YONKERS – Police have charged a Yonkers woman with attacking a 50-year-old male postal worker as he delivered mail on Wednesday morning.
The woman, identified by Yonkers City Police as Rosemarie Santos, 20, approached the mailman and claimed that her monthly benefit check was in another person’s mailbox. When the postal worker did not open the other mailbox, she became enraged and punched and scratched the man. She also stole his Bluetooth headset and refused to return it.
Police arrested Santos and charged her with second-degree robbery. The letter carrier was treated and released at a local hospital for a laceration to his left hand.
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