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Open for Business Incentive

Open for Business Incentive - Socially Distanced Office

A New Incentive to Support UK Businesses

Royal Mail has launched a new scheme to help those businesses and sectors hardest hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. Designed for unprecedented circumstances, it launches this month and will run until the end of December 2020.

The Open for Business incentive offers reduced postage rates to eligible businesses, including:

  • Charities requesting donations;
  • Retailers forced to close that want to direct consumers to their website for online sales;
  • Any mailing from a magazine publisher or newspaper promoting direct-to-home subscriptions;
  • Brands in the ‘away from home’ entertainment sector to promote future or rescheduled activity, such as cinemas, theatres and festivals and restaurants;
  • Any mailing from a brand to vulnerable customers to support their physical or mental well-being.

The entry-level has also been set low at just 20,000 mailing volume to ensure as many businesses can benefit. Full terms and conditions apply.

Why mail, why now?

Mail enjoys high engagement rates across all sectors and is proven to drive action.  In fact, 33% of recipients take some form of commercial action after receiving it (Source: JICMAIL Q2 2017 – Q1 2019, Business Mail & Advertising Mail). This makes mail a prime channel for communicating effectively with your audience in their homes at this time.

People act on the mail that they receive from all sectors;

Source: JICMAIL Q2 2017 – Q1 2019, Business Mail & Advertising Mail

Is your business eligible?

Here are some examples of sectors this offer will be available to. Please Contact Us for the full list.

  • Any retailer that has been forced to close its doors and wants to use mail to encourage consumers to shop online with them or promote home delivery
  • Any charity that is fundraising
  • Any brand using mail to replace channels that currently can’t reach their core audience, such as out-of-home and cinema
  • Any publisher using mail to promote subscriptions
  • Any travel or tourism business wishing to promote future sales
  • Any brand in the ‘away from home’ entertainment sector to promote activity when it is rescheduled, such as cinema, theatre or festival events
  • Any brand that is writing to vulnerable customers to support their physical or mental well-being
  • Any brand sending a message to reassure or thank customers in light of the impact of the pandemic

Whatever the brand message, mail can help to deliver it with impact

Open for Business incentive: qualification criteria

  • Mailing items must be sent as Advertising Mail, Partially Addressed Mail or Sustainable/Responsible Mail
  • They must be sent using MailMark or an Access 1400 service/manual letter service if Unwrapped or Polywrapped
  • Items must be posted in trays
  • Volumes must be 20,000 or above and no more than 1 million
  • Postage credits will be awarded at the end of the incentive period

Key dates

  • Scheme Starts:                 6 May 2020
  • Application Deadline:     11 December 2020
  • Valid Mailing Dates:        20 May-31 December 2020

Next steps

To see if the scheme is right for your business, please speak to your Account Manager or Contact Us.

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