Postal News, Information & Commentary

Postal Ethanol Test Finds Poor Performance

For several years ethanol has been touted as a way to grow ourselves into energy independence. Grow corn, convert it into a fuel, and you need less oil from overseas suppliers who in too many cases are unstable and unfriendly.
The use of ethanol has grown in large part because of federal subsidies and good PR, [...]

4Jun2008 | PGM | 0 comments | Continued

Mail, AARP & 53 Million Trees

According to the AARP Bulletin, “the 19 billion catalogs mailed to Americans every year consume 3.6 million tons of paper and 53 million trees.” (See May 2008, Page 25)
Such a short sentence. Can it be true?
Let’s see, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, advertising mail (also known as “Standard A” mail) totals 5.89 million tons [...]

3Jun2008 | PGM | 1 comment | Continued

Will Gas Prices Cause Stamp Hike?

The Postal Service reports that it operates “the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world with more than 219,000 vehicles driving more than 1.2 billion miles each year and using nearly 121 million gallons of fuel.”
Seen another way, when the cost of gas goes up 15 cents per gallon then USPS expenses increase by $18,150,000.
In [...]

28May2008 | PGM | 0 comments | Continued

How Mail Order Changed America’s Shopping Habits

In an age when the Internet is growing, highways are crowded and shopping centers have gone upscale, more and more people are turning to mail-order and the convenience and bargains it offers.
The current interest in mail-order shopping is hardly new. Mail order has been popular for more than a century, in large measure because direct mail [...]

27May2008 | PGM | 0 comments | Continued

Marketing 101: How to Win with Direct Mail

Whether you own the biggest company in town or started a business just last week, the probability is that direct mail can help you generate additional sales, revenues and growth.
America’s best marketing medium is universal, inexpensive, effective and efficient.
You don’t need a massive advertising budget, hundreds of outlets nationwide or a big-city address to become [...]

25May2008 | PGM | 0 comments | Continued

Mail Means 8,300,000 Jobs Inside Our Borders

One of the largest industries in America is virtually unknown, yet it anchors more than 8,300,000 jobs and is related to the production of goods and services worth $1.2 trillion. (For details, see the 2008 Economic Jobs Study Final Report)
The postal system in this country is so important that it’s actually included in [...]

25May2008 | PGM | 0 comments | Continued

How Postal Rates Are Set

Why do postal rates differ?
It’s a fair question and here’s the answer: Imagine that you go to a bicycle shop. You can buy an assembled bicycle for $100 or you can buy the very same bicycle unassembled for $75. In other words, if you do some of the work the store has [...]

24May2008 | PGM | 0 comments | Continued

Targeting And Technology Change The Ad Game

If you’re reading and viewing habits have changed over the past few years, you’re not alone. More and more of us are online, watching cable, and spending less time with magazines and newspapers. The result is that advertisers are re-evaluating the traditional mix of outlets they use to showcase products and services.
At the [...]

24May2008 | PGM | 1 comment | Continued

Ad Mail Hits Record in 2007, Still-Higher Growth Seen in 2008

New figures from advertising authority Robert Coen show that advertisers used mail at record levels in 2007.
Mail spending rose 4.0 percent in 2007 to $60.998 billion, according to Coen, senior vice president, director of forecasting with Universal McCann, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world,
In the December 2007 issue of his “Insider’s Report,” [...]

23May2008 | PGM | 0 comments | Continued

Ecology: Why Every Major Green Group Uses Mail

Every major environmental and consumer organization uses the mailstream to raise money, gain members, promote causes and distribute information. Larger groups send out tens of millions of items annually.
When asked if Greenpeace was contributing to the nation’s environmental problems because the group uses direct mail, Peter Bahouth, a former Greenpeace executive director, once [...]