2016 February by Douglas Fry

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SAPAToday Advancing the free paper industry by providing resources for success and venues for sharing ideas.

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE FREE PAPER INDUSTRY

Board of Directors The leadership of SAPA is in good hands. The board of directors, director, and assistant are listed with contact information. Page 3

A Few Words About Buying Signals John Foust teaches us that you can tell quite a bit about what the customer wants to do simply by watching them. Page 3

USPS Update Donna Hanbery of the Saturation Mailers Coalition peers into the future to determine what we can expect from the USPS in 2016. Page 10

FEBRUARY 2016

Graphics Series Ellen Hanrahan, our resident graphics guru, demonstrates some great comparitive ideas for upcoming Valentine’s Day. Page 4

Tech Doesn’t Make Up For Poor Salesmanship Bob Berting, Mr. Community Paper, illustrates that a personal touch is better than tech. Page 3

Work Positively Dr. Joey Faucette has written a great article on some of the leadership principles learned from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Page 5

10 Mistakes Smart People Don’t Make Twice SMART PEOPLE EMBRACE MISTAKES FOR WHAT THEY ARE -- GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN. by Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Everybody makes mistakes -- that’s a given -- but not everyone learns from them. Some people make the same mistakes over and over again, fail to make any real progress, and can’t figure out why.

“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” --Bruce Lee When we make mistakes, it can be hard to admit to because doing so feels like an attack on our self-worth. This tendency poses a huge problem because new research proves something that commonsense has told us for a very long time -- fully acknowledging and embracing errors is the only way to avoid repeating them.

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Yet, many of us still struggle with this. Researchers from the Clinical Psychophysiology Lab at Michigan State University found that people fall into one of two camps when it comes to mistakes: those who have a fixed mind-set (“Forget this; I’ll never be good at it”) and those who have a growth mind-set (“What a wake-up call! Let’s see what I did wrong so I won’t do it again”). “By paying attention to mistakes, we

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President Will Thomas Exchange, Inc. Fayetteville, TN 931-433-9737

Vice President Mike Marlow Rutherford Weekly Forest City, NC 828-248-1408

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Treasurer Todd Godbey Livin’ Out Loud Magazine Wilmington, NC 910-338-1205

Secretary Jonathan McElvy McElvy Media Charlotte, NC 713-686-8494

Board Member Russell Quattlebaum Southeast Sun Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Board Member Kathy Crumpton Piedmont Shopper Danville VA 434-822-1800

Past President Tony Onellion Bargains Plus Slidell, LA 985-649-9515

Past President Caroline Quattlebaum Southeast Sun Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Executive Director Douglas Fry SAPA Headquarters Columbia, TN 931-223-5708

Administrative Assistant Vickie Belden SAPA Headquarters Columbia, TN 931-223-5708

Leadership If you are interested in serving on the SAPA board please give our president, Will Thomas a call at 931-433-9737. Service in our industry is fulfilling, enjoyable and gives you sense of accomplishment. Besides that you give back to the industry that enjoy. SAPA works hard to keep you informed and up-to-date on the latest advances and trends in publishing. We’d love to talk with you about how you can give back.

A Few Words About Buying Signals by John Foust, Raleigh, NC

of my life to that point. And I was intrigued by the girl whose family had just moved from that exotic place.

In my senior year of high school, I met the new girl in town on the first day of school. Louisville, Kentucky seemed like a world away from Greensboro, North Carolina, where I had spent all

We chatted several times between classes. Although her favorite topic was her boyfriend in Louisville, my teenage brain missed the significance of that information, because Louisville seemed

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a million miles away. After turning me down a number of times, she finally agreed to go to a movie. As we walked to the theater, she stopped in front of a wedding shop, and “oohed” and “aahed” over the wedding gowns in the window, saying she was looking forward to marrying her boyfriend. continued on page 3

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That’s when I realized I didn’t have a chance. She couldn’t have been more obvious if she had said, “John, here’s a clue you can’t miss. I’m not interested in you. In fact, I’m planning to elope tomorrow.”

Shop Incident. And there are positive signals. Some are more definite than others. Let’s take a closer look:

Things turned out for the best. I don’t know if she ended up marrying the boyfriend back in Louisville, but I eventually met the real woman of my dreams, to whom I am happily married.

- Nods frequently, agreeing with the points you are making.

1. Non-verbal signals. Your prospect may be prepared to move to the next step in the sales process if he or she...

- Leans forward with an increasingly pleasant expression.

Buying signals. If we pay attention, they - Holds his or her pen near the advertiswill show us where we stand in the selling agreement, as if ready to sign. ing process. There are negative signals, - Smiles while re-examining your sales like unmistakable “no” of the Wedding materials, especially any suggested ads

you are presenting. - Maintains good eye contact, and is not distracted by a cell phone, email, or non-related items on the desk. - Takes possession of the ads you are presenting, by positioning them on his or her side of the desk. - Calls for an associate to step into the room to hear your ideas. 2. Verbal signals. A number of prospects won’t say, “I’m sold. Where do I sign?” But they will say other things that show they’re ready to make a commitment. Be ready to move quickly, if he or she... - Asks about the agreement.

Tech Doesn’t make up for Poor Salesmanship By Bob Berting, Berting Communications

contact:

In today’s print media trade publications, the pages are hot with articles about new technology. Everyone is racing to out-do each other with the latest technological gimmicks. But in this business world that’s changing rapidly, there is still the overwhelming need for advertising salespeople who are innovators and problem solvers. The publication salesperson who can project creative ideas and breakthrough thinking is still in great demand.

1. At all times, project self-confidence and constant self-assurance.

HANDLING THE PROSPECTIVE ADVERTISER NEEDS Here are guidelines that are used by this writer to coach advertising salespeople on the firing line of prospect

- Asks about your billing procedures. - Requests clarification of earlier sales point. For instance, “Tell me again how you can reach my target audience.” - Requests a change in the ad copy you are presenting. - Indicates a willingness to close, by asking, “What’s the next step?”

2. Tell the prospect you have a plan that is based on their needs. Never hesitate to ask about their budget—advertising agencies do.

- Stops referring to THE ads and starts referring to MY ads. This is one of the strongest buying signals of all, because it shows that he or she already owns what you are selling.

WHAT WORKS WITH PROSPECT COMMUNICATION: 1. Stress this dialogue: “We want to tell the story of your business, but we can’t tell the story of your business all in one ad. We can build an ad campaign if we know the reasons why people come to you and what benefits they continued on page 6

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- Asks when the ad campaign can start.

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John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: john@johnfoust.com

"The Nation's Fun, Family Newspaper!" www.kidsvillenews.com/cumberland P.O. Box 53790 Fayetteville, NC 28305 Cell: 910-391-3859 ph: 910.222.6200 fax: 910.222.6199 bbowman@kidsvillenews.com

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Bill Bowman President

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SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO FIND IDEAS FOR ADVERTISING… AND SOMETIMES IT’S EASY—ESPECIALLY WITH A HOLIDAY! BUT TOO MANY IDEAS CAN ALSO PRESENT A PROBLEM, SO LET’S…

Compare

Ugh! Winter… and I’m still not used to it. But this article is for February and it’s a step in the right direction… and one month closer to Spring! 1

Happy Valentine’s Day

… and President’s Day, too!

Love is in the Air

February is all about hearts and valentines. I know, President’s Day is also in this month, but I like working with hearts (lots of hearts) and cupids. Bitter cold… followed by love I love you more and Valentine’s Day! Over the than words can years, our publications published a lot of personal ads for Valentine’s describe. Day… which we usually ran with Happy our Crazy Cupid promotion. We always had a great response and Valentine’s Day it was nice to give out Valentine Love always, Debbie prizes to our readers as well. But I digress, so back to the personal Valentine Ads. This is an opportunity for graphic/production designers to have more freedom and flexibility in creating the ads. The top ad was from a long time ago, more then ten years. It was so long ago, that it was done in QuarkXPress, and drop shadows were separate Photoshop files! It took me almost forty-five minutes to recreate and update this ad! So where’s that magic button when you need it! (I have a new iMac with a “Magic Mouse”— and their idea of “magic” is far different then mine!) However, since this was the basis for the other ads, it had to be done!

n a i r B 2

n a ri B 3

Brian 4

I love you more than words can describe. Happy Valentine’s Day Love always, Debbie

Brian

I love you more than words can describe. Happy Valentine’s Day Love always, Debbie

One Ad—Many Looks

The 2x2 ad (or business card size) is a staple in our publications. The original ad had a simple heart graphic and the typeface for all was ITC Legacy Serif Bold Italic. Not too bad, but here are ways that we can create a little more impact. In ad #2, the background was screened slightly, the border was thicker (12 points) with rounded corners to repeat the round shape of the heart. Various effects on the heart itself (smooth emboss along with the drop shadow and opacity change), Candy Script typeface for “Brian,” along with an outline and drop shadow to give his name a little more emphasis. I also chose House Industries Ed Brush for the message and moved it away from the heart to let the artwork stand for itself.

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In ad #3, I used the same typeface as Ad #2, but decided to really use contrast! I swapped out the heart outline for something that had more substance. Brian’s name was straightened and the point size was enlarged, but other than that the text remains the same for the sentiment. I have created the ads in black and white because the personal ad price is based on our standard ad. Color would be additional, and any of these ads would also work if they had color (I’m guessing red would be a good choice here). The people who placed the ads were not concerned about the color, so to be fair, I am presenting ideas in black and white as well. Our final ad, Ad #4, still uses the same typeface as the previous two. I did however, reduce the text from Debbie, by two points. My intention is to show similar samples, changing the look of an ad by changing artwork, text positioning and/or use of contrast changes. It’s very hard to compare an ad, or anything else for that matter, when there are major alterations or changes in the look of the advertising. By getting others to see that little changes can have a great impact on the ad helps them to understand a little bit better why these details become important.

Plan the Artwork

It’s OK to leave breathing room, or white space, around the artwork to make it stand out even more. I chose the placement of the art that contains the name to the left side. If you place it on the right side, the artwork has to tilt in the opposite direction (along with the name). Contrast can be a powerful element in an ad. Since newsprint is not a bright white, use the black/white contrast to your advantage. Ads look different in print than they do on your monitor. If the ad looks weak on the screen, it’s not going to look better in print. If your ad is striking in black and white, it will be effective in color. Use discretion, too much color can overwhelm the content.

Collect an Idea File

When you see an ad that strikes you, save it to a file. It can be an electronic or a paper file— just have it available for viewing when you are explaining the fundamentals of design to nondesigners. I know I’ve talked about this before, but It really works! These ideas and techniques can be used in any number of ads. The more “ideas” you can see, the easier it becomes to take information and have an idea of how you will present it. “Before” and “after” ads that I’ve done have helped me remember my basics as well. So, if you have any “before” ads that you would like to share— send them to me so I can share the love (and fixes)!

Until next month…

I welcome your input and suggestions. I was a high school art teacher, but entered the free paper publishing business in the 80s. I write articles for The Independent Publisher, and I’m still learning. E-mail: hanrahan.ln@att.net Ellen Hanrahan ©2016

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Work Positive 3 STRATEGIES TO LEAD IN ADVERSITY LIKE DR. KING Our attention in January in the U.S. focused on celebrating the life and accomplishments of noted civil rights leader, Dr. M.L. King, Jr. Dr. King positively led a movement in the midst of much adversity. What can you learn from him about how you can positively lead in business while experiencing adversity? Dr. King’s example gives us these 3 strategies to lead in adversity: EXPECT ADVERSITY Adversity is the companion of rapid change. Dr. King understood that in order to create social change, he would encounter adversity. He anticipated few if any positive receptions where he shared his message. And yet he stayed steadfastly focused on the vision of his dream, filtering out the negative adversity along the way. Expect the negative world to respond with adversity as you positively lead your business to adapt to change and fulfill its vision. Whether you’re manu-

facturing, selling, or insuring widgets, anticipate adversity—obstacles, barriers, negative-speak. Adversity happens to us all. Expect it.

assassination.

Perseverance is a hallmark of positive leaders. In ENGAGE ADVERSITY business, you open Like all of us, Dr. King encountered the doors another our classic, human response to adver- day regardless. You sity: fight or flight. And yet he chose make one more neither, opting instead for meaningful sales call. You do conversations. He engaged the adver- what others consider impossible. sity and asked, “What can I learn?” As you encounter adversity, avoid re- Such endurance leaves a legacy. The turning it or running from it. You’ll change is effective, not just in your just be bloody and breathless. Instead, lifetime, but in your children’s and grandchildren’s. Your business prosimply ask: “What can I learn?” vides jobs for other families. You leave Your customers and clients will tell them financial security or hope or a you everything you need to know to myriad of positive attributes that will sell them…if you’re listening. Your inspire them to positively lead in ademployees and team members have versity when their time comes. the solutions to those problems…if you’re listening. Your supplier or ven- Expect adversity as everyone encoundor knows best practices others like ters it. you are implementing…if you’re lis- Engage adversity asking, “What can I tening. learn?” Increasing sales with greater produc- Endure adversity and leave a legacy tivity comes from engaging adversity of positive leadership like Dr. King as in a position of, “What can I learn?” you Work Positive in a negative world. coupled with active listening. ENDURE ADVERSITY There were many nights when Dr. King wanted to give up, especially with constant death threats. Yet he endured the adversity and fulfills his dream a little more daily, even decades later after his

JB Multimedia, Inc. P.O. Box 704 N. Bellmore, NY 11710 888.592.3212 phone/fax www.jbmultimedia.net

M a k i n g p u b l i c a t i o n s i n t e r a c t i v e.

Justin Gerena, President, Director of Sales p: 888.592.3212 x710 e: justin@jbmultimedia.net

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Technology in Sales continued from page 3

can receive by shopping with you. We will take those reasons and build an ad campaign around them with a different reason in each ad that actually will become the heading of each ad.” This approach is very effective and makes a lot of sense to the prospect. 2. Next the prospect needs to understand that the reality of a good ad campaign is that it will be like a rolling snowball, gradually picking up more readers with a repetitive, consistent approach. 3. The critical point of the communication is to quickly ascertain if there are any objections to an advertising proposal. The ad salesperson now wants to know if the prospect believes and trusts the publication and pointedly asks if there are any objections that need to be discussed which would keep the customer from starting a long range program.

rating, etc. BOTTOM LINE—WE WANT YOUR BUSINESS Finally, the ad salesperson has to emphasize that his or her publication wants their business and to give enough reasons to show the prospect that their advertising program with the publication will be handled in a custom-designed, creative way. All the slick technology in the world will not sell prospects if they don’t like you…and don’t believe what you say. They want to know if they can absolutely trust you and have faith in your publication.

Bob Berting is a professional speaker, advertising sales trainer and publisher marketing consultant who has conducted over 1500 live seminars, tele-seminars and webinars for newspaper sales staffs, their customers, and print media associations in the U.S. and Canada. His newest offer for the newspaper industry is a package of his two e-books “ Dynamic Advertising Sales and Image Power’ and “Advanced Selling Skills For The Advertising Sales Pro”. Both books can be ordered on his website www.bobberting.com individually for 19.95 or both for 35.00. Contact Bob at bob@bobberting.com or 800-5365408. He is located at 6330 Woburn Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46250.

4. After covering any objections, the salesperson now begins a stronger role as an advertising counselor and proceeds to show the many ways how the prospect can utilize the publication services: • Print/digital package. How effective the combination can be and how the power of combined readership can help the prospect to achieve their new business goals. • Pre-print insert service. One of the great ways to get promotional impact. In most cases, a zoned insert approach can be extremely effective in targeting specific geographical areas. • Special promotions. Area promotions: small towns, business communities, and shopping centers. Subject promotions: dining, bridal, building and home improvement, home deco-

Will the Internet kill your free community paper? Did instant potatoes kill potatoes? New technologies change many things. But not everything. You may tweet, blog, surf, shop, or search online but you continue to read your free community paper. You just proved it. Readership of free community papers is now higher than paid daily papers and continues to grow. Rather than being replaced by “instant” media, your local free community paper has become an important part of our neighborhood. The reason, which sometimes is not heard

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because of all the noise about the Internet, is pretty obvious: your free community paper does what the Internet doesn’t. We promote connections at a local level. Free papers join readers and advertisers in ways digital media don’t. In fact, the local content and power of your free paper makes advertising even more effective. We are the number one medium for driving purchases. That’s important in every product category. Including potatoes.

Free Papers Working For You

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Conference Schedules SAPA LEADERSHIP RETREAT The SAPA board of directors has chosen to host a Leadership Summit on March 4 & 5, 2016 in Altanta, Georgia.

We have located a fabulous property to host our Retreat, LeMeridien Hotel. N E Wa S P look A P E R P R online I N T I N G C O Mand P A N Y you will want Take to attend just to stay in this amazing hotel.

We will start the Leadership Summit with a get together on Friday evening, March 4, 2016. Dennis Wade, renowned publisher, trainer and presenter, will lead the discussion on Saturday morning. Doug Fabian, president of IFPA, will take us through the afternoon. You should have received the second brochure by now.

Doug Schwenk A c c o u n t E xe c u t i ve NEWSPAPER PRINTING COMPANY

5 2 1 0 S O U T H LO I S AV E N U E / TA M PA , F LO R I DA 3 3 6 1 1 (813) 902-1196 / CELL (561) 239-2495 P ro d u c t i o n : ( 8 1 3 ) 8 3 9 - 0 0 3 5 / FA X : ( 8 1 3 ) 8 3 9 - 7 2 9 5 E M A I L : d o u g s @ N P C p r i n t i n g. c o m w w w. N P C p r i n t i n g. c o m

Mistakes

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NEWSPAPER PRINTING COMPANY

invest more time and effort to correct Here are 10 mistakes almost all of us them,” says study author Jason Moser. make, but smart people make only “The result is that you make the mis- once. take work for you.” 1. BELIEVING IN SOMEONE OR Those with a growth mind-set land on SOMETHING THAT’S TOO GOOD NEWSPAPER PRINTING COMPANY TO BE TRUE. their feet because they acknowledge their mistakes and use them to get bet- Some people are so charismatic and ter. Those with a fixed mind-set are so confident that it can be tempting to bound to repeat their mistakes because follow anything they say. They speak they try their best to ignore them. endlessly of how successful their busiSmart, successful people are by no nesses are, how well liked they are, means immune to making mistakes; who they know, and how many opthey simply have the tools in place to portunities they can offer you. While learn from their errors. In other words, we know that some people really are they recognize the roots of their mix- successful and really want to help you, ups quickly and never make the same smart people need to be tricked only once before they start to think twice mistake twice. “When you repeat a mistake, it is not a about a deal that sounds too good to be true. The results of naiveté and a lack mistake anymore: it is a decision.” of due diligence can be catastrophic. --Paulo Coelho Smart people ask serious questions beSome mistakes are so tempting that we fore getting involved because they reall make them at one point or another. alize no one, themselves included, are Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708

as good as they look. 2. DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT. Albert Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Yet there are a lot of people who seem certain that two plus two will eventually equal five. Smart people, on the other hand, need experience this frustration only once. The fact is simple: if you keep the same approach, you’ll keep getting the same results, no matter how much you hope for the opposite. Smart people know that if they want a different result, they need to change their approach, even when it’s painful to do so. 3. FAILING TO DELAY GRATIFICATION. We live in a world where books instantly appear on our e-readers, news travels far and wide, and just about anything can show up at our doorsteps in as little as a day. Smart people know that true gratification doesn’t come quickly and that real rewards are built on hard work. They also know how to use this as motivation to get them through every step of the arduous process that leads to success because they’ve felt the pain and disappointment that come with selling themselves short. 4. OPERATING WITHOUT A BUDGET. You can’t experience financial freedom until you operate under the constraint of a budget. Sticking to a budget, personally and professionally, forces us to make thoughtful choices about what we want and need. Smart people have to face that insurmountable pile of bills only once before getting their act together, starting with a thorough reckoning as to where their money is going. They realize that once you understand

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10 Mistakes Smart People Don’t Make Twice continued from page 7 how much you’re spending and what you’re spending it on, the right choices become clear. A morning latte is a lot less tempting when you’re aware of the cost: $1,000 on average per year. Having a budget isn’t only about making sure that you have enough to pay the bills; smart people know that making and sticking to a strict budget means never having to pass up an opportunity because they’ve blown their precious capital on discretionary expenditures. Budgets establish discipline, and discipline is the foundation of quality work. 5. LOSING SIGHT OF THE BIG PICTURE. It’s so easy to become head-down busy, working so hard on what’s right in front of you that you lose sight of the big picture. But smart people learn how to keep this in check by weighing their daily priorities against a carefully calculated goal. It’s not that they don’t care about small-scale work, they just have the discipline and perspective to adjust their course as necessary. Life is all about the big picture, and when you lose sight of it, everything suffers.

feeds are filled with stories of people who seem to get ahead by playing the victim. Smart people may try it once, but they realize quickly that it’s a form of manipulation and that any benefits will come to a screeching halt as soon as people see it’s a game. But there’s a more subtle aspect of this strategy that 7. TRYING TO BE SOMEONE OR only truly smart people grasp: to play SOMETHING YOU’RE NOT. the victim, you have to give up your It’s tempting to try to be whom you power, and you can’t put a price on think people want you be, but no one that. likes a fake, and trying to be some10. TRYING TO CHANGE one you’re not never ends well. Smart SOMEONE. people figure that out the first time they get called out for being a phony, The only way that people change is forget their lines, or drop out of char- through the desire and wherewithal to acter. Other people never seem to re- change themselves. Still, it’s tempting alize that everyone else can see right to try to change someone who doesn’t through their act. They don’t recognize want to change, as if your sheer will the relationships they’ve damaged, the and desire for them to improve will jobs they’ve lost, and the opportunities change them (as it has you). Some even they’ve missed as a result of trying to actively choose people with problems, be someone they’re not. Smart people, thinking they can “fix” them. Smart on the other hand, make that connec- people may make that mistake once, tion right away and realize that happi- but soon they realize they’ll never be ness and success demand authenticity. able to change anyone but themselves. Instead, they build their lives around 8. TRYING TO PLEASE genuine, positive people and work to EVERYONE. avoid problematic people that bring Almost everyone makes this mistake them down. at some point, but smart people realBRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER. ize it’s simply impossible to please everybody, and trying to please everyone Emotionally intelligent people are sucpleases no one. Smart people know cessful because they never stop learnthat in order to be effective, you have ing. They learn from their mistakes, to develop the courage to call the shots they learn from their successes, and and make the choices you feel are right they’re always changing themselves for the better. (not the ones everyone will like).

full potential. They don’t take chances, and they understand there’s no substitute for hard work and due diligence. If you don’t do your homework, you’ll never learn anything -- and that’s a surefire way to bring your career to a screeching halt.

6. NOT DOING YOUR HOMEWORK. Everybody’s taken a shortcut at some point, whether it was copying a friend’s biology assignment or strolling into an important meeting unprepared. Smart people realize that while they may occasionally get lucky, that approach will 9. PLAYING THE VICTIM. hold them back from achieving their News reports and our social media Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708

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USPS Update VISIT

PEERING INTO THE POSTAL PLAYBOOK by Donna Hanbery, Saturation Mailers Coalition, Executive Director

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gency increase, that began with Postmaster General John Potter in 2010 seeking a “extraordinary” rate increase for some classes of mail that exceeded 8%, and is still lingering in the form of the 4.3% exigency surcharge schedule to “rollback” sometime in late March, early April of this year, kept mailers and marketers living with uncertainty for the past five years. This relentless quest for exigency increases no doubt had a chilling effect on the growth and expansion of some mail programs. Notwithstanding the endless exigency legal proceedings, a “forever” rate regime, the CPI rate cap succeeded in prompting the USPS to explore downsizing of its network, reductions in its labor force and generally helped saturation program mailers, like shared mailers and free paper publishers, stay in the mail in the face of increased competition from digital and electronic media and the competitive pressure to reduce costs.

The current law governing the Postal Service, and the setting of postal rates, is the 2006 Postal Accountably and Enhancement Act or PAEA. That law, passed in the last wee hours of the legislative session end of 2006, changed the way postal rates had been set to eliminate a cost of service model, where the Postal Service could basically charge as much as it needed to “cover costs,” and created a rate setting mechanism where the Postal Service was permitted to keep “profits” over costs, but was limited to annual rate setting adjustments that were tied to the CPI, Consumer Price Index, rate of inflation. The only time the Postal Service could propose rates above the CPI, would be to file for an exigent increase, pointing to unforeseen and extraordinary circumstances, such as an anthrax attack or, as history shows us, But the 2006 law did not establish a the impact of the 2009 “Great Reces- “forever” rate regime. Congress directed the Postal Regulatory Commission.” sion to look back at the law at the end Speaking on behalf of SMC members, of 10 years to decide how to structure the price cap limit on postal rates has the rate setting process for the future. generally been a success. It helped our These proceedings are scheduled to members, and in turn advertisers, genbegin in December 2016. erally plan for marketing and mailing programs. Regrettably, the Postal Ser- From the standpoint of many in the vice’s relentless efforts to seek an exi- industry, this look back procedure and hearing process does not give the PRC the authority to change or elimiOrganizational Software nate the CPI rate cap. In the view of Tools you need to be more efficient. some legal and regulatory experts on rate setting matters, the CPI index and rate cap was a fundamental provision 407-656-2777 of the 2006 law and, as such, and canchris@MaxProPublishing.com not be eliminated or modified by an www.MaxProPublishing.com administrative agency. In our view, the

CPI cap cannot be eliminated without Congressional action. Like any legal, let alone postal matter, there are differences of opinion. From the standpoint of postal labor, and postal management, the 2016 rate setting process opens the floodgate for labor, management, and stakeholders, to argue, and litigate, for their preferred approach to postal rates and future rate-setting procedures. Postal management has been urging Congress to keep the current exigency surcharge “permanent.” Postal management would like much more flexibility (meaning no CPI rate cap please) in setting rates for individual products and classes. Postal labor shares these views and has been outspoken in urging Congress, and the Administration, to consider postal reform that would keep the exigent increase in place and free the Service from the constraints of the CPI rate cap. In a “President’s message” from the National Association of Letter Carriers, Union President Frederick Rolando, shared this message with his members and the folks on the Hill and the PRC: We hope Congress will pass a bill that will make the exigent increase permanent and virtually eliminate the cost of pre-funding in the coming months. But if it doesn’t, we will do all that we continued on page 9

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USPS Update can do to use the 2016-17 PRC review of the rate setting process to address both the burden of pre-funding and need to make the exigent increase permanent. We will urge the PRC to build the cost of pre-funding into the baseline rates . . . we will also seek to restore the exigent increase if it expires in 2016. And we will urge the PRC to adopt a more appropriate price indexing system for the future.* In elaborating on other indexes the unions might advance, Rolando points to the Consumer Price Index for delivery services. This is a sub-index within the CPI that looks more to the prices charged by companies like Fed Ex and UPS. Rolando states this index “captures the kind of costs that affect delivery and postage prices - the cost of labor, price of fuel, and inflation trends in a transportation/utility company.” Rolando goes on to advance the idea of eliminating the price index for postal products all together. In his final remarks, he states the union “will not accept allowing the ill-begotten legacies of the PAEA to destroy the Postal Service. We will fight to the end for a better future for letter carriers and the Postal Service. This will be our legacy, not the PAEA.” SMC, like most mail associations and businesses that rely on the Postal Ser-

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLAINED Your electronic Second Life can be vice, support the continuing requests best described using examples: of postal labor and postal manageFacebook- I like doughnuts ment to eliminate the onerous, and in recent years “ignored,” mandates of Twitter- I’m eating #doughnuts pre-funding of retiree health costs. We Instagram- Here is a polaroid-esce also support postal management’s wise photo of doughnuts and equitable request to give the Postal Foursquare- This is where I eat doughService the right to integrate its health nuts care plans with Medicare. Currently, the Postal Service and postal employ- Youtube- Here I am eating doughnuts ees pay the taxes for Medicare but do Myspace- Meet the Up-and-coming not participate in the system. These band, ‘doughnuts’ reforms alone would do much to put Linkedin- My skills include doughnut the Postal Service “back in black.” But eating the goals of keeping the exigent increase permanent, or giving the Postal Pinterest- Here is a recipe for doughService and management a right to nuts pass-on all of their “costs,” including Last FM- Now listening to ‘doughnuts’ labor costs without regard to the CPI Friendster- Lets play the game ‘doughand the fiercely competitive condi- nuts’ tions of the marketing and advertising business, are goals that SMC and other eHarmony-Review: David Doughnuts, postal associations are pledged to op- round, sweet personality, loves Krispy Kreme pose. For our members, and other business- Formspring- What do you like about es that depend on keeping postal ser- doughnuts? vices affordable and competitive, we Rate My Teacher.com- Helpfulness:5/5 will have our work cut-out for us in Easiness: 5/5 Clarity: 5/5. OMG Mr the 10 year, PAEA rate view proceed- Doughnut is sooo LOLs. ing. Zoosk-Can you see the doughnut?... *[President message quotes from the hehehehe... December 2015 Postal Record, re- G+-I’m a google employee who eats printed with permission from the doughnuts PostCom December 18, 2015 Bulletin] tumblr- Explore tags: HeckYeah! Doughnuts! JB Multimedia, Inc. P.O. Box 704 N. Bellmore, NY 11710 888.592.3212 phone/fax www.jbmultimedia.net

M a k i n g p u b l i c a t i o n s i n t e r a c t i v e.

Justin Gerena, President, Director of Sales p: 888.592.3212 x710 e: justin@jbmultimedia.net

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708

Academia.edu- What is ‘The Perfect Doughnut’? Badoo- buñuelo, beignet, donut, doughnut Bebo- ’The doughnuts here will never be as good as the ones on Facebook.’

(888)450-8329 fax

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Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708

(888)450-8329 fax

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W W W. S A P A T O D AY . C O M

Web design is BIG business

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 223-5708

(888)450-8329 fax