Post-mark row ‘storm in tea-cup’

The row over plans to introduce a “delivered by Royal Mail’ mark from mid-September has been branded by creatives “a storm in a tea-cup”, and evidence that the “silly season is upon us”.
The mark has been appearing on unaddressed mailings for years, but the postal operator says that now all machine-sorted mail will feature it from September. It will appear top centre on packs.
According to some trade magazine reports, the direct marketing industry is in uproar over the plans, with DMA head of postal and environmental affairs Alex Walsh saying: “It’s already causing a lot of concern within the direct marketing industry and we’re consulting with the regulator, other trade associations and postal user groups to decide on the next course of action.”
But the general consensus of creative directors is “so what?”. One told DecisionMarketing: “There’s obviously not much news around at the moment, other than the Murdochs. The silly season is obviously upon us. Of course there may be some operational issues but it is unlikely to affect the creative execution. And to say otherwise is a nonsense.”
Another creative chief said: “This is a classic storm in a tea-cup. There’s a misconception that all direct mail is sent out in DL envelopes with a company logo or message and little else. Our challenge as creatives is to create stand-out; this is done in so many different ways. A Royal Mail logo won’t make the slightest difference, and, anyway, all creatives love a challenge.”
A spokesman for Royal Mail is quoted as saying: “The space we have designated for the mark is the least likely to be used for return addresses or any other form of artwork. We will be notifying customers to make them aware of the mark we will be printing so that they can avoid printing messages in the same area if necessary.”