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Your Guide to 2024 USPS Promotions: Elevating Your Direct Mail Marketing

By   ·  3 minute read

The USPS unveiled its 2024 promotions calendar, which offers discounts and encourages innovative and engaging marketing promotions for direct mail programs. In a webinar now available on demand, Kodi partnered with Enru™ Logistics and Postal Optimization to give a complete breakdown of the 2024 promotions. If you missed the webinar, not to worry; we've highlighted the important insights below.

Continued Opportunities from 2023

Six promotions from 2023 continue into 2024, providing ongoing opportunities for discounts throughout specific periods of the year. While our Postal Promotions 101 insight gives a detailed approach to incorporate this into your marketing plans, here’s a quick guide:

  • Review the 2024 USPS Postal Promotions calendar to understand the number of promotions, their descriptions, registration periods, and eligibility for different mail types.
  • Consider discount percentages and assess if the promotion aligns with your campaign timing.
  • Account for additional costs, such as creative changes, paper or finish modifications, and potential vendor management.
  • Browse the new promotions and pay attention to discount increases.
  • Align your creative with the criteria.

Aligning the timing of your marketing campaigns with these promotions can significantly increase the value of your programs. Now let's explore the highlights of the 2024 promotions.

1. Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Promotion: Engaging the Senses for Impact

The Tactile, Sensory and Interactive promotion offers a 5% discount, encouraging mailers to employ innovative techniques in their mail pieces to make them stand out in the mailbox and drive response. This promotion was immensely popular in 2023, and there are multiple ways to qualify using specialty inks, sensory treatments, and interactive elements.

2. Personalized Color Transpromo: Adding Personalization to Essential Communications

This promotion is only open to First-Class letters of bills, statements, account summaries, or notices. A marketing message of at least two colors needs to be included. The discount is 3% unless a reply mechanism is included, then a 4% discount is applied.

3. Emerging Technologies Promotion: Reaching Customers in Exciting, New Ways

The Emerging and Advanced Technology promotion allows mailers to choose a 3% or 4% discount for up to six consecutive months within the calendar year. This initiative encourages marketers to integrate cutting-edge technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) with their mail pieces. A great example is how our experts at Kodi Collective helped Lovesac elevate their customer engagement by implementing an interactive digital experience through their direct mail campaigns. Kodi’s turnkey design solution has been proven to save mailers 4% on postage during this promotion period.

4. Reply Mail IMbA

The IMbA is another promotion for First-Class, specifically qualified business reply mail and high-volume qualified business reply mail letters and cards.

  • The mailer must be enrolled in and use the Intelligent Mail barcode accounting program of the postal service.
  • If you use a static barcode, the discount is 3%; if you use a serialized barcode, the discount is 6%.
  • The discount is not on the outgoing mail piece that includes the reply mail; it is on the returning reply mail piece received between July and December 31 as a discount off your invoice.

5. Informed Delivery Promotion: Insights for First-Class and Marketing Mail

Informed Delivery maintains its significance by offering a 4% discount for First-Class and Marketing Mail letters and flats. This promotion gives businesses a unique opportunity to enhance the visibility of their mail campaigns, giving recipients a sneak peek into incoming mail and creating a more interactive experience.

6. Retargeting Promotion: Bringing Back a Winning Strategy

The Retargeting promotion for First-Class postcards returns in 2024, offering a 5% discount. This is a great, proven way for B2C brands to engage passive online “shoppers” through a highly targeted direct mail campaign. When Kodi Collective helped Wine Enthusiast run their very first retargeted direct mail program in 2023, and it generated a ~$1 million return on investment over three months. Learn how to optimize your retargeted direct mail strategies.

Save on Mailing Costs Through Postal Optimization

As you develop your plans for 2024, consider mail volume and the potential discounts available utilizing a co-mailing solution for your flat mailings and our proprietary Letter Entry Solution (LEO) for your letter size mailings. At Kodi Collective, we leverage our trusted network of validated vendors to help you maximize your mailing discounts. Our webinar with Enru gives a full breakdown of the latest USPS pricing and promotions, read about Enru's takeways or watch the recording on demand. Incorporating these USPS promotions into your 2024 marketing strategies can unlock cost savings and elevate your campaigns' effectiveness. Stay ahead of the curve, embrace innovation and craft experiences that resonate with your audience in the ever-evolving landscape of mail marketing.

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