Articles by Kurt Ruppel Blog Archive Postal Service News from the MTAC Meetings info Posted January 20, 2016 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates Last week, I was able to escape the freezing temperatures in the Midwest for the (relatively) balmier weather of Washington D.C. and the quarterly Mailers Technical Advisory Council (MTAC) meetings. A lot of Postal Service news was shared during the meetings that could have a big impact on our industry, so today I wanted to […] + Read More Be Sure to Take Advantage of the USPS Discounts Offered in the 2016 info Posted December 15, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates The Postal Regulatory Commission has approved the calendar of Mailing Promotions for 2016, which offers significant USPS discounts for direct mail that meets certain criteria. As in 2015, the Postal Service is offering fewer, longer-running promotions that largely carry forward concepts previously used. The primary change from last year is the combined “advanced technology” and […] + Read More The Logistics that Make Holiday Mail Hit the Mailbox on Schedule info Posted December 9, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Mail Tips, Postal Issues Updates While postal logistics is always a key consideration for direct mail, it becomes particularly important during this time of year. The Postal Service expects to deliver about 15.5 billion cards, letters, flats and packages during the 2015 holiday season. In addition, it’s projecting about 600 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year’s […] + Read More The Postage Rates Landscape for 2016 info Posted December 8, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates At this time of year, children may be nestled all snug in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, but those of us involved in the mailing industry are more likely to be dreaming about what to do with our 2016 postage budgets. Although the outlook for postage rates in 2016 […] + Read More Informed Delivery Mail Notification Brings Together Physical and Digital Marketing info Posted November 6, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends, Postal Issues Updates As we’ve said before in this blog, direct mail is an important player in our multi-channel marketing world. A new example of how mail can interact with other marketing media is the Informed Delivery Mail Notification pilot program the U.S. Postal Service will be expanding into the New York City metro area later this month. […] + Read More Consumer Reading Preferences: Study Shows 81% Choose Paper Over Screens info Posted October 27, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends In today’s multi-channel marketing environment, advertisers face an array of media options to use when communicating with consumers. Has the convenience and immediacy of digital communications changed consumers’ reading habits, and what impact might that have on the best means for distributing marketing messages? A recent study shows that while on-screen reading occupies an increasing […] + Read More 2015 EMA Fall Meeting Highlights Postal Agility info Posted October 21, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates I recently journeyed down the Mississippi River to attend the Envelope Manufacturers Association’s Fall Meeting held in exciting New Orleans. Life is a little bit different at the southern end of the river than it is up here in the north! The meeting’s theme, “Agility: The Foundation of our Future,” was a continuation of the […] + Read More 2015 thINK Conference Focuses on Technology, Networking and Knowledge Sharing info Posted September 15, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements, Direct Marketing Trends Our friends at Canon Solutions America (CSA) have done it again with another well-orchestrated event advancing the understanding and use of color-digital inkjet technology. Last week I had the privilege of attending the first thINK Conference in New York. thINK is the newly formed user community for those of us employing [...] + Read More Expansion of Real Mail Notifications and 2016 Postal Promotions Are Just a Few Postal Issues Discussed at MTAC Meetings info Posted August 21, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements, Postal Issues Updates My colleague, Bob Rosser, and I attended last week’s Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meeting in Washington D.C. As seems fitting for the end of summer, it was a quieter meeting, but we covered a number of topics of importance to the mailing industry. Real Mail Notification USPS Innovation VP, Gary Reblin, provided more details […] + Read More An End is in Sight for Exigent Postage Rates info Posted August 5, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates The good news is that we finally have some certainty about the future of the exigent postage rates. The bad news is that mailers have to wait until spring to see the rates finally rolled back. Regular readers of our postal updates will remember that in June the U.S. Court of Appeals for the […] + Read More Pages: 12345678910111213141516Load More Articles
Postal Service News from the MTAC Meetings info Posted January 20, 2016 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates Last week, I was able to escape the freezing temperatures in the Midwest for the (relatively) balmier weather of Washington D.C. and the quarterly Mailers Technical Advisory Council (MTAC) meetings. A lot of Postal Service news was shared during the meetings that could have a big impact on our industry, so today I wanted to […] + Read More
Be Sure to Take Advantage of the USPS Discounts Offered in the 2016 info Posted December 15, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates The Postal Regulatory Commission has approved the calendar of Mailing Promotions for 2016, which offers significant USPS discounts for direct mail that meets certain criteria. As in 2015, the Postal Service is offering fewer, longer-running promotions that largely carry forward concepts previously used. The primary change from last year is the combined “advanced technology” and […] + Read More
The Logistics that Make Holiday Mail Hit the Mailbox on Schedule info Posted December 9, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Mail Tips, Postal Issues Updates While postal logistics is always a key consideration for direct mail, it becomes particularly important during this time of year. The Postal Service expects to deliver about 15.5 billion cards, letters, flats and packages during the 2015 holiday season. In addition, it’s projecting about 600 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year’s […] + Read More
The Postage Rates Landscape for 2016 info Posted December 8, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates At this time of year, children may be nestled all snug in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, but those of us involved in the mailing industry are more likely to be dreaming about what to do with our 2016 postage budgets. Although the outlook for postage rates in 2016 […] + Read More
Informed Delivery Mail Notification Brings Together Physical and Digital Marketing info Posted November 6, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends, Postal Issues Updates As we’ve said before in this blog, direct mail is an important player in our multi-channel marketing world. A new example of how mail can interact with other marketing media is the Informed Delivery Mail Notification pilot program the U.S. Postal Service will be expanding into the New York City metro area later this month. […] + Read More
Consumer Reading Preferences: Study Shows 81% Choose Paper Over Screens info Posted October 27, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends In today’s multi-channel marketing environment, advertisers face an array of media options to use when communicating with consumers. Has the convenience and immediacy of digital communications changed consumers’ reading habits, and what impact might that have on the best means for distributing marketing messages? A recent study shows that while on-screen reading occupies an increasing […] + Read More
2015 EMA Fall Meeting Highlights Postal Agility info Posted October 21, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates I recently journeyed down the Mississippi River to attend the Envelope Manufacturers Association’s Fall Meeting held in exciting New Orleans. Life is a little bit different at the southern end of the river than it is up here in the north! The meeting’s theme, “Agility: The Foundation of our Future,” was a continuation of the […] + Read More
2015 thINK Conference Focuses on Technology, Networking and Knowledge Sharing info Posted September 15, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements, Direct Marketing Trends Our friends at Canon Solutions America (CSA) have done it again with another well-orchestrated event advancing the understanding and use of color-digital inkjet technology. Last week I had the privilege of attending the first thINK Conference in New York. thINK is the newly formed user community for those of us employing [...] + Read More
Expansion of Real Mail Notifications and 2016 Postal Promotions Are Just a Few Postal Issues Discussed at MTAC Meetings info Posted August 21, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements, Postal Issues Updates My colleague, Bob Rosser, and I attended last week’s Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meeting in Washington D.C. As seems fitting for the end of summer, it was a quieter meeting, but we covered a number of topics of importance to the mailing industry. Real Mail Notification USPS Innovation VP, Gary Reblin, provided more details […] + Read More
An End is in Sight for Exigent Postage Rates info Posted August 5, 2015 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates The good news is that we finally have some certainty about the future of the exigent postage rates. The bad news is that mailers have to wait until spring to see the rates finally rolled back. Regular readers of our postal updates will remember that in June the U.S. Court of Appeals for the […] + Read More
