Thursday, April 18, 2013

With 5-Day Delivery Shelved, Are Rate Hikes Ahead?

Is it good or bad news for direct mailers that the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors has dropped its plan for five-day delivery, which had been set to start August 5? In the short run, the retention of Saturday delivery relieves bulk mailers of re-scheduling issues. In the long run, it may portend another "exigent" rate increase by the cash-strapped USPS. And the American Catalog Mailers Association, for one, is much more concerned about this potential cost impact than elimination of Saturday mail. In a recent article by Al Urbanski of Direct Marketing News, ACMA President Hamilton Davison is quoted: "Our members say they'll take one-day delivery if it translates into lower cost. That's how much of an overarching concern cost is." A rate increase won't come quickly at least; it will be hashed out in discussions between the Postal Regulatory Commission, Congress, postal unions and lobbyists like ACMA and the Direct Marketing Association. However, watch for a speed up in postal facility closures and consolidations, which could impact delivery efficiency. For more discussion, see the DM News article at http://www.dmnews.com/postal-board-shelves-5-day-delivery/article/288285/

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

2012 Report: 3 in 10 Online Display Ads Never Shown

Three out of 10 online display ads were never rendered in-view in 2012, according to comScore's "2013 U.S Digital Future in Focus" report, part of an annual study by the research firm. While around six trillion ad impressions were seen last year, the unseen ads led to "significant waste, weaker campaign performance and a glut of poor-performing inventory that imbalances the supply-and-demand equation and depresses CPMs," the report concludes. ComScore is hopeful of greater efficiency for 2013, forecasting that publishers will improve data use to cut down on frivolous display ads, and that marketers will improve their ad targeting and analytics of ad monetization. For more on the comScore report, which also looks at social media and mobile trends, see the ClickZ story at http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2244443/3-out-of-10-display-ads-are-never-seen-by-consumers