Every so often something so obscure, something so out of the ordinary, something that makes you stop in your tracks, something that leaves you searching for words or something that makes you think Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, pops up and shocks you. This is one of those occasions. A Postage Sale.
I probably should not be all that surprised because in 2009 and 2010, the USPS had a Summer Sale to spike the use of direct mail. What makes this year unique is that the USPS has put a twist on it. The sale which is slated to run from July 1st through August 31st has both a secondary and tertiary impact. This summer, direct mail, both letters and flats that display a 2-dimensional barcode, will receive a 3% discount.
The first impact will be that it WILL increase the amount of mail entering into the mail stream.
The secondary impact will be the education factor. Consumers in the US are still naive to the use of 2-dimensional codes in marketing. The increase in saturation will serve as a necessary crash course which will benefit the technology and help it move closer to a level of mass acceptance.
Third and probably the most important is that it will free up real dollars for marketers to invest in QUALITY mobile marketing programs. It is not good enough to just add a code and not back it up with a quality mobile experience. First impressions are powerful and just adding a code for the discount that does not serve your mails recipient well can be a real turn off.
I encourage you to START PLANNING NOW! A quality program takes time, money and planning. The USPS is helping you with these. There are a few months to work on your program and plan your attack. Plus there is some money you didn't plan on having on the table for the taking.
For more information about the sale see this link:
http://postandparcel.info/38155/news/usps-to-flaunt-mails-smartphone-potential-with-summer-sale/
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