3 partnership ideas for the postal service
The United States Postal Service is getting a lot of attention these days and deservedly so. Delivering a whopping 660 million pieces of mail daily, including important prescription medicine to otherwise inaccessible rural areas and being a vital logistics partner in the transit and processing of our nation’s sacred voting system, the USPS is providing our country with an almost unthinkable reliability rate for the most vital of social and democratic needs.
In the world of corporate partnerships, the United States Postal Service has always been sort of an enigma. Why does a quasi-government agency (and let’s face it, no one really knows what that means) have to expend resources on marketing and advertising their services? I assume of course that the one-time dominant market position the agency enjoyed, dating all the way back to 1775, has increasingly been eroded over the years, most notably of course through free market competition from FedEx, UPS and most recently, Amazon, among others.
So, as share of the shipping business dwindled, the USPS began investing in creative corporate partnerships with the hopes of generating the type of brand affinity for their services much like that of a private company, purchasing the rights to put their logo in highly visible places, like NFL uniforms or by endorsing high profile athletes. The most famous USPS partnership was the decades-long sponsorship of a professional cycling team, led by superstar Lance Armstrong. But there were some others, including sponsorship of several major league sports teams from the NFL to MLB as well as major golf tournaments like The Masters. Did the tens of millions of dollars invested in this strategy pay-off? Maybe. Perhaps the most visible ad placement was the 144,000 Grumman diesel trucks driving around in every community each day (free of charge).
The sponsorship’s were always a brand marketing play which is a challenging metric to evaluate a rate of return. But there is no doubt, brand visibility was higher than ever.
So, after much scrutiny and inspector general’s investigations, the corporate partnership program at the Postal Service was dramatically reduced, leaving a void in their strategy and calling into question their marketing methods moving forward.
photo credit: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters
But what if the USPS brought back some creativity in corporate partnerships. And what if they were focused on social and environmental impact? Here are a few fun ideas to think about:
The Franklin Memorial
What more of a splash can you make than investing in the man himself, the very first postmaster general and a founder of the agency: Benjamin Franklin. It’s relevant, patriotic and like all museums and memorials during this time, in desperate need of support as foot-traffic and on-site sales are reduced to almost nothing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The USPS could fund virtual tours of the museum, zoom backgrounds or a creative fundraising drive (by mail) for $100 bills (Benjamins) going towards organizations devoted to STEM education.
Bald Eagles
It’s a designer’s dream to have their logo recognized so clearly and so frequently. And there is no mistaking the USPS logo, emblazoned with the most iconic of national symbols: The Bald Eagle. So, let’s connect the two in real life by creating a measurable investment by the USPS in the venerable Bald Eagle research project at Voyageurs National Park. Create opportunities for children to participate in the research, develop webcam nest viewings and co- branded bald eagle collateral for purchase in large retailers across the country with a percentage of the proceeds (or profits) going directly back to the national park friends group in support of the program.
Cross-Promotions
Electric Vehicles
One of the first partnerships that came to mind for the USPS was a way to replace the gas hogging, diesel trucks (all 144,000 of them) with electric vehicles through creative sponsorship. A quick search on the google machine led me to smart people who have already researched this. It’s such a no-brainer, let’s get this one done, it’s a win-win for the USPS, the people, the planet and the manufacturer (whoever that might end up being).
Wearable Fitness Technology
Similarly, I couldn’t help but think of the postal delivery workers themselves. Of course technology and vehicles have made their jobs more efficient but the visuals of the workers on foot, delivering mail in the sweltering heat, the freezing sleet, snow and rain, is still a very real thing to me. Let’s harness all these “steps” that are being taken and encourage our increasingly inactive youth to be move more, to be like the mail workers, and to partner with a wearable tech company to track these miles and this activity, perhaps creating a national dashboard or charity per mile concept to highlight not only their tireless service but encouraging a more healthy citizen.
The situation with the USPS is serious. I urge you to research how this impacts you, your business and your community. For information on how to help now, here is a handy list.
If you have some interesting and fun partnership ideas like the one’s I offer above I’d love to hear them. Comment below or send an email.
TWIB Notes:
Science and ethics will collide early next year when genetically engineered mosquitos will be released in Florida. Its an effort to limit the amount of disease spreading bugs. It’s 2020 and I’m here for less mosquitos. What could go wrong?
Chipotle Mexican Grille announces new initiative that uses discarded avocados to create sustainable fashion. The recently launched ecomm site ChipotleGoods.com will feature upcycled and responsibly sourced apparel.
Want to be a corporate partner of COP26? If you are a big polluter they say, “not so fast” as they evaluate new corporate partners for the next meeting of the global climate change conference in Glasgow next year.
This week in art inspired by nature:
32c "Cliffs of Green River" stamp United States Postal Service 1998
For more information on how corporate partners support public lands, or to see how your company can get involved, please reach out.