In certain geographic areas, the USPS has been sending an email to interested customers every morning containing pictures of the mail they’ll receive that day. In testing since 2014, Informed Delivery is now available in parts of Northern Virginia, Connecticut and New York City.
I must admit that my first reaction to this concept was negative. I’m already drowning in email; why do I want to think about the mail that is arriving that day more than once? However, when I thought back to the many times I have made fruitless trips to my post office to pick up hoped-for checks that hadn’t yet arrived in my box, I could see how such a service could come in handy. Additionally, people who are traveling or who don’t pick up the mail themselves may find that Informed Delivery helps them stay up-to-date.
What I personally find exciting about Informed Delivery is the ability it gives direct marketers to connect digitally with their customers. Marketers can provide clickable links to related web pages that Informed Delivery customers will see when the marketer’s mail piece is showing on their screen. Not only does this double the opportunities a marketer has to connect, but it provides interested consumers with immediate access to order or donation pages.
If Informed Delivery continues to expand (and especially if the USPS invests in cameras that show the envelopes in full color), marketers wanting to maximize its benefits will likely focus on creating visually-compelling envelopes and landing pages specifically designed for each direct mail campaign.
So what do you think? Is Informed Delivery going to revolutionize direct mail or wither away from lack of interest?
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