Clients offered huge deals to run direct mail trials

Royal Mail is ratcheting up its campaign to convince more brand owners of the joys of direct mail with the launch of a scheme which offers clients the chance to test different mailing executions with discounts of up to 30%.
The Testing & Innovation Scheme is one of the first fruits of the renewed relationship between the Strategic Mailing Partnership and Royal Mail, with the SMP providing direct input from its board and members.
The industry body was first set up in 2008 to build closer ties between mailing houses and Royal Mail and promote direct mail to the client community but relaunched late last year under the positioning The Strategic Mailing Partnership – The Mailmakers.
The Testing & Innovation Scheme covers both advertising mail and business mail and is being launched by Royal Mail today (February 1). It is designed to help Royal Mail’s so-called “access” customers use mail for business purposes in a way that they have not used mail before, to help them deliver even greater results.
Both will be incentivised through a series of discounts in the form of postage credits, regardless of whether the postings are made through Royal Mail, an access operator or another postal delivery provider.
Incentives include up to 30% off the access price (6.5p-23p) for business mail tests over a 6-month period and up 15% off the access price (2.5p-10.5p) for advertising mail tests, also over a 6-month period.
Royal Mail Wholesale commercial director Jenny Ledgar praised the SMP’s support, describing it as “invaluable to the development of the testing schemes”.
She added: “We have already had positive feedback from the industry that these incentives are helping our customers to secure new budgets from advertisers to spend on direct mail. The endorsement of the SMP on schemes such as this is vital in helping us communicate the message that Royal Mail is committed to helping its customers get the very best out of their budgets, and the highest return on their investments.”
SMP chair Judith Donovan said: “The board and I have been working closely with Royal Mail to identify opportunities for a new style push on both business and advertising mail. We are really pleased not only with the actual details of this scheme, but also with the speed at which it has been launched.”
Meanwhile GI solutions chairman Robin Welch, who sits on the SMP board, commented: “It’s great to see these incentives coming through in a coherent, simple message that the SMP board can communicate to its clients to get them to use more mail in the communications mix. We have seen a re-invigoration around letters over the past six months. and this can only be a good thing for us all.”
For more information on the Royal Mail Testing and Innovation scheme, visit royalmailwholesale.com/tis/