USPS Special Deal with Valassis NAM version

Help Fight USPS Special Deal with Valassis, Inc

The Postal Service is proposing a special deal with advertising aggregator Valassis, Inc., (which includes the former ADVO Systems, Inc.) that is aimed at pulling advertising OUT of newspapers and INTO direct mail.

The deal would give deep postage discounts to Valassis if it succeeded in adding new mail pieces to a new mail package from durable and semi-durable goods advertisers. If Valassis brings a million new mail pieces into its package in the succeeding year, its discounts will be in the 20-30 percent range.

Many believe this is blatantly unfair. Newspapers across the country have joined in asking the Postal Regulatory Commission to rule that the deal is illegal. Now PRC is asking for specific information on how newspapers would be harmed. That is why you are getting this request from Newspaper Association of America and National Newspaper Association, provided by your press association.

Should you answer this survey? If you are in a market where Valassis's Red Plum marriage-mail advertising appears, you should seriously consider participating.

If you or others on behalf of your newspaper have separately responded to a request for comments by National Newspaper Association or Newspaper Association of America, please do NOT respond again to this survey. If your corporate office is filing comments directly with the PRC, please do NOT respond to this survey.

But if you are affected and haven't provided information elsewhere, it is very important that we are able to count you. Even if you are not in a Valassis market, you may wish to respond only to question 11 about the Postal Service's plan to compete with newspapers.

Your responses will be shared with the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Responses must be received by NOON Monday, June 25. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

If you want to know more about the Valassis/USPS proposal, contact Tonda Rush, tonda@nna.org or Paul Boyle, paul.boyle@naa.org.

Question Title

* 1. Does your newspaper operate in a market where Valassis Red Plum/marriage mail advertising appears?

Yes

No, but it has been in the market in the past two years

Question Title

* 2. This survey is primarily for newspapers that carry pre-printed inserts (either in the newspaper or a TMC/shopper) from durable or semi-durable goods advertisers? A list of nationally-known advertisers who may be eligible for the Valassis discounts appears here. Please check all that are presently in your paper or that have been in the paper over the past 2 years. If you do not see your advertiser on this list, please add any advertisers that might qualify for this category.

Groceries and restaurants/fast food do not count as durable/semi-durable. If your advertiser draws more than half its revenue from groceries or food, it would not be eligible for the Valassis discounts.

If your advertiser is local or regional (with businesses in fewer than 30 states) it would not be eligible for the Valassis discounts. If you are not sure, please list it and we will check it out.

Abercrombie & Fitch

Ace Hardware

Advance Auto Parts

AT&T Wireless

AutoZone

Barnes & Noble

Bass Pro

Bed Bath & Beyond

Best Buy

Brooks Brothers

Burlington Coat Factory

Costco

Dick's Sporting Goods

Family Dollar

Gap

H.H. Gregg

Home Depot

J.C. Penney

Jo-Ann Fabrics

K-Mart

Kohl's

Limited Brands

Lowe's

Macy's

Michaels

Nordstrom

Office Depot

O'Reilly Automotive

Radio Shack

Rite-Aid

Sam's Club

Sears

Sherwin-Williams

Sports Authority

Staples

Target

TJX

Toys R Us

Tractor Supply

True Value

Verizon Wireless

Foot Locker

Williams-Sonoma

Walgreens

WalMart

Others?

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. If you lost the revenue from the advertisers you checked in Question 2, approximately how much gross annual revenue would it cost your paper?

Question Title

* 4. In the past two years, have you moved a newspaper or TMC/shopper INTO the mail?

yes

Question Title

* 5. In the past two years, have you moved a newspaper or TMC OUT of the mail? If so, please state the primary reason.

Yes

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 6. If the Valassis discounts were to take effect for your advertisers named in Question 2, what would be the most likely result?

We would lose the business and it would hurt the company and/or our news coverage

We would keep the business but have to steeply discount the advertising, which would hurt the company and/or our/news coverage

We would keep the business anyway without further discounting

Nothing

Other comments?

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 7. If the Valassis discounts were to take effect, would it have any effect upon your future use of the mail? If so, please describe.

Question Title

* 8. Does your newspaper (or your group if group owned) have fewer than 500 employees?

Yes

Question Title

* 9. If your newspaper were no longer able to serve your community or had to drastically cut costs, what effect would it have on the local news available to your readers?

Question Title

* 10. What would best describe your viewpoint about this Valassis/USPS proposal?

It is fair competition

It is unfair competition from the government

It doesn't matter to me

If it helps to save the Postal Service, I would not oppose it.

Other

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 11. Please provide identifying information. It is very important to have this information for the Commission. Anonymous responses will not be used.

Name:

Company:

Address:

Address 2:

City/Town:

State:

ZIP:

Country:

Email Address:

Phone Number:

Question Title

* 12. If your paper is part of a corporate group, please provide the corporate name.

Question Title

* 13. If you believe a response to these questions or similar questions about your paper was provided by your corporate office, the Newspaper Association of America or any other group, please tell us who commented for you. We will try to avoid duplicate filings.