Articles by Kurt Ruppel Blog Archive Why the Mailing Industry Needs to Engage with the PRC to Improve its Ratemaking Proposal info Posted December 12, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates As you may have heard, changes are coming to the process for setting postage rates. Media headlines suggest the changes are already a done deal, but that is far from accurate. Here’s what’s really going on in the world of postage rates. A Little Background Our current postal law, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act […] + Read More Making the Case for Marketing Mail info Posted November 15, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends Regular readers of SpeakingDIRECT know that we are strong advocates for the effectiveness of direct mail, especially as part of a data-driven marketing campaign. This is based not only on what we’ve seen in our own experience helping clients craft successful data-driven marketing mail campaigns, but also from what we are seeing in studies on […] + Read More thINK Conference Highlights the Importance of Inkjet Technology for Data-Driven Marketing info Posted October 17, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends thINK, an independent community of Canon Solutions America (CSA) production print customers, solution partners, and print industry experts, held its third annual thINK Conference last week in Boca Raton, Florida. This year’s deep dive into all things inkjet attracted a record 570 attendees to preview the latest inkjet technology from CSA’s Océ division as well […] + Read More Postal Service Releases 2018 Postage Rates Proposals info Posted October 10, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates This past Friday, the Postal Service filed 2018 postage rate proposals with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for both its Market Dominant and Competitive products, which will take effect on January 21, 2018 (assuming PRC approval). The PRC will now review the Market Dominant rates to ensure they are within the legally mandated inflation-based rate […] + Read More Data and Multichannel Marketing Take Center Stage at PRINT 17 info Posted September 22, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends On Wednesday, my colleague, Matt Shanahan, provided an overview of his PRINT 17 experience. During the show, he led an IWCO Direct operations team exploring enhanced technologies that will drive even more efficient and effective direct mail production for our clients. While the ops team was taking a deep dive into technology, I spent […] + Read More Summer MTAC Meetings Focus on Big Challenges and Big Opportunities for the USPS in 2018 info Posted August 29, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates Mailing industry stakeholders gathered last week at U.S. Postal Service headquarters in Washington, DC for the summer meeting of the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC). These meetings always provide a great opportunity for networking among USPS executives and industry leaders, as well as the chance to learn more about what’s happening in the postal world. […] + Read More Looking Ahead to Postage Rates in 2018 info Posted July 19, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates It’s getting to be that time when companies start to think about budgets for the coming year. For mailers, this includes the annual look into the crystal ball to try to determine what postage rates they will need to build into their budgets. For 2018, this process is proving particularly challenging based on the number […] + Read More Can Informed Delivery Really Expand the Reach of Marketing Mail? info Posted July 7, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends As regular readers of SpeakingDIRECT will know, IWCO Direct is a strong advocate for the enhanced marketing results driven by combining direct mail with other, often digital, channels. A new option available to marketers to link physical mail with online experiences is the Informed Delivery product recently introduced by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). […] + Read More The National Postal Forum Provides Informed Connections for the Mailing Industry info Posted May 24, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates To paraphrase Mark Twain (sort of), the reports of the death of direct mail are greatly exaggerated. After spending a few days at the National Postal Forum in Baltimore, MD it is obvious that direct mail is very much alive. Attendance has been strong, the discussions lively, and the focus has been on using creativity […] + Read More 2017 EMA Spring Meeting Focuses on “Shaping the Future” info Posted May 9, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements The envelope manufacturing industry gathered in sunny Florida at the end of April for the 2017 EMA Spring Meeting held in conjunction with the Global Envelope Association’s Conference. IWCO Direct is a long-time supporter of EMA not only for the technology and management resources it provides for our envelope team and industry partners, but also […] + Read More Pages: First Page123456789101112131415Last PageLoad More Articles
Why the Mailing Industry Needs to Engage with the PRC to Improve its Ratemaking Proposal info Posted December 12, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates As you may have heard, changes are coming to the process for setting postage rates. Media headlines suggest the changes are already a done deal, but that is far from accurate. Here’s what’s really going on in the world of postage rates. A Little Background Our current postal law, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act […] + Read More
Making the Case for Marketing Mail info Posted November 15, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends Regular readers of SpeakingDIRECT know that we are strong advocates for the effectiveness of direct mail, especially as part of a data-driven marketing campaign. This is based not only on what we’ve seen in our own experience helping clients craft successful data-driven marketing mail campaigns, but also from what we are seeing in studies on […] + Read More
thINK Conference Highlights the Importance of Inkjet Technology for Data-Driven Marketing info Posted October 17, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends thINK, an independent community of Canon Solutions America (CSA) production print customers, solution partners, and print industry experts, held its third annual thINK Conference last week in Boca Raton, Florida. This year’s deep dive into all things inkjet attracted a record 570 attendees to preview the latest inkjet technology from CSA’s Océ division as well […] + Read More
Postal Service Releases 2018 Postage Rates Proposals info Posted October 10, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates This past Friday, the Postal Service filed 2018 postage rate proposals with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for both its Market Dominant and Competitive products, which will take effect on January 21, 2018 (assuming PRC approval). The PRC will now review the Market Dominant rates to ensure they are within the legally mandated inflation-based rate […] + Read More
Data and Multichannel Marketing Take Center Stage at PRINT 17 info Posted September 22, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends On Wednesday, my colleague, Matt Shanahan, provided an overview of his PRINT 17 experience. During the show, he led an IWCO Direct operations team exploring enhanced technologies that will drive even more efficient and effective direct mail production for our clients. While the ops team was taking a deep dive into technology, I spent […] + Read More
Summer MTAC Meetings Focus on Big Challenges and Big Opportunities for the USPS in 2018 info Posted August 29, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates Mailing industry stakeholders gathered last week at U.S. Postal Service headquarters in Washington, DC for the summer meeting of the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC). These meetings always provide a great opportunity for networking among USPS executives and industry leaders, as well as the chance to learn more about what’s happening in the postal world. […] + Read More
Looking Ahead to Postage Rates in 2018 info Posted July 19, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates It’s getting to be that time when companies start to think about budgets for the coming year. For mailers, this includes the annual look into the crystal ball to try to determine what postage rates they will need to build into their budgets. For 2018, this process is proving particularly challenging based on the number […] + Read More
Can Informed Delivery Really Expand the Reach of Marketing Mail? info Posted July 7, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends As regular readers of SpeakingDIRECT will know, IWCO Direct is a strong advocate for the enhanced marketing results driven by combining direct mail with other, often digital, channels. A new option available to marketers to link physical mail with online experiences is the Informed Delivery product recently introduced by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). […] + Read More
The National Postal Forum Provides Informed Connections for the Mailing Industry info Posted May 24, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates To paraphrase Mark Twain (sort of), the reports of the death of direct mail are greatly exaggerated. After spending a few days at the National Postal Forum in Baltimore, MD it is obvious that direct mail is very much alive. Attendance has been strong, the discussions lively, and the focus has been on using creativity […] + Read More
2017 EMA Spring Meeting Focuses on “Shaping the Future” info Posted May 9, 2017 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements The envelope manufacturing industry gathered in sunny Florida at the end of April for the 2017 EMA Spring Meeting held in conjunction with the Global Envelope Association’s Conference. IWCO Direct is a long-time supporter of EMA not only for the technology and management resources it provides for our envelope team and industry partners, but also […] + Read More
