Royal Mail has announced plans to apply a new mark to the mail it delivers.
From mid-September all machineable mail will feature the mark ‘Delivered by Royal Mail’ on the envelope.
This proposal raises a number of concerns since it will be printed in an area that Royal Mail customers use for their logos and messages creating problems with the existing creative treatments and design of envelopes.
The proposed positioning of the mark also appears to conflict with existing Royal Mail specifications such as where to print return addresses and Advanced Cleanmail.
The lack of consultation and advance warning means that Royal Mail customers will have less than two months to comply with this change and many could be left holding stocks of pre-printed envelopes that won’t comply with the new requirements.
There has been no consultation about the impact and not enough notice of a change to specification, which has left the business community understandably shaken.
Head of postal and environmental affairs at the DMA, Alex Walsh says: “We’re disappointed that Royal Mail has chosen not to consult the industry ahead of this announcement to understand the problems this would cause its business customers.
“It is already causing a lot of concern within the direct marketing industry and we are consulting with the regulator, other trade associations and postal user groups to decide on the next course of action.”
Alex is also concerned about the effect on future mailings. “This is different to previous changes that have been introduced for operational reasons. If this is not challenged, then it could set a dangerous precedent where Royal Mail can overprint envelopes with whatever they choose.”
No comments:
Post a Comment