There is a lot of discussion right now within the postal service as to the future of slim jim size magalogs (actually all booklet type self mailers).

The concern of the USPS is that these pieces (when formatted correctly) qualify as either automated letters or non-automated machinable letters, but in most cases cannot be processed effectively on USPS letter sorting equipment.
 
The objective of the rate change and reclassification of May 14, 2007 was to better align the cost of mail processing with the actual mail category.  Because these pieces do not run well on letter equipment, often times they are run on flats sorters.

Because flats equipment is being used, the cost to process the mail is higher than the postage rates for letters can cover.
 
All that being said, there was an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in the Federal Register on March 14, 2008 outlining testing that the USPS is conducting on booklet style mail pieces with different physical properties. 

The main components being looked at are thickness, tab integrity, cover stocks, finish size, and basic mail piece orientation.

Once the fate of slim jim magalogs is decided, we’ll make sure to update this blog with details.

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We recently surveyed our marketing contacts regarding their 2008 direct mail campaigns and compiled the responses into a 9-page industry report.

The question we asked them was, “What direct mail format(s) do you plan on testing in 2008 and why?”

You can download the report here for free:

http://www.ballantine.com/2008formatreport.pdf

And when you’re finished reading it, please consider posting your comments below.

Thanks!

If you mail flats — which is defined as a mail piece measuring 6-1/8″ x 11-1/2″ or larger — than you already know that the USPS increased the postage on this format by 40%.

In light of this postage hike, there was an article not too long ago in DM News called Creative Ways of Optimizing Flats.

In the article, 4 experts shared their advice and it was an interesting read…so we’re going to re-publish some of the content here…and also share our thoughts.

One last thing to note — on January 28th we’ll be releasing another industry report — this report will focus on what formats marketers surveyed will be testing in 2008.

We’ll be posting a link to the report on this blog so if you’re interested in reading it, please subscribe to our RSS feed or enter your email address in our opt-in box up top to the right.

OK, back to the DM News article…here are the pointers the 4 experts shared:

Mike Dietz’s Takeaway

“Package planning is key to making your direct mail flats a success.” Mr. Dietz recommends not building a mail piece to the maximum or minimum requirements. He also recommends developing a live paper sample and then making sure it’s in compliance with USPS limitations.

Victor Benson’s Takeway

“Effective envelope creative motivates consumers to open your piece.” Mr. Benson recommends mailing No. 9 and No. 10 envelopes (that mail out at letter rate). He also suggests that “Free gift inside” is a very effective envelope message to use…for the gift part, he’s found that free mailing labels work well.

John Cayne’s Takeaway

“Alternative formats can help you qualify for lower postage rates.” Mr. Cayne recommends taking tangible results from creative and messaging tests and applying them to alternative formats that qualify for letter rate.

Jim Stewart’s Takeaway

“Value-added postcards can help mail get attention.” Mr. Stewart recommends testing over-sized postcards for consumer mailings.  You can mail a postcard up to 6″ x 11″ and still qualify for letter rate.  He also recommends testing geo-targeting if it’s relevant to your product or service.

Ballantine’s Advice

We see a lot of clients that previously mailed flats taking their artwork and shrinking it down to letter rate. For example, one of our clients that was mailing a 9″ x 12″ envelope is now mailing the same exact artwork, but shrunken down to a 6″ x 9″ package. The piece still looks great and saves them a ton in postage dollars.

Free Format Suggestions

If you want us to take a look at your flat and suggest alternative formats that would qualify for letter rate, please email Ryan Cote: ryan (at) ballantine.com.