While the proposed discounts for high-volume mailers are still in the consideration stage, the U.S. Postal Service has officially rolled out a “Saturation Mail Incentive Program”.
Under the terms of the program, marketers who increase their saturation volume can earn per-piece credits. The discounts would be in effect for campaigns dropped between May 11, 2009 and May 10, 2010.
The Postal Service is offering two incentive categories: Total Market, in which mailers increase the volume of saturation letters and flat sent out over a base year’s volume, and Market Specific, in which mailers increase the volume, over the base year, of Saturation Enhanced Carrier Route mail.
The per-piece credit for Standard Mail saturation campaigns is 3.7 cents for regular letters (2.2 cents for nonprofit mailers) and 4 cents for flats (2.4 cents for nonprofit mailers).
The program is open to marketers currently considered saturation mailers. Marketers must have at least a two-year history as Standard Mail saturation mailers. The marketers must have undertaken at least one mailing during 2007, and six mailings during 2008, within their markets.
Mailers must apply for participation at http://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=saturationmail. The deadline for applying is June 11.
