Digital stamp trials open for mailshots

Royal Mail is launching trials of a new digital stamp scheme, designed to give direct mailings the look and feel of personal letters rather than business communications.
Nearly all direct mailings now carry the “delivered by Royal Mail” insignia, with some also carrying the sender’s logo. However, the pilot scheme will enable firms to see whether they can gain greater cut-through by using what seem like traditional stick-on stamps.
If successful, the system – which is being trialled through a number of mailing houses – is likely to be rolled out through Royal Mail’s Mailmark barcode tracking system, which provides reports on where individual pieces of mail are at up to five different points in the mailing process.
Royal Mail Wholesale, the division behind the trials, is offering two designs – one featuring Alice in Wonderland, the other featuring the Queen’s profile – so companies can benchmark their effectiveness.
The trials will be run between September 1 and November 30 and are open to any mailing house which holds an access contract.
Direct mail remains the shining star of Royal Mail, which is under financial pressure from the long-term decline in letter volumes, increased competition in parcels and its ongoing modernisation.
Its most recent results – published in May – revealed that direct mail revenue sustained its 5% growth for the full year, reaching £1.167bn in the previous 12 months.
The revenue boost followed the launch of MarketReach Mailmen ad campaign, devised by Publicis Chemistry and designed to demonstrate the value of mail as part of an integrated strategy. Backed by its research project “The Private Life of Mail”, the initiative only launched in January but appears to be already paying dividends.
Royal Mail has also receivied a major shot in the arm from the roll out of Mailmark, hailed by MarketReach boss Jonathan Harman as “Google analytics for mail”.