Every year, USPS offers promotions that give qualifying mailers postage discounts for trying different technologies, formats, and approaches.
And every year, it’s tempting to look at the list, find the easiest box to check, and move on. If you’re already spending the time and money to put something in someone’s mailbox, why not use the promotions as an excuse to try something you actually want your audience to interact with?
The 2027 USPS promotions create opportunities to experiment with everything from tactile finishes and augmented reality to digital mail previews and entirely new direct mail programs. So instead of another rundown of promotion dates and discount percentages, we made an idea book with a few ways marketers can use the 2027 USPS promotions.
The Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion rewards qualifying mailpieces that use physical characteristics to create a more engaging experience. For 2027, USPS has a basic 3% and advanced 5% discount structure, with the promotion running January through June.
Make the tactile element part of the idea. Here are some ideas:
Imagine a travel campaign featuring a sandy texture over a beach.
A homebuilder could use a woodgrain texture over an architectural detail.
A luxury brand could combine soft-touch with a contrasting glossy element to draw attention to the product.
A nonprofit could use texture or an interactive element to reveal an important statistic or story.
A university recruiting students could create a piece that unfolds into a campus experience rather than another viewbook.
The question isn't “Where can we put a special coating?” It's “What do we want someone to notice, touch, reveal, or interact with?” Start there. Then figure out what production technique can bring it to life.
Function of Beauty’s direct mail includes a scent strip of its product formula, allowing the recipient to smell and experience the brand before committing to a purchase.
The before-and-after mailer. Create a piece where the tactile treatment physically communicates the transformation you're selling. Rough → smooth. Dull → glossy. Hidden → revealed.
For 2027, USPS's Integrated Technology Promotion includes qualifying uses of technologies such as augmented reality, mixed and virtual reality, NFC, Video in Print, voice assistants, mobile shopping, and artificial intelligence. Eligible campaigns can receive a 5% discount during a mailer's selected six-month promotion period.
In other words: think beyond “scan here to visit our website.”
A furniture retailer could let someone see a product in their own room through AR.
A college could turn a mailpiece into a virtual campus experience.
A manufacturer could use NFC to launch a product demonstration.
A real estate campaign could bring a property tour directly into the recipient's phone.
A retailer could send a highly visual piece where tapping or scanning takes someone directly into a mobile shopping experience for the products featured.
The technology should make the next step in the buying or education process easier, more useful, or more interesting.
Empire Today’s direct mail piece includes a prompt for recipients to scan an image with their smartphone camera, triggering an AR experience that lets them visualize new flooring in their actual room.
Mail them the teaser. Unlock the rest digitally. Put one part of the story in the mailbox and have the interaction unlock the rest—a reveal, demonstration, tour, personalized recommendation, or exclusive content. Now the physical and digital pieces rely on each other.
Informed Delivery lets eligible USPS users see digital previews of incoming mail. Business mailers can also create interactive campaigns that add digital content and a clickable experience alongside the physical piece. USPS says this can create additional impressions and interactions from a single mailing.
For 2027, Informed Delivery is available as an add-on to qualifying promotions, with a 1% discount and an additional 0.5% incentive for qualifying eDoc submission.
Design the inbox and mailbox together.
The digital preview could tease what's arriving.
The physical piece could reveal the full offer.
The digital CTA could give someone an immediate way to respond before they've even checked their mailbox. And the creative between the two can intentionally build on itself rather than simply repeating the same headline twice.
“Something is waiting for you.” Use the digital touchpoint to tease an offer, announcement, or reveal that's arriving physically that day. Now anticipation becomes part of the campaign.
The Direct Mail Discovery Promotion is brand new in 2027 and is designed for qualifying businesses that haven't mailed within the previous two years. Eligible new mailers can receive a 40% discount on up to 5,000 pieces per mailing, with up to 100,000 total pieces eligible during the promotional period, which runs April through September.
Now you have If your company has been saying “we should try direct mail sometime,” this is the year to stop talking about it and actually build a test.
Pick a defined audience.
Give them a specific offer.
Build a landing page.
Create a control group if your data allows it.
Track responses.
Then compare what happened.
Pick one audience digital hasn't cracked. Maybe it's lapsed customers. High-value prospects. Previous event attendees. Abandoned leads. Donors who haven't given recently. Start with one audience + one hypothesis + one measurable action. Then see what you learn and how it can carry forward in your future marketing mix.
The 2027 First-Class Mail Advertising Promotion offers qualifying mailers a 5% discount from April through December for eligible First-Class Mail advertising pieces. This creates an interesting question for organizations already sending First-Class Mail: Could something you're already mailing work harder?
Think about customer communications, member communications, or other First-Class pieces where there may be an opportunity to introduce an additional relevant message. If you're already earning someone's attention — and already paying to reach their mailbox — it's worth thinking about whether there's another useful message that belongs there.
The “while we have you” message. Pair the primary reason for the communication with one highly relevant next step: renew, upgrade, register, refer, schedule, or learn more.
For 2027, USPS is again offering a Sustainability Add-On for qualifying mailings that demonstrate the paper came from a certifiable, responsible source. The add-on provides an additional 1% discount when paired with an eligible promotion. This one doesn't need a flashy technology attached to it. Instead, think about whether the material choice can reinforce the brand or campaign itself.
For a sustainability-focused organization, outdoor brand, nonprofit, or company with environmental commitments, the paper can become part of the story rather than an invisible production decision.
And if you're already using qualifying materials, don't leave the potential incentive on the table.
Daily Harvest's direct mail piece uses FSC-Certified paper and has a call to action to recycle the piece at the end of its use.
Put the “why this paper” story on the piece. If the stock choice reflects something meaningful about your organization, tell people. A small callout about the material turns a behind-the-scenes production choice into part of the customer experience.
With your marketing campaigns already in mind, the next step in the equation is to get creative with how your campaigns could be more interesting or effective. Then see whether one of the promotions can help you do it.
Maybe that means adding texture to a piece people actually want to touch. Maybe it means connecting mail to an AR experience. Maybe it means giving direct mail a real test for the first time. Or maybe it's simply creating a second digital interaction around something you're already mailing.
The discount is great. But the better opportunity is having a reason to experiment. And if USPS is willing to help pay for it We say make the mail interesting again.
The exact eligibility, approval requirements, and promotion rules matter, so campaigns should be reviewed against the applicable USPS program requirements before production. USPS has published the 2027 calendar and program requirements, while some detailed guidebook materials are still being released.
Need help navigating postal promotions? That's where we come in. Our team of mailing experts can review your campaign and current postage strategy, and recommend ways to save big in 2027.