Postal Promo for August 2026-January 2027
Overview
Due to continued increases in production and postal costs, production fees will increase beginning with the August 2026 issue.
To help minimize this increase, City Lifestyle is participating in a U.S. Postal Service promotional program that provides postage discounts for publications incorporating AI-generated content into direct mail.
By participating in this six-month program, the production cost increase has been reduced to approximately 2–3%, rather than the projected 4–5%.
Why is an AI-generated ad being added?
The U.S. Postal Service is currently offering a promotional discount to encourage the integration of AI and digital technologies into direct mail.
To qualify, all participating publications must run a designated AI-generated house advertisement from:
- August 2026 through January 2027
Because the promotion requires network-wide participation, the discount is only available if all publications participate.
Publisher Approval
A publisher survey was distributed on June 19, 2026.
- 96% of responding Publishers approved participation.
Based on this overwhelming support, City Lifestyle will participate in the promotion and pass the savings along through reduced production costs.
What changes will I see in ARC?
Two updates will be reflected in ARC:
Production Costs
Updated production costs for the August issue will be available in ARC end of June.
Table of Contents Fields
To accommodate the AI house ad, the Table of Contents has been adjusted:
- Input fields have been reduced from 4 to 3 for issues August 2026 through January 2027.
- The layout will automatically return to 4 input fields beginning with the February 2027 issue.
If you have already entered four Table of Contents items for your August issue, please work with National Support during proofing to determine which item should be removed or adjusted.
Where will the ad appear?
The AI house advertisement will be placed adjacent to the Table of Contents, allowing us to participate in the USPS promotion without reducing editorial or paid advertising space.
Please refer to the attached mockup for an example of how the placement will appear.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback through the publisher survey. Your participation allows us to take advantage of this limited-time postal savings program while keeping production cost increases as low as possible.
