Postal Service plans second summer sale
The US Postal Service is planning a second "summer sale" that will provide a 30% rebate to eligible mailers on some services. The initiative, which will require Postal Regulatory Commission approval, is planned for July 1 through September 30.

Postal Service reports $592M January loss
The US Postal Service saw a net loss of $592 million for January, and a total loss of $890 million for the first four months of its 2010 fiscal year, according to preliminary financial data released by the Postal Regulatory Commission on March 3. The data was made public one day after the USPS revealed its 10-year financial recovery plan.

USPS reveals financial stabilization plan, including exigent price increase
The US Postal Service unveiled a 10-year plan to return to profitability on March 2. The initiative focuses on aggressive cost-cutting, increased productivity, new products and legislative reform, including a transition to a five-day-per-week delivery schedule. In addition, Postmaster General John Potter said the USPS will seek an exigent price increase that exceeds its inflation-based price cap in 2011.

Postal Service sees $179M profit for December 2009, but net loss for quarter
The US Postal Service earned a profit of $179 million last December. However, it lost $297 million during the first quarter of its 2010 fiscal year.

Creative campaigns from Virtual Premise, Follet Software, Century Novelty
Virtual Premise looks for a lead-gen lift, Follet Software offers a free trial, Century Novelty reworks pay-per-click.

Credit laws force new marketing approach
Card-issuing companies now must give consumers 45 days' notice if they change interest rates or most fees or agreement terms, according to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.

Insurance-related direct mail steady in 2009: Mintel
Despite budget cuts and the growing use of social media, insurance companies maintained their use of direct mail throughout last year, according to research from Mintel Comperemedia, a direct marketing intelligence firm.

Revised USPS five-day delivery plan keeps branches open, some Saturday processing
Under its revised plan to cut mail delivery to five days a week, the US Postal Service would eliminate delivery to street addresses and some processing on Saturday, but it would not close post offices. The plan, which has concessions to business mailers, requires Congressional action to be enacted.

Bigeye Direct, Advanced Mailing to merge
Printing and mailing firms Bigeye Direct and Advanced Mailing Services announced February 16 that they will merge. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Despite budget, USPS CFO backs 5-day week
President Barack Obama's budget for fiscal year 2011 includes language that shows his administration supports requiring the US Postal Service to deliver mail six days per week.

Creative campaigns from Virtual Premise, Follet Software, Century Novelty
Virtual Premise looks for a lead-gen lift, Follet Software offers a free trial, Century Novelty reworks pay-per-click.

Creative campaigns from Zpizza, American Airlines, Huggies
Zpizza promotes loyalty program, American Airlines reaches out to businesses and Huggies engages mom bloggers.

JCPenney pioneers postal intelligence
JCPenney's postal affairs manager Ty Taylor discusses the retailer's catalog and mail strategy

Creative solutions from Hargray, DMA and CollegeAmerica
Hargray uses direct mail for holiday campaign; DMA gets personal with show attendees; CollegeAmerica geotargets prospective students

Creative solutions from Backroads, Lego, Qdoba
Direct mail campaign from travel company Backroads, Lego's search effort with iCrossing, Qdoba uses mobile to drive loyalty

Verizon's complex Droid ads are unlikely to win over many iPhone adopters
The commercial looks like a typical Apple offering: Upbeat music (MoZella's "Magic") playing over a simplistic white background with plain black text, flashing phrases, each starting with Apple's omnipresent "i." "iDon't have a real keyboard," and "iDon't run simultaneous apps." Suddenly the ad shifts. The screen bursts with abstract, metallic visuals and garbled robotic sounds, followed by the tagline, "Droid Does."

Use rate freeze as a time to test new strategies and technologies
All of us direct mail junkies received an early holiday gift when USPS Postmaster General John Potter announced a postage rate freeze for 2010. According to a statement released in October, the Postal Service wants to build long-term direct mail revenue. I personally salute this decision as an economic development tool.

Take advantage of drop-shipping, copalletization and commingling to save money
Ever since the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 became law, mailers have had two questions: "What's the Consumer Price Index?" and "How much additional postage will I now have to pay?" For the first time in many years, the USPS won't raise first-class or standard-mail postage rates in 2010. But savvy application of some postage-saving techniques could push even more cash to your bottom line while actually enhancing delivery.

Use several strategies, including change of address programs, to cut back on costs
Many mailers planned for a 2% to 3% increase in postage in 2010. The lack of a rate increase means many mailers can take advantage of the surplus budget to increase circulation, especially in acquisition and reactivation efforts. The key to doing this successfully is to "mail smarter."

Fiscal recovery is no reason to ditch streamlining strategies
The "great recession" has dealt its share of challenges to the mailing industry, and mailers are hard-pressed to find good news these days. Fortunately, the US Postal Service delivered an early holiday present in December — there will be no increase in first-class postage in 2010.