Post Office Promotes Passport Service

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is touting its passport service through a tie-in with Shutterfly.com.

Shutterfly.com gets exposure in 5,300 post
offices in exchange for fulfilling photo books

Consumers who apply for a U.S. passport at the post office get a personalized photo book from photo service Shutterfly.com.

The "Get a Passport, Travel the World" campaign gives a luggage tag with a coded coupon to consumers who apply and pay for their passport at one of USPS' 5,300 Passport Acceptance locations. Users register at Shutterfly.com, then enter the coupon code to create their own 20-page photo book by choosing a cover and page style and adding digital photos and captions. Consumers pay shipping and handling.

The offer runs through Oct. 31; coupons are valid through March 2007. Supporting P-O-P in post offices includes counter mats and menu boards with photo-montage images of the Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa and Big Ben. Draft FCB, Chicago, handles for USPS.

Shutterfly.com is one of USPS's biggest customers, shipping finished photos via mail. The tie-in is part of USPS's plan to do joint promotions with online retailers, who will ship an estimated $132 billion in goods sold online this year, up 20% from last year.

"Joint promotions with our Web-based clients is just one of the innovative ways the postal service is marketing in today's changing world of business," said USPS Manager-Retail Promotions Linda Kemp in a statement.

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