Mobile Promotion Stimulates Mail

Once again, USPS is offering mailers a discount for experimenting with ways to link mail with mobile technologies.

Registration started May 1 for the July-August Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion.

The offer gives business mailers a 2-percent discount on postage for commercial Standard Mail and First-Class Mail letters, flats and cards, which include a mobile barcode that can be read or scanned by a hand-held device.
The promotion specifies that the barcode or similar technology scanned by a recipient must lead to one of the following:

• A Web page that lets the recipient purchase an advertised product or service on a mobile device.
• A personalized Web page tailored to the recipient with a unique address.

This promotion is aimed at highlighting effective ways to increase the value of mail and to encourage direct mail integration with the mobile marketplace. According to Domestic Products VP Gary Reblin, the mail is one of the best platforms for mobile commerce. “Mail gets and keeps people’s attention,” he says. “As digital channels multiply, mail is still the best return on investment, and we want to keep it that way.”