New delivery standards for Standard Mail will take effect on July 1, 2015. See below for details:
We have experienced slower than normal standard mail delivery locally and regionally. See details on what Houston mailers are experiencing and read our recommendations for the coming back to school and holiday seasons. Read More…
After three tries, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) finally approved the proposed prices and classifications for Standard Mail, Periodicals, and Package Services yesterday.
The new pricing and classification changes for all market-dominant mail classes and competitive products take effect on May 31, 2015. Below are the new rates:
Would you like a 2015 BEB POSTAL RATE CARD? These cards are double sided with nonprofit rates on one side, and for profit Standard & First-Class rates on the other. They also include handy dimension minimums/maximums and other mailing requirements. Printed on sturdy card stock and measuring at 9″ high X 8″ wide, these cards are excellent reference material and they are FREE! If you would like one mailed to you, click here.
We are excited to announce that the 2015 Marketing for Small Business Summer Seminars have been scheduled!
Our Basics class is an update of the wildly successful series we presented last year. The seminars cover Blogging (7/16/2015), Social Media (7/23/15), Two Mails: Direct Mail & Email (7/30/15), and Search Engine Optimization (8/6/15).
Guest lecturer Kathy Norris-Hall of the USPS, will conduct the Direct Mail portion of the Two Mails class. Kathy will review some new tools the postal service is using to help businesses determine the return using cross-channel marketing in conjunction with your direct mail campaigns. She’ll also review list options, a wide scope of vehicles to mail, tracking response rates, and how to use your direct mail to drive customers to your website.
Back by popular demand, our guest lecturers, Jeremiah Mohr and John Horrell of Siteboxpro will conduct the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) class. Siteboxpro is a leader in SEO and web marketing and will teach about the process of organically improving the visibility of your website in search engine results. They will review a breakdown of a search and show you ways to take advantage of local searches using free services such as Yelp or Google maps.
Our Angel Wiener is teaching the new and updated social media class. Angel will review the demographics of the most popular social media platforms to help you determine which is best suited for prospecting new business. She’ll review the basics of how to converse within each platform and how to identify results.
Also returning for another season is our Joy Zehrbach. Joy Z is 
conducting the Blogging and e-mail classes. She’ll review reasons why a company should blog and how blogging keeps your website content fresh. We discuss topics for content, where to find content and how to use back links to help your SEO.
The email classes review the minefields surrounding blasts and privacy regulations and how to study and maximize your email list.
Fall and Spring classes sold out, so if you’re interested in attending, register soon! See what previous attendees said about our classes.
Houston-What an amazing night! First off, BEB-Business Extension Bureau is the proud recipient of two Graphic Excellence Awards. We won an Award of Merit for our 2015 Interactive Calendars, and an Award of Excellence for our Enroll Gulf Coast Postcard for The City of Houston. The Enroll Gulf Coast Postcard won “Best Of” in the Direct Mail category too!
Tonight’s sell out crowd consisted of over 300 participants representing over 40 companies in the Houston area. The best of the best came out to celebrate the power and influence that print has in the marketing community today.
Angel Wiener
Our very own, Angel Wiener, was responsible for the marketing of the gala that included recording the event through pictures! She was/is also instrumental in getting the new Houston Print Media-Young Professionals group off the ground.
Edmond Rassi with Crown Embossing made the formal announcement to kick off the new group. Houston Print Media-YP will connect young professionals in the print and electronic communication industry and provide industry related opportunities in a fun and engaging atmosphere.
L-R: Joy Z, Diane Bandemer, and Anne Swanson
Our great partner, Anne Swanson, of Swanson Graphics and our own Diane Bandemer served as check in hostesses.
To round out the evening, our Joy Z co-hosted the event! Patty Eldridge (PIGC), Gaylyn Devine (TLS Graphics) and Jeff Birmingham (Alliance Graphics & Printing) rounded out the hosts. Of course, Bill Schieffer (PIGC), did a great job with the audio/visual.
BEB wins an Award of Excellence for our City of Houston’s Enroll Gulf Coast Postcard
Our Spring Seminar Series have come to a conclusion and once again, we are (so) pleased to share results of participant surveys. 100% of our attendees submitted surveys this round, and 100% rated the overall series as EXCELLENT! Summer classes are in the planning stages now.
Thank you to our wonderful participants for making this series so popular.
Two weeks ago the Postal Regulatory Commission sent the Postal Service’s rate and classification proposals for Periodicals, Standard Mail, and Package Services back for corrections and amendment. Last week the revised proposed rates were resubmitted, and for a second time, the PRC remanded the rate case stating the Postal Service has not complied fully with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Once the rate proposal is updated, the PRC will allow 7-days for public comment. In a statement released last week, the PRC also noted; “The Postal Service states that the revised prices are scheduled to go into effect on April 26, 2015. … Pursuant to [statute], no rate shall take effect until 45 days after the Postal Service files a notice specifying that rate.”
Our good friend and postal expert, Leo Raymond of Epicomm wrote; “Though I’m not a lawyer, that last sentence seems to sink the Postal Service’s plans for an April 26 implementation date — at least for Periodicals, Standard Mail, and Package Services. (The proposed rates and classification changes for First-Class Mail, and competitive products were approved earlier, and there’s no legal reason why implementation of those rates would have to be delayed, though implementing them separately would be a major headache for mailing companies and their software providers.)”
If the USPS HQ can update and resubmit by Monday, and allowing for the seven days for comment, add another few days for the PRC to deliberate, and assuming it doesn’t remand the filing a third time, it’s reasonable to not expect an order on final rates in April. This means that it is possible that the 45-day clock won’t start until the date of the PRC order putting rate implementation (for the three classes involved at least) into mid-May.
We’ll keep you posted as things unfold.
Washington, DC – Today the Postal Regulatory Commission returned proposed rate adjustments for Standard Mail, Periodicals, and Package Services classes to the Postal Service to allow for modifications that comply with applicable legal requirements. The rate increases are proposed to be implemented April 26, 2015.
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 provides for ratemaking flexibility and allows the Postal Service to adjust rates for Market Dominant products as long as the increase for each class of mail meets certain statutory and regulatory requirements, the most prominent of which is that such increases are kept under the rate of inflation, as determined by the Consumer Price Index.
A Commission review of the Postal Service’s proposal to adjust rates for Standard Mail, Periodicals, and Package Services found that:
• In Standard Mail, certain unequal commercial and nonprofit discounts, certain workshare discounts, and the Postal Service’s methodology for calculating certain billing determinants do not comply with applicable legal requirements.
• The Commission was unable to make statutorily required findings to determine price cap compliance due to incorrect adjusted billing determinants relating to the Postal Service’s new FSS prices for Periodicals bundles, sacks, and pallets.
• The Commission was unable to make statutorily required findings to determine price cap compliance for Package Services products due to incorrect adjusted billing determinants and incorrect price cap calculations.
The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has issued orders approving some of the price changes proposed earlier by the Postal Service. After its review of the USPS filing, discussion of the input from commenters, and its own analysis, the PRC found that “the planned” prices for First-Class Mail do not violate the price cap.
The PRC has also approved the price increase for competitive products (proposed on January 26), except for some rates associated with products whose transfer from “market dominant” to “competitive” remain under review.
Rate increases will take effect on April 26, 2015. You can view the new rates by clicking below:
If you currently hold a mailing permit number that is issued from the Downtown Houston Post Office, you will need to make some changes.
As closure of the Downtown Post Office completes, all permit numbers issued from there must be re-issued from the North Houston office.
To make the transition, you are required to re-apply (at no additional charge) for a North Houston permit number. However, North Houston may not be able to assign the same number you were given from the Downtown Post Office. If the number issued from Downtown is not currently taken by another mailer in North Houston, you will be assigned the same number. Otherwise, you will be issued a new number.
This process must be completed no later than June 15, 2015
Inventory of items already printed with the Houston permit information will be accepted throughout the balance of this year. If you currently use a permit with the verbiage “Houston”; when creating new inventory, you will need to use the verbiage, “N. Houston” going forward. A sample for your review is below.
You can see detailed standards for mailing permit verbiage by clicking here or you can contact the North Houston Post Office at 713-226-3032.
If you need additional information or assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us at 713-528-5568.
Platinum is the highest honor received within the AVA Digital Award annual competition. It recognizes outstanding achievement by creative professionals involved in the concept, direction, design and production of media that is part of the evolution of digital communication. Our winning entry was for the use of QR Codes in our annual company interactive calendars.
The competition this year received over 2,500 entries from across the globe. The AVA Digital Awards is sponsored and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). This international organization consists of several thousand production, marketing, advertising and free-lance professionals. We thank all of our valued clients and partners for continued opportunities to serve them!
You can see our winning entry by clicking here.