United Parcel Service recently sponsored a report charging that the U.S. Postal Service is able to undercut its pricing in the package and shipping business by laying off costs on its mail delivery infrastructure. Maybe yes, maybe no, but one thing’s for certain: The Postal Service can blanket the nation’s households with a direct mail campaign cheaper than anyone.
And so it did this week with a booklet piece touting itself as the one-stop shop for holiday mailing and shipping needs. The very first inside page directs readers to www.ourseason.com, where they can order free boxes, schedule pickups, find Post Office locations, and download an augmented reality app for phones that conjure holiday imagery when pointed at a USPS blue box (left). The Postal Service last year adopted the slogan “This Is Our Season” for the holidays and has reprised it in an ad campaign this year.
The mailer also promotes a series of 10 different Charlie Brown Christmas Forever stamps, a deft licensing play considering the recent release of Blue Sky Studio’s The Peanuts Movie. Demonstrating a modern touch with multichannel marketing, the Postal Services AR App will offer new animation every Monday and Friday throughout the holiday season—one execution letting people snap pix of their kids with Charlie Brown in front of the mail box.
Delivery deadlines for specific services like Priority Mail and First Class mail are rendered in Christmas cookies, with the piece noting that Priority Mail Express will deliver on Sundays and Christmas Day.
