Welcome and thank you for attending our event! Today s topic is Informed Delivery. Optional: Before we get started, can I see a show of hands of how

Transcription

1 Welcome and thank you for attending our event! Today s topic is Informed Delivery. Optional: Before we get started, can I see a show of hands of how many of you are already signed up to receive Informed Delivery notifications? Optional if you have material on hand: If you haven t signed up yet as a consumer receiver, we have material here today that will help you do so. Today s presentation will give you a better understanding what Informed Delivery is, why it s valuable to our consumers and business mailers, and how you can learn more and potentially conduct an Informed Delivery interactive campaign with us. 1

2 The Postal Service is doing something new and digital with mail. Informed Delivery is a new and exciting consumer-facing feature that is offering mailers an integrated marketing approach to meet consumer demands in today s digital world. 2

3 Informed Delivery provides eligible residential consumers with the ability to digitally preview their household s mail arriving soon These previews are available via notification, online dashboard, or mobile app offering users access to their mail anytime, anywhere, even while traveling. There are two types of content that you might see in an Informed Delivery notification: (1) grayscale images of mailpieces and (2) interactive campaigns. The grayscale images shown here represent scanned images of the exterior, address side of incoming letter-sized mailpieces. This is what users see most frequently. o It is important to note that not all letter-sized mailpieces are imaged; mailpieces must have a valid Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb ) and be processed on USPS automation equipment to be imaged. o It s also important to note that Postal Service takes the privacy of mail very seriously. Consumers personal information is protected and the scanned images show only the outside of letter-sized mail. The inside contents are not imaged. The color content shown here represents what users will see if a business mailer chooses to conduct an Informed Delivery interactive campaign. o If a mailer participates in Informed Delivery, supplemental content that they 3

4 provide will be shown in place of or alongside their grayscale image. o Interactive campaigns include custom images known as Representative and Ride-Along images and a target URL that can direct the user to a digital experience, such as a website landing page. We ll discuss the elements of Informed Delivery interactive campaigns in more detail later in this presentation. 3

5 Informed Delivery creates an entirely new avenue to reach your customers across multiple channels, and with actionable response mechanisms. Sophisticated mail processing technology used by USPS, gives the Postal Service the ability to provide daily notifications to consumer s that contain digital images of their daily incoming mail. Along with these notifications and images, is the added benefit of giving marketers a new way to execute cross-channel campaigns. Informed Delivery can give marketers and mailers the chance to synchronize campaigns that contain both a physical mailpiece and a digital touchpoint. The digital component can take a consumer to an actionable, buy now engagement experience. So let s take a look at what Informed Delivery is, how it works and how it can help your marketing. Informed Delivery creates an entirely new avenue to reach your customers across multiple channels with actionable response mechanisms. Mail processing technology lets USPS provide digital images of incoming mail to consumers. And along with these notifications and images, is the added benefit of giving marketers a new way to execute multi-channel, cross-channel campaigns. 4

6 Why is the Postal Service so excited about Informed Delivery? This feature offers organizations an unprecedented opportunity to engage consumers and expand their marketing reach through synchronized direct mail and digital campaigns. Nothing replaces the tactile value of hardcopy mail, but the Postal Service understands consumers increasing desire to interact and communicate digitally with everything. While consumers and mail owners still value physical mail and the tactile experience it offers, Informed Delivery enhances that experience. With Informed Delivery, we are creating a new mail moment by uniting the physical mailpiece with a digital experience. 5

7 Example consumer use case. 6

8 There are many benefits. (Presenter touch on each one briefly.) Let s talk about these in a bit more detail on the next slide. 7

9 o Informed Delivery has an average open rate of over 70% -- this is a 12-month average as of August 2017, and is more than twice that of industry average. This also shows that the Informed Delivery user base is engaged. Users currently opt-in to the notifications, meaning they are open to receiving notifications. o Informed Delivery generates multiple impressions from a single mailpiece. Traditionally, Direct Mail reaches whomever gets the mail sometimes referred to as the Household Mail CEO. With Informed Delivery, that individual is getting a double impression (between the notification and reception of the physical mailpiece). Additionally, individuals who do not typically sort the mail (and who may not have been on your organization s list) will receive a digital impression if they are also signed up to receive Informed Delivery notifications for the household. o Informed Delivery drives consumer response with interactive content related to mailpiece. Users will be able to respond to a call-to-action immediately using this new digital channel. o Informed Delivery gives mailers the ability to reach consumers digitally by merely knowing their physical address o Informed Delivery potentially increases return on investment (ROI) on Direct Mail spend. The feature is free for both mailers and consumers. Although the Postal Service reserves the right to monetize future offerings associated with the feature, mailers can take advantage of it with no added cost at this time. As a result, if organizations can achieve greater visibility and more click-throughs, they can get more value from a campaign without spending more money. 8

10 o Informed Delivery provides additional data insights to optimize marketing spend. Analyzing metrics for Direct Mail campaigns can often be difficult. Informed Delivery provides a window into these campaigns and helps organizations draw insights about the effectiveness of their campaigns. These areas of data include: density and statistics, open rates, and click-throughs. o Because of these great benefits, USPS has seen a great amount of interest among brands, Mail Service Providers (MSPs), and agencies. 8

11 Informed Delivery leverages existing mail imaging processes. To automate the sortation and delivery of mail, the Postal Service digitally images the front of mailpieces that run through our automation equipment. Informed Delivery uses those images for a second purpose: to provide digital notifications to users in advance of the delivery of physical mail. The IMb facilitates the entire process. After mail is imaged during processing, the images are matched to delivery points. At this point, interactive campaign data provided by participating mailers is then added and applied to Informed Delivery users notifications. Consumers signed up for Informed Delivery then receive advance notification of their mailpieces arriving soon and can act on any interactive campaigns they receive. They can retrieve the physical mailpieces that day or soon thereafter. 9

12 pg Essentially, there is no change to mail processing operations with Informed Delivery. The Postal Service is making mail even more convenient, relevant, and accessible in this way. 10

13 What is the value of Informed Delivery for consumers? o Convenience & Early Action Consumers like that Informed Delivery gives them the ability to plan each day s activities in relation to when certain pieces of mail are arriving. They can even take action before the arrival of the physical mailpieces. o Visibility & Security Consumers like that it lets them know when to expect something; it gives them peace of mind that important mail will be delivered. o Access While Away Informed Delivery is also essential for consumers that aren t always near their mailbox; the digital previews let them know what s arriving even when they re traveling or on-the-go. 11

14 The Postal Service is excited about the reception of Informed Delivery todate. In our user survey in July 2017 (of over 20,000 Informed Delivery users): 95% of respondents indicated they are very satisfied or satisfied with the feature, and 95% check their notifications every day or almost every day. Further, 96% of respondents would recommend Informed Delivery to their friends, family, or colleagues. We also learned about Informed Delivery user behaviors: o 59% of this survey s respondents use mobile devices to view their Informed Delivery notifications, followed by 33% that use a computer or laptop, and 7% that use a tablet. o The vast majority of respondents, or 88%, check Informed Delivery in the morning. 12

15 Let s take a closer look at what elements make up a campaign and why mailers are using these new features. There are four basic elements to any Informed Delivery interactive campaign. Making use of each element will enable organizations to maximize their campaign results. o Well-designed Physical Mailpiece One of the central functions of mailpieces is to grab consumers attention. Informed delivery enables mailers to: Increase the visibility of their well-designed mailpieces Design new aspects of Direct Mail campaigns and reach customers in new ways o Customized Content If they choose, mailers can replace the grayscale image with a full-color Representative Image that relates to the physical mailpiece. o Interactive Content The mandatory full-color Ride-along Image and corresponding website link provide mailers with the opportunity to drive user action. Using a strong call to action helps drive results. o Mailing Details Mailpieces must be automation compatible. Mailers should follow USPS guidelines for size and weight requirements and placing of aspects such as the window or barcode. Mailers must have a valid IMb. 13

16 Now that we have discussed each of the elements of a campaign, let s look at a whole campaign. 13

17 The campaign pictured on this slide makes use of each of the campaign elements previously described. It is important to note that flat-sized mailpiece images are not captured or sent to consumers. However, if we see a scan on a piece of flat-sized mail, we do have the ability to apply an interactive campaign. Keep in mind that not all flat-sized mailpieces are run through through USPS automation equipment. This is because a high percentage of flats are placed in Carrier Route bundles, which go directly to the carrier case in the delivery unit. This process limits the visibility for flat-sized mail campaigns and the results of post-campaign records. This is also why USPS requires a Representative Image for flats interactive campaigns. USPS begin ingesting carrier route bundle flat scans from the Informed Visibility platform in December Nesting data needs to be provided by the mail preparer. 14

18 The Postal Service separates mailers into six industries that might use Informed Delivery in the following ways: o Financial services Promote online activities, such as: Bill Payment Balance Transfers Credit Card Applications o Retail Provide accessibility to offers and remove barriers to purchase, such as: Promotional Codes Rewards Enrollment o Insurance Facilitate online plan enrollment or policy adjustments, such as: Policy Bundling Claim Submissions o Government Increase document visibility and reach audiences everywhere, such as: Fee Collection Voter Registration o ecommerce Drive users directly to online channels and marketplace, such as: Subscription Renewal Seller Registration o Telecom Simply account management, such as: Service Upgrade Device Upgrade 15

19 Manage Account Users These are examples of how USPS has seen mailers use Informed Delivery and ways that we envision the feature being used. But, we want each organization to approach Informed Delivery in new, creative ways. The Postal Service is excited to see what applications different industries may think of next. 15

20 As of January 2018, over 150 brands have participated in Informed Delivery interactive campaigns resulting in over 750 unique campaigns. Many of the mailers who conduct campaigns are repeat mailers, meaning they conduct multiple campaigns. This information indicates that organizations see value in the feature and are happy with the service provided. Campaign results have been very positive thus far. For example, the average open rates for these campaigns is 70% compared to an industry average of 20-25%. (See Marketing Benchmarks. Mailchimp, Feb. 1, 2017.) For click-through rates, you can drive better performance with a good call to action and a great offer. 16

21 Informed Delivery provides participating mailers with data reports that include information regarding: o The number and percentage of campaign-related s generated from the number of physical pieces. All Informed Delivery subscribers in a household are included in this metric. o The number and percentage of instances where a sent was opened. o The number and percentage of click-through generated from s or the consumer dashboard. 17

22 USPS is provides mailers with aggregate data from their Informed Delivery campaigns. Pre-Campaign Saturation Report: o Prior to initiating campaign, this report provides mailers with the opportunity to evaluate their campaign reach and see how many Informed Delivery users there are within a particular mailing list at a given point in time. Post-Campaign Summary Report: o USPS provides high-level insight into the performance of campaigns, either during the campaign or once it is complete. o USPS provides line level detail of the counts in the Summary report using 5-digit ZIP Codes. o USPS cannot provide IMb line level detail results due to privacy regulations and policies, but we are able Both Pre- and Post-Campaign reports will be available in the Informed Delivery Mailer Campaign Portal. 18

23 Virtually any organization can conduct a campaign if their mailpieces are automation compatible and contain a valid IMb. Brands, MSPs, and agencies have all submitted campaigns to-date. While many people may be involved in the development of an Informed Delivery campaign, including gathering necessary elements and content (e.g. the MID, IMb /Serial Number range, start/end dates, images, URL, etc.), one person must submit the campaign file with all required elements. Campaign reports can be shared with multiple parties, though. The lifecycle of an Informed Delivery campaign involves five steps for mailers: o Plan your campaign Determine the type of campaign to conduct and create your mailing lists separating them as necessary if multiple campaigns will be run at the same time. o Prepare the mailing Prepare your hardcopy mailing as you would regularly. No additional steps are required to conduct an Informed Delivery campaign. o Provide mailing and campaign details Provide campaign elements, such as mailing dates, the MID used on the mailpiece or the MID and serial number sequence, custom images, and a URL. o Induct your mailing No additional steps are required here to conduct an Informed Delivery interactive campaign. 19

24 o Analyze and gather insights View the results of your campaign, including open rate and number of click-throughs. 19

25 There will be two ways to submit interactive campaigns. Both are fully self-serve. PostalOne! Mail.dat functionality for campaigns has been in place since January o Mailers need to participate in the Customer Acceptance Testing (CAT) environment first, before they start submitting production campaign entries. o It is important to note that successful testing in the CAT environment is required to participate in the submission of Informed Delivery campaigns. o Mailers must request a Post-Campaign Summary report via . Self-serve access to reports will be available later this year. The Informed Delivery Mailer Campaign Portal will provide businesses and organizations the ability to initiate interactive campaigns, view campaign data and results, create campaign templates, store media, and more, all in one convenient location from the Business Customer Gateway (BCG). This self-service Portal is currently in beta testing it s expected to launch in late March

26 Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Informed Delivery. Want to learn even more? Check out these resources. o The Informed Delivery website for mailers is usps.com/informeddeliverycampaigns. Resources available include: Informed Delivery Overview Interactive Campaign Guide Campaign Image Requirements Mailer FAQs Reach out to the Program Office at USPSInformedDeliveryCampaigns@USPS.gov with any additional questions after reviewing the website. 21