2019 USPS Promotions and Incentives
The 2019 USPS® promotions provide marketers and mailers with the opportunity to use your envelope or mailpiece to increase engagement with customers. Promotions range from using dynamic color and new print techniques to integrating mobile technology.
- Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Engagement Promotion
- Informed Delivery Promotion
- Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion
- Earned Value Promotion
- Mobile Shopping Promotion
- Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion
The information you find here is informational. Exact specifications may be found here. You must contact the USPS for approval and exact program specifications.
2019 USPS Promotions and Promotions, Simplified
Tension has prepared easy-to-read overviews of the USPS promotions, available to you. All final approvals and official information come from the USPS. This material has been designed for reference.
Two-Page Overview of the 2019 USPS Promotions
Do you need a quick overview of the promotions and important dates for each? Click here to download.
USPS Promotions White Paper
Or, are you looking for an in-depth view of promotional details and requirements? Our white paper takes a deep dive into each promotion, highlighting approved mailpieces, available discounts and more. Click here to download.
Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Engagement Promotion
Neuromarketing research suggests that when marketing materials engage a reader’s senses, brand recognition and message recall can increase. This USPS promotion encourages mailers to use the latest printing and production advancements to get mail noticed and opened.
To be approved, your mailpiece has to feature at least one of the following approved techniques: 
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Specialty inks
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Specialty papers
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Interactive elements
Participants in this promotion are eligible for a 2% discount. The mailing is sent through USPS Marketing Mail®. More information about requirements and eligibility can be found here.
Related Tension Products
Learn more about our new Trailing Edge envelopes and embossed envelopes - they both qualify for discounts under the Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Mailpiece Engagement promotion.
Related Blog Posts
Learn more specifics about the Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Mailpiece Engagement promotion in our blog post. Or, you can read about the unique and USPS-approved Trailing Edge envelopes in this blog.
Informed Delivery Promotion
New for 2019 is the Informed Delivery promotion. With this promotion, business mailers are encouraged to sign up for and launch an Informed Delivery campaign.
This promotion offers a 2% discount on eligible mail. More information about this First-Class Mail® and USPS Marketing Mail promotion can be found here.
Related Blog Posts
Have you checked our blog for Informed Delivery articles? There's a wealth of information in this one. Or, read up on specifics for the 2019 Informed Delivery promotion here.
Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion
Marketers can amplify direct mail results when incorporating technology into their mailings. With this promotion, customers can explore technologies that are included or embedded into paper and linked to a mobile phone or other device.
Your direct mail mailpiece needs to integrate an approved technology to be eligible for this program. These include Near Field Communication (NFC), “Enhanced” Augmented Reality, Video in Print (ViP), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)/Beacon Technology and others, as approved.
Mailers are eligible for a 2% discount. More information about this First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail promotion can be found here.
Related Tension Products
Make your mailpiece come alive with an augmented reality (AR) code, and enjoy discounts from the USPS.
Related Blog Posts
Get a jump on your competition with the Emerging and Advanced Technology promotion! Details, including a full list of approved technologies, in our blog post here.
Earned Value Promotion
Business Reply Mailings (BRMs), Courtesy Reply Mailings (CRMs) and Share Mail® play a critical role in facilitating payment of bills and nonprofit donations. Include a reply envelope in your outbound mailing and qualify for a per-piece postal discount. Your return envelope can feature a “Thank you for your payment” or “We appreciate your donation!” message to enhance the sender’s experience. For additional BRM, CRM and Share Mail™ requirements on this First-Class Mail promotion, visit here. If you participate in this promotion, you are eligible for a $.03 credit per mailpiece, depending on meeting certain program thresholds.
Related Blog Post
Include a #9 reply envelope in your mailing and earn mail discounts? It's not to good to be true. Details in our blog here.
Mobile Shopping Promotion
Get double duty out of your direct mail envelope by providing a direct link to your mobile site. The 2019 Mobile Shopping promotion, for USPS Marketing Mail and Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats, encourages mailers to combine mobile technology with direct mail to create a convenient method for customers to do their online shopping.
Your mailpiece must feature a mobile barcode or other print/mobile technology that can be read by a mobile device. That barcode should lead to a mobile optimized shopping website where the customer can easily purchase the advertised product. In some instances, the sale of services and charitable donations may qualify nonprofits for the promotion. To find out more about eligibility for the 2% discount, go here.
Related Blog Post
Integrate mobile technologies on your mailpiece and earn mail discounts. Details in our USPS 2019 Mobile Shopping promotion blog.
Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion
Your monthly statements represent a regular appointment between you and your customer. It is a time to connect, a reminder to make payment or even an opportunity to offer a new special deal. This promotion is intended to encourage producers of bills and statements to produce and mail statements that create a greater connection and response from consumers by using personalized color transpromotional messages on bills and statements. To learn more about this First-Class Mail promotion and how to become eligible for the 2% discount, visit here.
Related Blog Post
The envelope can offer nice real estate for marketing messages, and a transactional mailpiece is an ideal platform to communicate each month with your customers. Learn how you can include transpromo messaging in your direct mail package and earn mail discounts in our blog.
Additional Information and Contact Information
Your Tension Associate is available to provide additional information about creating an envelope that will be eligible for these incentives. Additional program requirements and documents can also be found at the USPS website:
To register for this program, go to https://gateway.usps.com.
You may also get additional information from the PostalOne! help desk at (800) 522-9085 or postalone@email.usps.gov.
