OK, the last thing you feel like thinking about in the run-up to the holidays is your direct mail strategy, but some of us are here to learn, people! (Gosh, sorry – was channeling my junior high math teacher there.) Anyway, the fine folks at DM News (who don’t seem the type to ever take a holiday) have put together a handy rundown of the discounts we have to look forward to in the new year. (Here is a complete listing of all USPS promotions.)
Some real interesting ones, here; most are geared to promoting new (or in the case of QR, crappily used) technology.
For example, you can snag a 2% discount when you incorporate any of the following:
Branded Color-Mobile Technology (Feb. 1- March 31): Use color or branding in QR codes. “Branded codes qualify with one color other than black, white, or gray; others require two.” And of course “Qualifying mail must contain a code that leads to a mobile-optimized experience.” We have this image of your local postmaster testing each QR code for the quality of said experience, and charging back the extra 2% if it’s lame. (Oh please, like you don’t have your own fantasies…)
Digital Personalization (May 1- June 30): Any piece that features personalization AS WELL AS “a response mechanism that takes the recipient to a personalized URL (PURL).”
Emerging Technology-NFC (Aug. 1- Sept. 30): Mail embedded with a near-frequency communication (NFC) chip. A USPS source told DM News that “NFC is used for mobile payments and we see an opportunity here where people can come home, open a mail piece and immediately make a purchase with a mobile device.”
I’m pretty sure I’ve never received an NFC-enabled mailing, or if I’d know what to do with one if I did. And I don’t know about you, but with Amazon 1-click shopping and the growing spread of PayPal, I’m not sure my bank account is up to the temptation of dropping a small fortune every time something gets shoved into my letterbox.
