Your Catalog Advocate!    
 
   
Contact:
Paul Miller
914-669-8391
pmiller@catalogmailers.com

ACMA Journal, Feb. 9, 2010

Register Now For ACMA’s National Catalog Forum
Top of mind for me right now is getting word out on the American Catalog Mailers Association’s National Catalog Forum in Nashville, April 13-15. Online registration is now up on the our website; simply click here to go right to the form, or go to www.CatalogMailers.org where you'll find the registration link toward the top of the home page.
 
This is going to be a helluva conference; if your business relies on catalogs in any way, shape or form, you’d be crazy to miss it. We’re in the process of gathering the speakers, and I can tell you there’ll be a lot of people you’ll not only want to see and hear, but also to meet and get to know. In addition to a number of C-level peers, several key USPS and Postal Regulatory Commission executives will be on hand. I offer you four words for when you meet them in Nashville: Tell-Them-Your-Story! They need to hear directly from key mailers like you, and ACMA’s National Catalog Forum is the ideal place.
 
With your paid admission to the ACMA Forum, you’ll also gain full access to the National Postal Forum while our forum is going on. Both take place at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center in Music City USA. If you want to continue mailing catalogs profitably in the future, you won’t want to miss either event.
 
Don’t Get Caught Off-Guard
Next, among the many other reasons catalogers and their vendors should join ACMA is to gain access to the “members only” portion of our website. There, we share many pointers and crucial alerts about catalog mailing rates, rules, regulations, and other key matters that nonmembers don’t have access to.  And don’t worry, we e-blast all such alerts to members so you don’t have to keep checking all the time to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
 
To give you an example of this benefit, one nonmember recently contacted me complaining that his/her company had run into some problems in filing the necessary paper work for last year’s postal “Summer Sale.” Long story short: This company’s having trouble collecting the appropriate credit for the discounted postage even though it followed all the rules.
 
Last year, ACMA not only gave all members alerts on the progress of the Summer Sale, but it also provided members specific instructions on how to file the necessary forms, how to determine whether they qualified and the many other specifics the USPS required.
 
The problem this particular mailer had was there was a disconnect between them and the USPS somewhere along the way. We went to bat for them (they’ve since joined ACMA) and hopefully things will be resolved. But our existing members who were able to qualify for the summer sale discounts were all well prepared ahead of time. As the saying goes, membership has its privileges. Bottom line: ACMA members were better prepared, fully informed and had another problem-solving channel to go to.
 
With that in mind, starting with this edition, which has widespread email distribution to both members and nonmembers, most Journal entries will contain a link to information that only members will be able to access. The link will take you to our website where you can log in and follow along to the Members Only page for exclusive alerts and tips. Members, you can find a link at the end of this edition.
 
What’s Going On That Affects You
Our president & executive director Hamilton Davison attended PostCom’s Leadership Summit on Jan. 28 in Washington. Given the state of the USPS and mail volumes, it is clear that the broader mailing industry has much to gain from being able to have a concerted voice to Washington. There, this diverse group of reps from assorted mailing concerns came up with the top priorities their constituents want to see explored with the USPS.

These include retiree healthcare payments and concerns and recent studies indicating findings that the USPS is overpaying into federal healthcare benefit obligations while not being given proper credit; the issue of five-day postal delivery to slide some $2 billion to $3 billion off postal costs, but with a wide number of associated implications; the issue of the USPS’s traditional focus on operational efficiencies as opposed to marketing and volume growth; and future postal pricing reform and the USPS following up on initiatives it has yet to come through on.

Member Exclusives
If you’re a member, click here for exclusive insider updates on postal rate incentives and the latest on a 2010 “Summer Sale.” (You'll need to sign in first to view them.)

Looking Ahead…
Next week, Hamilton, myself and a contingent of ACMA members will be touring several postal facilities in suburban D.C. used for processing catalogs. We’ll also be meeting with Deputy Postmaster General Pat Donahoe about what drives flats processing costs. We’ll then be taking part in the quarterly Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meetings in Washington.

As always, we’ll have our nose to the ground on the key issues that impact catalog mail and I’ll report on these in my next journal. But again, some details will be accessible by members only, so why don't you join ACMA today!
 
Best,
Paul Miller
Vice President & Deputy Director
American Catalog Mailers Association
pmiller@catalogmailers.org
914-669-8391
                                                                        # # #
 
About the American Catalog Mailers Association:
ACMA is a Washington-based not-for-profit organization specifically created to advocate for the unique collective interests of catalog mailers in regulatory, public and administrative matters where the shared impact transcends individual company interests. ACMA participates in rulemaking and other proceedings of significance where a single collective voice increases influence and effectiveness. Membership is open to any party with significant interests in the catalog industry. More information can be found at www.catalogmailers.org.
 
Contacts:
Paul Miller, vice president & deputy director, 914-669-8391, pmiller@catalogmailers.org
Hamilton Davison, president & executive director, 800-509-9514, hdavison@catalogmailers.org