Postal Bulletin 22206 > Spring Into Summer Publicity Kit

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Spring Into Summer Publicity Kit

District Managers, Customer Service and Sales, Postmasters

SUBJECT: Spring Into Summer Publicity Kit

Spring and summer are seasons of celebrations. In the coming months, our customers will be marking many special occasions — Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, high school and college graduations, weddings — and summer vacations. As we move from spring into summer, it’s an ideal time to promote our products and services.

This field publicity kit includes standard press releases to generate “evergreen” stories that can be placed with local media in coming months. Topics include:

Some of the press releases give a new mail twist on familiar themes, like “Graduation Tips 101” or “The Best Dressed Wedding Invitation,” and others highlight traditional postal products and services, like “Going Global this Spring” or “Going on Vacation? Get Your Mail Held With Just a Few Clicks.”

An article in a local newspaper, prompted by one or more of these news releases, will let customers know we have products and services that make it easier and more convenient for them to stay in touch with family and friends and make celebrations and special occasions more memorable.

Employee service talks are also included in this kit. We all know USPS® offers great products and services at great value. Employees help us deliver that message to our customers — and that helps us increase revenue.

signature of Joanne B Giordano

Joanne B. Giordano
Vice President
Public Affairs and Communications

cc: Vice Presidents, Area Operations

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [Insert Your Name]
[Insert Date] [Insert Your Phone Number]

Cards and Gifts for Mom and Dad Are Only a Click Away

[Insert City, State] — With Mother's Day approaching on May 13 and Father’s Day on June 17, now is the time to take advantage of the Postal Service's quick, easy and convenient online services that can save you not only a trip to the Post Office but a trip to the store.

From the comfort of your home, use your personal computer to design your very own special greeting cards that let your parents know what they mean to you. Go to www.usps.com and select the “NetPost CardStore” option. With just a few clicks you can upload a personal photo or select online graphics and add a personal message to create the perfect sentiment.

With a few more clicks you can add a popular gift card from a variety of nationally recognized retailers, in denominations from $25 to $200, and pay for it all using a credit or debit card. Within days, a beautiful card will be delivered right to your loved one’s mailbox. You can even use NetPost CardStore for mailing to people living outside the United States. Just add a “country field” to the address list before submitting.

Sign up as a NetPost mailing online customer at www.usps.com/netpost or contact customer care at 866-665-2787.

Still wondering what gift to send? Shop online at The Postal Store. Go to www.usps.com. This time, click on Buy Stamps and Shop. You’ll find a variety of gifts to suit everyone’s taste and personality, including a wide selection of stuffed animals, framed stamp art, books, games, DVDs, CDs, NASCAR jackets and toys. If your loved one’s interest or hobby is featured on U.S. postage stamps, then a book or framed sheets of those stamps might be a good and practical choice.

For mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers who live in Latin America, DineroSeguro (“Sure Money”) is a fast and secure way to send a money gift through the mail. For information about this service call toll free 888-368-4669.

Click-N-Ship

Maybe you’ve already bought Mom or Dad a gift and just need to mail it. No trip to the Post Office will be necessary if you use Click-N-Ship, also at www.usps.com. You’ll find instructions on how to pay for postage, print mailing labels, and purchase insurance or Signature Confirmation service, all using a credit or debit card. You can even make arrangements for your carrier to pick it up the next day at no extra charge through our Package Pickup service. A “special instructions” option lets the carrier know the package will be on a side porch or other location if the sender won't be there. Click-N-Ship is also available for mothers and fathers serving overseas and will automatically standardize available APO/FPO addresses.

Express Mail and Priority Mail Services

Express Mail/Priority Mail envelopes

Additional options for mailing your gift are Express Mail overnight service and Priority Mail with 2- to 3-day delivery. Express Mail service offers guaranteed overnight delivery to most locations and no extra charge for Sunday delivery. Our new Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes make shipping more convenient then ever — no need to calculate rates, zones or weights. New this year for a limited period: Express Mail Flat Rate Envelopes that feature 30th anniversary Star Wars graphics. Three separate versions of the Star Wars graphics are printed directly on the envelopes and are available in three-packs only at www.usps.com/shop.

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[Insert Date] [Insert Your Phone Number]

Keep in Touch With Moms and Dads Serving Overseas

Postmaster [Insert First and Last Name] says nothing brightens the day more than mail from friends and loved ones. Follow these guidelines so your letters and packages are intact when they reach moms and dads serving around the world.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [Insert Your Name]
[Insert Date] [Insert Your PHone Number]

Go Global This Spring — Tips From USPS That Make It Easy

Postmaster [Insert First and Last Name Here] says the U.S. Postal Service is making it easier to go global with international mail. And that’s true whether you’re doing business overseas or need to reach relatives and friends outside the United States and its territories.

Apply for a new passport, or renew an expired one, at thousands of Post Offices. To find the location of a participating Post Office closest to you, log on to www.usps.com and click on Locate a Post Office. Under Options, select Passport Application Services. Due to unprecedented demand, the State Department recommends travelers allow 10 weeks for their passport applications to be processed, with expedited processing available at an extra charge for service in 4 weeks or less.

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[Insert Date] [Insert Your Phone Number]

Going on Vacation? Get Your Mail Held With Just a Few Clicks!

[Insert City, State] — Spring is here and summer is close behind. Soon it will be time to pack the car or hop on a plane to the beach or mountains, to an exotic destination or to visit relatives. But remember, your mail doesn’t take a vacation. To make your departure as smooth and stress-free as possible, the U.S. Postal Service offers an easy solution for holding your mail while you’re away.

“Arranging to have your mail held while you’re away has never been easier,” says Postmaster [Insert First and Last Name]. “Now, thanks to Hold Mail Service from the Postal Service, you can go online and arrange to have your mail held from three to 30 days. Just go to www.usps.com and search for Hold Mail Service. There’s no charge for a vacation hold and the site is secure for your protection.” It takes only a few easy steps:

The online service will electronically notify your local Post Office, which will hold all your mail for the time specified. Delivery resumes on your requested date.

Planning to be gone a while? You may prefer to have your mail travel with you. That’s easy, too, with Premium Forwarding Service. Now you won't have to ask neighbors or loved ones to pick up your mail and take care of the bills.

If you are planning to be away from home for more than two weeks and up to a year, for a fee you can have all your mail forwarded by Priority Mail to your temporary address. Your mail will be intercepted at the Post Office and sent to your temporary address each week. For more information on Premium Forwarding Service, stop by your local Post Office or check the link on www.usps.com.

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[Insert Date] [Insert Your Phone Number]

Graduation Mailing Tips 101

Does it feel like only yesterday when your son or daughter walked or maybe ran off to the first day of school? Graduation time is here and it’s time to plan. Whether you are throwing a party or sending your child off to college, here are some helpful reminders from the U.S. Postal Service.

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[Insert Date] [Insert Your Phone Number]

Graduation Cards and Gifts — Just a Click Away at usps.com

[Insert City, State] – “Sending graduation cards and gifts to out-of-town family members and loved ones has never been easier, thanks to the Postal Service's popular online services NetPost and Click-N-Ship,” says [Insert City] Postmaster [Insert First and Last Name]. Both services are available at www.usps.com.

With NetPost CardStore, users can create and mail graduation greeting cards from the convenience of their home or office. These can be personalized with special messages and their choice of graphics, including their own photographs or artwork. You can even add a gift card, choosing from a wide choice of popular national retailers.

Postmaster [Insert Last Name] says using NetPost CardStore is easy. All it requires are a few simple steps:

“The Postal Service will print the cards, address the envelopes, include the gift card, add a stamp and mail and deliver them,” says [Insert Last Name]. “If timing is important, use Priority Mail or Express Mail service,” [Insert “he” or “she”] adds.

Along with honoring the new graduate, [Insert Last Name] recommends using NetPost to customize postcards that can be used as invitations to graduation parties or as thank-you notes. For the same price as a First-Class Mail stamp, you can get the printing and mailing done for you. It’s fast, easy and convenient at www.usps.com/netpost.

With Click-N-Ship service at www.usps.com, customers can create shipping labels and pay for postage. And with just a few more clicks, they can request that letter carriers pick up their prepaid shipments with the next-day mail delivery — all at no extra charge.

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Need Something to Smile About?

At the Postal Service, we’re ready to spring into summer with new attractions and familiar favorite products and services at www.usps.com and in U.S. Post Offices:

  • Star Wars Express Mail prepaid envelopes are a fun and convenient way to send your urgent mail zooming across the universe. For a limited time only, three-packs featur­ing special 30th anniversary Star Wars graphics of Darth Vadar, Luke Skywalker and Yoda can be ordered at www.uspsjedimaster.com. Each prepaid envelope can be used to mail as much as fits inside for a flat fee of $16.25 apiece ($48.75 for the three-pack), with overnight service guaranteed to most locations.
  • For the new bride — a price decrease. Postage to mail 2-ounce wedding invitations has been lowered from 63 cents to 58 cents.
  • Planning the perfect wedding? Our new Wedding stamp features vines that form the shape of a heart and was specially designed for mailing wedding invitations and RSVPs. Available June 27, it comes in both 2-ounce rate (58 cents) and 1-ounce rate (41 cents) denominations.
  • The Forever Stamp. The latest consumer innovation from the Postal Service is a stamp that will remain good for mailing 1-ounce First-Class Mail letters, now and in the future — regardless of price changes.
  • Celebrating is easy. No special trip to the store. No envelopes to lick. No postage to buy. Not even a trip to the Post Office or mailbox. Instead, you can keep in contact with loved ones, friends and family members and even customers with customized greeting cards, gift cards, postcards and letters created online at NetPost Print and Mail Services. You can personalize these with your own message for every occasion from spring to summer: graduations, bridal showers, weddings, anniversaries, thank-you notes and summer sales. Go to http://www.usps.com/netpost and click on Stay in Touch With Family and Friends.
  • Click-N-Ship. Skip the trip to the Post Office and have your graduation and wedding gifts, and your Father’s Day and Mother’s Day packages, picked up from your home when your carrier delivers your mail. Just go to www.usps.com, click on Shipping Tools, then click on Click-N-Ship. With a computer, a printer and Internet connection, you can print shipping labels with or without postage. Use Carrier Pickup online noti­fication to get free next-day pickup of Priority Mail and Express Mail.

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[Insert Date] [Insert Your Phone Number]

The Best Dressed Wedding Invitation: Top 10 Red Carpet Mailing Tips

Wedding stamps

The wedding season officially kicks off the weekend after Memorial Day and there is good news for couples-to-be and wedding planners. The cost of postage for a 2-ounce wedding invitation has been reduced from 63 cents to 58 cents. Postmaster [Insert First and Last Name] gives some tips and pointers for making sure that your wedding invitations — and associated save-the-date cards, response cards, wedding announcements and thank-you notes — get there on time and are all that you hoped for and more.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [Insert Your Name]
[Insert Date] [Insert Your Phone Number]

Star Wars Stamps Are the New Galactic Rage

Star Wars stamps

[Insert City, State] — Newly entering the galaxy are 15 Star Wars stamps destined to make greeting cards, letters and packages as unforgettable as the characters and intergalactic vehicles they feature. “I’m sure Star Wars fans will love to see one or more of the new Star Wars postage stamps on their graduation, Father’s Day, birthday and even wedding cards,” says [Insert City] Postmaster [Insert First and Last Name], “so we’ve stocked up our vaults and are ready to meet the demand.”

“Because of the popularity of the movies, many believe these stamps will reach the blockbuster status of the Elvis stamp,” says the [Insert City, State Abbreviation] Postmaster. “A sheet of the stamps — framed or otherwise — could make the perfect gift for young and old Jedi Masters.”

The new Star Wars sheet of stamps — on sale May 25 — feature Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo with Chewbacca, Princess Leia Organa with R2-D2, C-3PO, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Emperor Palpatine, stormtroopers, Boba Fett, the Millennium Falcon, an X-wing starfighter, Queen Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi with Anakin Skywalker, and Darth Maul.

Of the 15 stamp images, the Postal Service is inviting the public to vote on its favorite. To place your vote, go online at www.uspsjedimaster.com now through May 23. The winning stamp will be announced May 25 and honored with the issuance of a single stamp, which will be for sale later this summer.

The stamp sheet selvage includes the Star Wars logo and background images of a space battle, including a Star Destroyer, TIE fighters, X-wing starfighters and the second Death Star as shown under construction in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. The background also includes the light saber-wielding form of Darth Vader, whose helmet comprises the largest of the 15 stamps. The back of the souvenir sheet describes the dramatic roles that each featured character or vehicle plays in the Star Wars saga.

“It gets better — from now until Sept. 1, 2007, new prepaid Express Mail Flat Rate envelopes feature 30th anniversary Star Wars graphics — so even your urgent documents can speed across the planet,” adds [Insert Last Name].




Link to "Driving E85: Northland District leads in alternative fuel use"Link to contents for "Spring Into Summer Publicity Kit"      Link to "Spring Into Summer — Hold Mail and Premium Forwarding Services Employee Service Talk"