U.S. Postal Service Plans to Allow Mailer Logos and Marks on Permit Indicia

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Mar 30, 2012, 05:30 ET

New Flexibility and Advertising Opportunity for Commercial Mailers

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service is planning to revise its mailing standards and has recently filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission to allow commercial mailers to include logos, trademarks, brand images or other kinds of marketing designs in the permit imprint indicia area of their mail. The Picture Permit Imprint Indicia offering will provide participating companies with immediate recognition of their logos, products or promotions while boosting the visual impact of their mail.

"This prime real estate area will allow companies to brand, advertise and market their products and services on the actual mail piece," said Gary Reblin, vice president, Domestic Products. "Market research shows that customers believe picture permits will enhance the perception of their mail."

If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the offering will be effective on or about June 24, 2012, for commercial mailers of presorted First-Class Mail letters and cards or Standard Mail letters. The premium for First-Class Mail letters and cards will be 1 cent per piece and for Standard Mail letters 2 cents per piece.

"Picture Permit will provide our customers with advertising opportunities without impacting required indicia information on the mail piece," said Reblin. "Allowing Picture Permits is just one of the many ways the Postal Service is working hard to make mail work better for our customers."

For more information about the Postal Service's Picture Permit Imprint Indicia offering, contact the Picture Permit offering program management office at [email protected].

A self-supporting government business the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, by Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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SOURCE U.S. Postal Service