[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