Royal Mail to introduce mark on DM in new year

Royal Mail is to press ahead with its controversial plans to introduce a “delivered by…” mark on direct mail but is set to concede ground to the industry by using already reserved space on envelopes.

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It is thought that the postal operator will give the industry three months notice ahead of a new year launch that could see the “delivered by…” mark included on the area in the top right hand corner of the envelope that is already used by Royal Mail. Proximity London has worked on the plans.

Chief executive Moya Greene is said to be determined to have some recognition of Royal Mail staff included on DM but the organisation is willing to offer a compromise after meeting with industry representatives.

A spokesman for the Royal Mail was keen to stress that no final decision or date had been set.

He adds: “We have been talking to a number of customers and trade associations about our plans and timescales to start printing ’Delivered by Royal Mail’ on the majority of UK letters sorted by our machines. We will be considering this feedback when developing an implementation plan.”

Plans to include a new mark on the top centre of addressed machine-sorted direct mail were put on hold in July after Royal Mail was inundated with complaints from direct marketers concerned that the change would reduce response rates from DM packs.

The Direct Marketing Association made a formal complaint about the change, and the lack of any consultation, to the postal operator Postcomm. Comments left on MarketingWeek.co.uk when the plan was unveiled accused Royal Mail of “effectively hijacking our mail pack to promote their services”, another senior direct marketer told Marketing Week that the move added “little or no value to the mailing process and will adversely affect any creative options, and potentially response rates from Direct Mail packs”.

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