The Postal Service has proposed some of the most significant changes to their promotions in 2025 that we have seen since promotions began. Change is always a pain, but there are real opportunities for mail service providers in the new promotions – but you will need a strategy. It’s not simple.
In 2025 there will be two kinds of promotions: Primary promotions and Add-on promotions. This is a new concept that requires planning to optimize.
The Primary promotions are:
- The Tactile, Sensory, Interactive promotion will run from February 1 through July 31, 2025, and offer a 4% discount for mail pieces that meet the requirements. This is being brought back from 2024.
- The Continuous Contact promotion, a new promotion for 2025, will run from April 1 through December 31, 2025. This promotion will offer a 3% discount for Marketing Mail efforts to the same address with coordinated messaging.
- The First-Class Mail Advertising promotion runs from September 1 through December 31, 2025, and offers a 3% discount for certain First-Class mail used for advertising. The rules have not yet been published.
- The Integrated Technology promotion will offer a 3% discount for incorporating certain advanced technologies in a mailing. This promotion runs on a sliding six-month schedule. You pick the start date, and it continues for the next six months.
- The Reply Mail IMbA promotion runs from July 1 through December 31, 2025, and offers a 3% or 6% discount for enrolling in and using Business Reply Mail in the Business Reply accounting system and QBRM. The discount is 3% for static IMb’s, and 6% if they are unique.
The Add-On promotions are:
- The informed Delivery promotion will offer a 1% discount for mailings with an approved Informed Delivery campaign, plus a .5% postage credit for the eDoc submitter.
- The Sustainability promotion will offer a 1% discount for using certified recycled materials with an acceptable sustainability logo on it, such as FSC.
Both Add-on promotions may be added to Primary promotions all year round.
You probably noticed that there is not a lot of detail provided here, because the details are not yet published as these promotions await PRC final approval. For our purposes here, the details of each promotion are not the point. What matters is the timing and stacking of the promotions.
In 2023 and this year, the Informed Delivery promotion was the king (or queen – up to you) of promotions. It was easy to execute, the mail owner got a big discount, and the mail service provider got a nice little postage credit – that can add up.
In 2025, you will not be able to do the Informed Delivery promotion by itself – it will need a primary promotion upon which it can be stacked. So, like it or not, mailers are going to need to learn new promotions for 2025. Now is the time to start planning. Here’s a strategy you could employ, just as an example:
- Kick off the year with the Integrated Technology promotion. The easiest version is the Mobile Shopping option. Stack Informed Delivery and Sustainability on top! Total discount: 5%, plus a little something for the eDoc submitter (.5%)
- On February 1, you can start using the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive promotion. Total discount: 6% (+.5%) (With ID and Sustainability stacked on)
- The Continuous Contact promotion starts on April 1. You can switch to that for your Marketing Mail (including nonprofit) or continue with Tactile. Continuous Contact will get you a total discount of 5% + (+.5% with the add-ons, um, added on).
- You can run the Continuous Contact promotion through the end of the year for your Marketing Mail, and starting September 1 add the First-Class Mail Advertising promotion. With the add-ons as well.
That is just one way you can execute on these promotions. The good news, particularly for mail service providers, is that using this strategy you can run the Informed Delivery promotion all year and get that .5% postage credit for all the mail you enter eDocs for.
None of this is necessarily easy, which is why it is important to start planning now. You may need to negotiate with your commingler who is facing the same challenges of running multiple promotions at once.
These promotions are still proposed but expected to be approved. Hopefully, details will be forthcoming. Need some help? Keep an eye on SnailWorks newsletters for details.