[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 78 (Friday, April 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22739-22740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9819]
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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. MT2011-4; Order No. 717]
Postal Service Market Test
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a recently-filed Postal Service
proposal to conduct a limited market test involving a postage-refund
guarantee for certain senders of First-Class Mail and Standard Mail.
This document describes the proposed test, addresses procedural aspects
of the filing, and invites public comment.
DATES: Comment deadline: April 29, 2011; reply comment deadline: May 6,
2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing
Online system at http://www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit comments
electronically should contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section by telephone for advice on filing
alternatives.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
202-789-6820 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background. On April 15, 2011, the Postal Service filed a Notice,
pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3641, announcing its intent to conduct a test of
an experimental market dominant product identified as Mail Works
Guarantee.\1\ The Postal Service asserts that the test offers the
potential for it to tap a greater share of advertising media
expenditures, while offering participating mailers the possibility of
postage refunds if qualifying advertising campaigns (consisting of
First-Class or Standard Mail) are not successful. Id. at 1.
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\1\ Notice of the United States Postal Service of Market Test of
Experimental Product--Mail Works Guarantee, April 15, 2011 (Notice).
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Terms duration. The test will initially be offered to 16 companies
who spend at least $250 million annually on advertising, but do not
include mail as a large part of their advertising mix.\2\ Id. at 1. The
test may be expanded to include more mailers. Id. at 7. The Postal
Service and each participant will jointly develop a set of unique
metrics for purposes of evaluating the success of a test Direct Mail
campaign, along with a mutually agreed upon percentage increase in the
unique metric that will serve as the basis for determining a campaign's
success. Id. at 2. Each participant will be expected to mail a minimum
of 500,000 pieces up to a maximum of 1 million pieces of First-Class
Mail or Standard Mail. Id. The test will begin on or shortly after May
16, 2011 and continue for up to 2 years. Id. at 6.
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\2\ Among the group of companies that spend $250 million
annually on advertising, postage represents less than 0.36 percent
of total advertising spending.
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Refunds. In the event a campaign does not meet established metrics,
as verified by a Postal Service representative, the Postal Service will
provide a refund of postage paid during the market test, up to a total
of $250,000, in the form of a credit to the appropriate Centralized
Account Payment System account. Production and printing costs for the
campaign are not refundable. Id. at 2-3.
Consistency with statutory criteria. The Notice addresses why the
Postal Service believes the market test satisfies the section 3461
criteria for market tests, including why it is a significantly
different product and is unlikely to cause disruption within the
advertising mail market. Id. at 3-5. It also discusses why the Postal
Service believes the test complies with 39 U.S.C. 403, which prohibits
undue discrimination against (or an undue preference for) any mailer
and is correctly characterized as a market dominant product. Id. at 5.
Volume and revenue; data collection. Exact volumes and revenues for
Mail Works Guarantee will depend on customer participation and the
amount of mail each customer enters under the test. At a maximum, the
Postal Service anticipates that the test, as currently structured, can
generate no more than 16 million new pieces and therefore no more than
$10,000,000 in any fiscal year. Id. at 6. The Postal Service has
prepared a data collection plan and says it can report the results to
the Commission upon request. Id.
Docket information. The Commission establishes Docket No. MT2011-4
for consideration of matters this Notice raises. It encourages
interested persons to review the Notice for additional details. It also
invites interested persons to submit comments on whether the Postal
Service's filing in the captioned docket is consistent with the
policies of 39 U.S.C. 3641. Comments are due no later than April 29,
2011. Reply comments are due no later than May 6, 2011. The filing can
be accessed via the Commission's Web site (http://
[[Page 22740]]
www.prc.gov). The Commission encourages interested persons to review
the Notice in its entirety.
The Commission appoints Kenneth E. Richardson to serve as Public
Representative in this docket.
It is ordered:
1. The Commission establishes Docket No. MT2011-4 for consideration
of the matters raised in this Notice.
2. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Kenneth E. Richardson is appointed to
serve as officer of the Commission (Public Representative) to represent
the interests of the general public in this proceeding.
3. Comments by interested persons are due no later than April 29,
2011.
4. Reply comments are due no later than May 6, 2011.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this order in the
Federal Register.
By the Commission.
Ruth Ann Abrams,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-9819 Filed 4-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P