2021 Promotions and Incentive Programs

Building upon the success of prior Promotions Calendars, the Postal Service has developed a Promotions Calendar for Calendar Year (CY) 2021. The general purpose of the CY 2021 Promotions is to encourage marketers, printers, and mailers to utilize new technology and print techniques that enhance the traditional benefits of a physical mailpiece. This in turn will drive engagement and higher response rates and increase the overall return on the mailer's investment in mail. By encouraging the use of technologies integrated in mail, the Postal Service expects to increase the value of direct mail and retain the volumes of transactional mail, thereby ensuring long-term product growth. The promotion periods will range between 3 to 6 months in duration, starting as early as February 1, 2021. Ultimately, the Postal Service decided to focus the CY 2021 Promotions on the following areas: USPS Informed Delivery, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Near Field Communication, Shoppable Video, Video in Print, Programmatic and Retargeting Mail, Mobile and Social Media Shopping, Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Print, and Transpromotional Messaging.
Click here to find out how to enroll in the promotions.

The promotions for 2021 are:

• 2021 Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Mailpiece Engagement Promotion
• 2021 Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion
• 2021 Earned Value Promotion
• 2021 Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion
• 2021 Mobile Shopping Promotion
• 2021 Informed Delivery Promotion

2021 Tactile, Sensory, & Interactive Mailpiece Engagement Promotion

Promotion: February 1 through July 31, 2021
Registration: December 15, 2020 - July 31, 2021
https://postalpro.usps.com/promotions/2021-tactile-sensory

LThe print industry continues to develop innovations in papers/stocks, substrates, finishing techniques and inks. New print elements can be incorporated in a mail campaign to engage a multi-sensory experience through special visual effects, sound, scent, texture/tactile treatments, and even taste. In addition, interactive mailpiece features (such as pop-ups, infinite folds, or other dimensional treatments) can help drive customer engagement. Neuroscience and neuromarketing research suggests that marketing materials that engage tactile experiences and/or other senses lead to potentially significant impacts on brand recognition and message recall. By leveraging advances in print and finishing technology, marketers and mailers can enhance the way consumers interact and engage with mail to drive customer engagement and response rates.

Further questions about the Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Promotion can be directed to TactileSensoryPromo@usps.gov

2021 Emerging & Advanced Technology Promotion

Promotion: March 1 through August 31, 2021
Registration: January 15, 2021 - August 31, 2021
https://postalpro.usps.com/promotions/2021-emerging-tech

As mobile and other print technologies evolve, mail has the potential to offer greater value by engaging customers in new and exciting ways. In order to ensure that direct mail continues to be a relevant part of the marketing mix, the Postal Service is offering another promotion encouraging customers to incorporate technologies such as "Enhanced" Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality, Near Field Communication (NFC), Video in Print (ViP) featuring Shoppable Video, and Integration with Digital Assistants.

Further questions about the Emerging & Advanced Technology Promotion can be directed to emergingtechpromo@usps.gov

2021 Earned Value Promotion

Promotion: April 1 through June 30, 2021
Registration: February 15, 2021 - March 31, 2021
https://postalpro.usps.com/promotions/2021-earned-value

The 2021 Earned Value Reply Mail Promotion is intended to help slow the decline of First-Class Mail including Business Reply Mail (BRM) and Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM) pieces. As technology continues to disrupt mail volume, the Postal Service would like to encourage mailers to continue distributing BRM, CRM, and Share Mail pieces. Mailers who register their Mailer ID (MID) information and use eligible Intelligent Mail barcodes on their BRM, CRM, and Share Mail pieces may receive a postage credit for each mailpiece that is placed in the mailstream by the recipient and scanned during the promotion period.

Further questions about the Earned Value Promotion can be directed to earnedvalue@usps.gov

2021 Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion

Promotion: July 1 through December 31, 2021
Registration: May 15, 2021 - December 31, 2021
https://postalpro.usps.com/promotions/2021-transpromo

This promotion encourages mailers of bills and statements to use color messaging in order to create a greater connection to and response from consumers. The Promotion is intended to increase the value of First-Class Mail,and encourage mailers to invest in color print technology. An upfront postage discount is provided to mailers who use dynamic/variable color print for personalized transpromotional marketing messages on their bills and statements. For companies who have participated in this promotion in prior years, the mailer will be required to incorporate both dynamically printed color and personalized messaging in the mailpieces. For companies/mail owners who have not previously participated, only the dynamic color printing requirement must be satisfied in their first year of participation to help facilitate the process of getting on board with the technology.

Further questions about the Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion can be directed to FCMColorPromotion@usps.gov

2021 Mobile Shopping Promotion

Promotion: August 1 through December 31, 2021
Registration: June 15, 2021 - December 31, 2021
https://postalpro.usps.com/promotions/2021-mobile-shopping

This promotion is aimed at businesses and mailers offering products for sale, especially during the 2021 holiday shopping season. As mobile technology continues to change the landscape of consumer interaction, mail has the potential to serve as an invaluable conduit between the mobile platform and shopping experience. The CY 2021 Mobile Shopping Promotion encourages mailers to integrate mobile technology with direct mail to create a convenient method for consumers to do their online shopping. Using technology platforms such as Quick Response (QR) Codes, Snap Tags, Watermarks, and other advanced technologies to launch consumers into online shopping experiences is a great combination of the power of print solutions and web-based shopping portals.

Further questions about the Mobile Shopping Promotion can be directed to mailingpromotions@usps.gov

2021 Informed Delivery Promotion

Promotion: September 1 through November 30, 2021
Registration: July 15, 2021 - November 30, 2021
https://postalpro.usps.com/promotions/2021-informed-delivery

The Postal Service has created its own omni-channel tool for mail through the development of the Informed Delivery platform. In an effort to help mailers improve the results of their Informed Delivery campaigns, the Postal Service is offering a 2% discount off postage for mailings that use best practices and techniques in their Informed Delivery campaigns.

Further questions about the Informed Delivery Promotion can be directed to Promotion-InformedDelivery@usps.gov