From public transportation to sports stadiums, venues use their prime real estate to sell space to advertisers and generate extra revenue. Take for example the Washington Metro transit system. Ad space is for sale everywhere — on buses and trains (inside and out) and even on train tunnel walls and floors.
Loading ... Loading ...In these times of doing what it takes to maintain fiscal solvency, what if the Postal Service started selling its prime advertising real estate to generate revenue? Major advertisers might welcome the opportunity to place their ad on hundreds of thousand Postal Service trucks all over the country. Or smaller advertisers could take advantage of purchasing wall-space in a post office. The Postal Service actually explored selling advertising space around 2001 in a program called the Postal Ad Network, but it was discontinued after it raised much less money than initially expected. However, a major advertising slump hit right at the time the Postal Ad Network was rolling out.
There are some major ‘what ifs.’ Who would manage the program and what would be charged for advertising? More importantly, what would the limitations be? When Major League Baseball proposed placing ads on bases, there was a major league backlash. How would the public react to advertising on Postal Service property? Would certain types of advertising be out of bounds? The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act does not permit the Postal Service to undertake new nonpostal products. Would selling advertising on Postal Service property violate the law? And how would selling advertising space affect the Postal Service’s brand?
Putting aside those issues, would it be worth it? And what kind of increased revenue would an advertising program like this bring?
This topic is hosted by the OIG’s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC).
33 Comments
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That’s an awesome way of advertising
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I remember a few years ago Canada Post had every truck on it’s fleet decked out with advertising from Amazon.
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How about bringing stamps down to the community level. If states can have license plates, why not specialized state or local stamps.
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Certain types of advertising are always out of bounds but selling advertising on Postal Service property should not violate the law. Just my opinion.
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Advertising with sports teams seems to me to be a family oriented safe way to add revenue and support communities. Just a thought.
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The post office needs to be more aggressive in reducing their business loss. Selling there space on the mail vehicle would be a good start
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How about linking with youth sports? There are always opportunities to sponsor or let youth teams advertise. The post office is a great gathering spot for these types of activities
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I think they make too much money- No “agressiveness” needed.
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Couldn’t disagree more. Extra sources of income can help keep consumer prices lower and service levels higher. As an ongoing enterprise, I like looking for other ways of funding.
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Tough times call for tough measures
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The Post Office needs to let a third party handle the advertising. You need to have experts who know how to make money and make the tough decisions needed.
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I think that the post office should offer advertising. All the other public entities do, like the MTA they do.
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That’s an awesome way of advertising. That’s make me have some ideas as well.
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