Acquisition Mail Preparation

1
Acquisition Mail Preparation

• Business Letter Services

2
Introduction

• Acquisition Mail is an Australia Post service for
  the delivery of addressed (non - personalised)
  bulk mail. It allows customers to geographically
  target addressed mail campaigns to residential
  addresses in specific postcodes, suburbs
  (localities) or Census Collection Districts
  (CCDs) for the purpose of acquiring them as
  customers.
• In this module
• This module introduces you to Australia Posts
  requirements for Acquisition Mail preparation.
• Learning outcomes
• At the end of this module you will be able to
• specify requirements for registration and
  access to the Acquisition Mail Data file
• specify Acquisition Mail article content, size,
  weight and type requirements
• identify the mandatory inscriptions for
  Acquisition Mail articles
• identify the mandatory correct addressing
  conditions for Acquisition Mail articles
• locate the correct pricing for Acquisition Mail
  articles

3
Acquisition Mail at a glance

• What qualifies for Acquisition Mail?
• To qualify
• a minimum of 30,000 articles must be lodged in
  total
• a minimum saturation of 60 is required (ie at
  least 60 of the addresses supplied for your
  target area must be mailed to)
• the maximum number of progressive lodgements is
  three (3). These can be made over a maximum
  period of six (6) weeks, and must be made within
  3 months of data supply date.
• the content of the article must be acquisition
  in nature, and more specifically meet the
  conditions of the Acquisition Mail service.
• Australia Posts return address must be used on
  all articles.
• a PDF or physical sample of the intended
  article must be provided to Australia Post for
  approval prior to lodgement.

4
Acquisition Mail at a glance

• More information
• More detailed information is available in the
  Acquisition Mail fact sheet and Acquisition Mail
  service guide (8839559).
• Prices for Acquisition Mail can be found in the
  Post Charges booklet and at the Australia Post
  website (auspost.com.au).
• These guides are also available at any Australia
  Post outlet.

5
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Preparation overview
• To qualify for Acquisition Mail prices, customers
  need to meet the following Australia Posts bulk
  mail preparation requirements.

6
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and the Acquisition Mail Data file
• Introduction
• You need to register to use the Acquisition Mail
  service before Australia Post can provide the
  file of deliverable address points for your
  target regions.
• To ensure eligibility for Acquisition Mail
  prices, you need to follow Australia Posts
  requirements regarding registration and data use.
• Information about registration and the
  Acquisition Mail Data file includes
• the registration process, including providing
  details of and target regions
• what is the Data file?
• how the Data file is compiled
• what type of addresses are included in the Data
  file
• conditions of use of the Acquisition Mail Data
  file

7
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and target regions
• You need to register to use the Acquisition Mail
  service before Australia Post can provide the
  data file of deliverable address points for their
  targeted regions.
• The registration process is done online via
  auspost.com.au/acquisitionmail
• First time users of the online registration
  process
  will need to initially sign up when entering
  the site.
  A username and password will then be issued
  and
  must be used to login when returning to the site.

8
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and target regions
• During the registration process you will be asked
  to provide details of your intended target
  regions
• whether you would like to target at postcode,
  suburb or Census Collection District (CCD) level
• whether you would like to override the automatic
  exclusion of households with No Advertising
  Material stickers or those on ADMAs Do Not
  Mail list.
• You will then be asked to submit your nominated
  target regions. This means a list of the
  postcodes, suburbs or CCDs to be targeted. This
  can be done by either submitting a csv or txt
  file with the listings or by browsing and
  selecting from a list provided.
• You then have the option of going back and
  reviewing the target regions or proceeding by
  agreeing to the terms and conditions of the
  service.
• Once you have agreed to the terms and conditions
  you will immediately be provided with your
  Acquisition Mail Job ID number and within two
  business days Australia Post will email the
  address data file complete with pre-populated
  lodgement document/s.

Target region A list of the postcodes, suburbs
or CCDs to be targeted by the Acquisition Mail
campaign
9
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and target regions
• What is the Acquisition Mail Data file?
• The Acquisition Mail Data file is a list of
  residential addresses from which addresses that
  match the customers target region criteria are
  extracted and provided to the customer for their
  mailing.
• There are approximately 8 million residential
  address points in the Acquisition Mail Data file.
  The file does not hold any personal or business
  names, or industry classification information.

The number of address points may change due to
ongoing updates to the Acquisition Mail Data file.
10
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and target regions
• What type of addresses are included
• The Data file contains residential street
  addresses. Those identified home offices, are
  also included. Non-residential addresses are not
  included.
• No Advertising Material and ADMAs Do Not
  Mail addresses
• No Advertising Material and ADMAs Do Not
  Mail address points are identified in the Data
  file and are excluded unless otherwise requested
  in the registration process.

11
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and target regions
• What type of addresses are excluded
• The Acquisition Mail Data file does not include
• PO Boxes
• locked bags
• private mail bags
• community bags
• addresses subject to road and counter delivery
• addresses in external territories
• addresses that have occupancy for less than 50
  of the year, eg holiday homes.

12
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and target regions
• Conditions of use
• Specific conditions apply to the use of data
  supplied in the Acquisition Mail Data file
• non-personalised (no name included) addresses are
  supplied according to the selection parameters
  outlined in the List Profile section of the
  registration.
• the data is supplied by Australia Post solely for
  the provision of the Acquisition Mail service,
  and remains the property of Australia Post. It
  must not be modified, copied, offered for sale,
  provided to any other person, or used for any
  other purpose than the specific Acquisition Mail
  service that relates to the registration.
• the data is supplied in one single quantity, and
  not in batches.
• the data must be used within three (3) months of
  the supply date. Customers failing to lodge their
  entire Acquisition Mail campaign within three
  months of Australia Post supplying the data file
  may be charged up to 0.10 per address provided.

13
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration target regions
• Conditions of use
• The data is supplied in pipe () delimited
  format, which can be opened in standard
  spreadsheet or database software (eg MS Access,
  MS Excel).
• The data is supplied with these fields
• Address 1
• Address 2
• Locality
• State
• Postcode
• No additional fields are supplied, and DPIDs must
  be appended using approved AMAS software refer
  to the Advanced Module Barcoding

14
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Registration and target regions
• Summary
• The key points covered in this section include
• all campaigns must be registered. Addresses from
  the Acquisition Mail data file matching the
  customers target regions will be provided
  following registration.
• the data file contains approximately 8 million
  residential addresses
• No Advertising Material and addresses on
  ADMAs Do Not Mail list are excluded from the
  data file unless specifically requested during
  registration
• the Data file does not contain address points
  for rural and remote areas, PO Boxes, Roadside
  Mail Bags and similar address points.
• conditions apply to the use of the Acquisition
  Mail Data file

15
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Introduction
• To ensure Acquisition Mail articles can be
  delivered correctly, customers need to follow
  Australia Posts bulk mail requirements regarding
  the article characteristics.
• The characteristics for Acquisition Mail articles
  include
• content
• size and weight
• article type
• paper stock (including colour of articles and
  window face envelopes)
• plastic Wrapping
• sealing of articles
• flexibility
• window Panel envelopes

16
Acquisition Mail preparation
The service is not available for articles
designed to provide broad brand knowledge or
provide businesses or the public with community
information or announcements including any
government or business notices with an
informative/educational communication objective.
This includes past transactions that would
indicate a prior or current relationship between
the customer (or any organisation on whose behalf
the customer is acting) and the intended
recipient.
Call to action is defined as an avenue to
respond to the mail piece, eg phone number,
website, email, or physical address.
Third party One other than the principals
involved in a transaction

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Content requirements
• To qualify for the Acquisition Mail service
  articles
• must have a core communication objective of
  obtaining customers or generating donations
  and/or sales of products, services, and/or
  memberships
• must not make reference to an intended
  recipients personal details
• must contain a call to action
• must not be reliant on promoting a third
  parties products and services to supplement a
  communication which otherwise does not meet the
  above objective
• may contain variable images, content and copy,
  but must not contain any variable images, content
  and copy associated with an individual recipient
  or address or refer to a prior relationship with
  a recipient including, but not limited to
  transactional information
• must be from the same Advertiser
• must not be described as being Private and
  Confidential or words to that effect

17
Acquisition Mail preparation
Oblong deviating from a square by being
elongated in one direction. It is preferred that
the length is at least 1.2 times the
width. Articles with a length less than 1.2 times
the width may be accepted subject to satisfactory
test results see Testing, later in this
module.

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Size and weight
• Acquisition Mail is available for Small, and
  Small Plus size categories.
• Acquisition Mail items can weigh up to 125gms.
  All articles in a lodgement must be the same size
  and weight.
• All articles in a lodgement must be the same size
  category and weight.

18
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Type
• Acquisition Mail articles can be sent in
  envelopes or as postcards. Plastic-wrapped
  articles in Barcode Direct Trays are also
  accepted.
• Window faced envelopes
• One of the main requirements of panel envelopes
  is that they have good clear panels. However,
  even very clear panels can cause sorting
  difficulties if they reflect light to any great
  extent.
• The address area visible through the window panel
  must meet the reflectance requirements contained
  in Barcoding Specifications detailed in this
  module.
• Open window panels are not permitted.
• The recommended minimum size for window panels
  
  
  is 30mm high x 80mm wide.
• The entire address block, including barcode, must
  be
  
  clearly visible through the window panel, when
  the article
  
  is presented for lodgement at
  the lodgement facility.

19
Acquisition Mail preparation
Porosity describes the property of being
porous being able to absorb fluids.

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Paper stock
• Paper stock is an important consideration as it
  can affect the ability of high speed letter
  sorting equipment to process articles without
  damage.
• Paper must be without patterns or pronounced
  fibres, which may also interfere with mechanised
  sorting equipment.
• Articles must be made from a low gloss material
  with sufficient porosity that will register the
  imprint of a postmarking impression and permit
  ink to dry without smudging.
• Australia Post recommends that envelopes and
  cards comply with Australian Standards for the
  production of envelopes, Spec 4611 1999
  (available at http//infostore.saiglobal.com/stor
  e/). For details refer to your paper supplier or
  envelope manufacturer or visit auspost.com.au/bulk
  mail
• Paper stock colour
• There are no restrictions on the article colour
  for envelopes, postcards or plastic wrapped
  articles and/or flysheets provided the background
  against which the barcode is printed meets the
  reflectance requirements contained at Barcoding
  Print Specifications - refer to the Advanced
  Module Barcoding

20
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Plastic Wrapping
• Plastic wrapping of articles can provide an
  alternative to envelopes. If desired, artwork and
  delivery address details can be printed on a
  flysheet, which is visible through the plastic
  wrapping.
• Plastic wrapping is available for all articles
  provided they are lodged in Barcode Direct Trays.
  (See Acquisition Mail, Lodgement module.)
• Detailed information about plastic wrapping can
  be found in Advanced Module Plastic Wrapping

21
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Plastic wrapping
• ? Plastic wrapped Acquisition Mail articles are
  measured on the total plastic size, not the
  size of the contents
• ? The sealing seam (weld) must not intersect the
  address block or barcode either horizontally or
  vertically
• ? Australia Post prefers the hem (overlapping
  plastic area) not to cover the address block or
  barcode
• ?The maximum overhang (excess plastic wrap) is
  not to exceed 10mm.

22
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Sealing of articles
• Each article must be secured in a manner which
  would prevent entrapment of other postal
  articles. Any opening must not exceed 88mm.
• Each article must be secured in such a manner
  that the fastening is not likely to damage other
  postal articles nor injure persons handling it.
  Where fasteners are used, they must be
  appropriate to the thickness of the article, and
  the ends closed together. Staples and any metal
  fasteners are discouraged, as they are likely to
  cause injury to staff handling the articles.
• Any lodgement fastened with metal fasteners,
  which may cause injury, will not be accepted.

23
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Article flexibility
• Articles presented under the Acquisition Mail
  service must be reasonably flexible to ensure
  that they can be processed through high speed
  letter sorting equipment.
• Articles that are too rigid or stiff are
  ineligible for the Acquisition Mail service. Some
  examples of prohibited enclosures includes
  pencils, pens and compact disks enclosed in a
  hard case.

24
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Size, weight and type requirements
• Summary
• The key points covered in this section include
• there are conditions governing the content of
  Acquisition Mail articles
• Acquisition Mail is available in Small, and
  Small Plus size categories
• articles can be sent in envelopes or as
  postcards, and can be plastic wrapped
• any opening on an article of more than 88mm must
  be appropriately sealed
• articles must be reasonably flexible. Articles
  that are too rigid or stiff are ineligible for
  the service

25
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Introduction
• Acquisition Mail items need to be barcoded. In
  order to follow a specialised processing stream,
  and to qualify for Acquisition Mail prices,
  Australia Post has mandatory address requirements
  for Acquisition Mail, including
• Article Layout and zones
• Postage zone
• Return address zone
• Barcode and delivery address zone
• Barcode
• If these requirements are not met, Australia Post
  cannot process the lodgement as Acquisition Mail.
  Where applicable, non compliance will result in
  the application of PreSort Letter prices, full
  rate ordinary letter prices, or Clean Mail
  Service prices (if eligible), for the entire
  lodgement.

26
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Article layout and zones
• Acquisition Mail articles are made up of three
  printing zones. The following sections detail the
  dimensions of these zones, and specify the
  mandatory inscriptions to print within them.

27
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Postage zone
• The postage zone contains a postage paid imprint
  or a postage meter impression.
• An Off Peak indicator is also required. These
  should be prominent in this zone.
• Dimensions must be
• no more than 90mm across from the top right hand
  corner of the article
• at least 40mm down from the top edge of the
  article.

28
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Postage zone
• Postage Paid Imprint
• All Acquisition Mail articles that are not
  metered must bear a Postage Paid imprint. The
  words POSTAGE PAID AUSTRALIA need to be printed
  in a rectangular box within the following
  dimensions
• Maximum 26 x 40mm (see illustration)
• Minimum 19 x 25mm.
• Postage Meter Impression
• A postage meter may be used as a payment method
  for the Acquisition Mail service. The published
  Acquisition Mail price must be printed in the
  postage zone of each article. If a date is
  included in the meter impression it must be the
  date of lodgement.
• The mandatory Acquisition Mail return address
  details appearing in the postage zone as part of
  a postage meter impression are acceptable.
• For additional information on metering, refer to
  the Postage Meters and Franking Machines
  Conditions of use booklet (8833675).

29
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Postage zone
• Off Peak indicator
• All Acquisition Mail articles must bear an Off
  Peak indicator, located within the postage zone,
  to the left of the Postage Paid imprint or
  postage meter impression. The words OFF PEAK need
  to be printed in capital letters, centred in a
  rectangular box with the minimum dimensions of 19
  x 25mm (see illustration).
• Personalised Imprints
• Australia Post may approve a personalised imprint
  design for the Postage Paid Imprint or Combined
  Off Peak indicator / Postage Paid imprint. The
  design must not have the appearance of a postage
  stamp and the words POSTAGE PAID AUSTRALIA must
  be prominent (see example illustrations).
• For approval please refer to the contact details
  at the front of this guide.

30
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Postage zone
• Colour of postage zone inscriptions
• Most coloured inks can be used, and dark colours
  such as black, dark blue and dark green are best.
  The exceptions are yellow, orange and red which
  can interfere with mail handling equipment. Red
  is reserved for postage meter impressions.

31
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Return address zone
• It is mandatory that the following Australia
  Post return address is shown on each Acquisition
  Mail article within a lodgement.
• GPO Box 1638
• MELBOURNE VIC 3001
• The return address must be printed on the
  address side of the article in the upper
  left-hand corner, no lower than 40mm from the top
  edge.
• Return address details appearing in the postage
  zone as part of a postage meter impression are
  acceptable.
• It is preferred that the return address be
  prefixed with If undeliverable, return to

32
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Barcode and delivery address zone
• Contains the barcode and address to which the
  article is to be delivered.
• Acquisition Mail is an addressed
  (non-personalised) delivery service. There are no
  names supplied with the address data. This means
  the recipient can be addressed with a salutation
  such as To the Householder, The Home Owner,
  Reading Enthusiast or this may be left blank.
• Barcode and address location
• The complete barcode and delivery address must be
  
  
  positioned in the barcode and delivery address
  zone
  
  of the article
• ? at least 15mm from the bottom edge of the
  article
• ? no more than 100mm up from the bottom edge of
  the
  article
• ?at least 10mm from the left and right edges of
  the article
• ? outside of the postage zone.

33
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Address layout
• Correct addressing conditions ensure the
  Australia Post delivery system can recognise and
  interpret the delivery address. The delivery
  address is a mandatory inscription and therefore
  correct addressing conditions apply.
• Address labels may be used but must be straight
  and firmly affixed.
• If using window panel envelopes, the entire
  address block, including barcode, must be clearly
  visible through the window panel when the article
  is presented for lodgement at the lodgement
  facility.
• The address and barcode must be parallel to the
  long side of the article.

Bottom line Must contain the locality and the
postcode. Australia Post recommends that the
state abbreviation is printed on the same line
after the locality. Australia Post strongly
recommends that this line is printed in CAPITALS.
(Any application for variations to this format
should be submitted and approved prior to
lodgement)
1
The address lines (excluding barcode placement)
must be aligned left.
Additional address information such as To the
Householder, if included, must be placed above
the last two lines of the address and not below,
alongside or within these lines.
2
AM Job Number the number provided upon
registration.
Barcode
3
5
4
6
Second last line Must contain the delivery
address information
34
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Address font s and colours
• Any font can be used for the delivery address as
  long as it is clearly readable, preferably in 12
  point size, and it is strongly recommended that
  print characters do not overlap.
• Whilst attributes such as italics, bolding,
  shadowing or underlining are permitted, their use
  should be avoided.
• Dark inks such as black, dark blue and dark green
  are preferred. Red, orange and yellow inks must
  not be used.

35
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Acquisition Mail Job ID number
• This number, provided by Australia Post at the
  time of registration, must be printed either
• ? in the delivery address zone, aligned to the
  left above the barcode, or
• ? above the return address in the top left hand
  corner.
• A reduced font size is acceptable, but must be
  legible. The minimum acceptable font size is 6
  point.

?
?
36
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Advertising postcards
• The following layout is recommended for
  advertising postcards, which are not intended to
  be enclosed in an envelope. It shows how to
  optimise a layout for a postcard to maximise the
  space available on the card for your advertising
  message.
• The whole of the space on the back (non-address)
  side of the postcard may be used for advertising.

? rotate the return address vertically and print
it in one line of text to the left of the postage
zone no closer than 85mm from the right edge of
the postcard (alternatively it may be printed on
the back)
? the areas below and to the right of the address
can also be used for advertising or other
printing providing it does not resemble an address
?ensure that there is a barcode quiet zone clear
of any printing around the barcode at least 6mm
to the left and right and 2mm above and below.
? move the barcode and delivery address below the
postage zone, as far to the right as possible
no closer than 15mm from the right edge or bottom
edge of the postcard, and no more than 100mm from
the bottom edge of the postcard
? the whole of the space on the left side of the
postcard may be used for the advertising message
37
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Barcoding
• Articles need to be barcoded in order to follow a
  specialised processing stream and to qualify for
  Acquisition Mail prices. A barcode is a machine
  readable representation of information, usually
  printed as parallel lines, and improves the speed
  and accuracy of processing mail.
• For technical details relating to barcoding,
  including Australia Posts Postal Address file
  (PAF) and specifications on printing a barcode,
  refer to the Acquisition Mail service guide, or
  the Advanced Module Barcoding
• The barcode used by Australia Post is called a
  4-state barcode and includes a Delivery Point
  Identifier (DPID) which is uniquely applied to
  Australian addresses.

38
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Barcoding
• Barcodes must conform to specified barcode
  requirements.
• Dark colours such as black, dark blue, and dark
  green are preferred. Red, orange and yellow inks
  must not be used.
• The barcode can be placed separately from the
  delivery address, so long as it remains in the
  Barcode and Delivery Address Zone. The address
  and barcode must be parallel to the long side of
  the article.
• The following important elements for barcoding
  Acquisition Mail articles are covered in this
  section
• Obtaining the DPID
• Barcode Quiet Zone
• Customer appended information
• Barcode location
• Address Matching Approval System (AMAS)
• Creative design/advertising
• Unbarcoded Acquisition Mail

39
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Obtaining the DPID for each address
• A barcode is a machine readable representation of
  information, usually printed as parallel lines,
  and improves the speed and accuracy of processing
  mail.
• The barcode used by Australia Post is called a
  4-state barcode and includes a Delivery Point
  Identifier (DPID) which is uniquely applied to
  Australian addresses.
• Australia Post maintains a comprehensive database
  of addresses called the Postal Address file
  (PAF), in which each address has a unique
  Delivery Point Identifier (DPID).
• Customers must use Address Matching Approval
  System (AMAS) certified software to obtain the
  correct DPID for each address.
• This DPID is then converted into a 4-state
  barcode and printed onto the article. It is read
  by Australia Posts mail processing machines,
  ensuring the fastest most efficient processing
  available.

40
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Barcode clear zone
• Barcodes require a clear zone that must be kept
  blank (free of printing or other distractions)
  immediately above, below, and to the left and
  right of the barcode. This is to ensure that the
  barcode can be detected by the reader and
  processed correctly.
• There must be a clear zone (no printing) around
  
  
  the barcode of at least 6mm to the
  left and right
  
  and at least
  2mm from the top and bottom.
• Non-address information such as campaign codes,
  
  
  sort plan number, etc. may be located
  above the
  
  bottom two lines of the address
  block provided the
  
  barcode clear zone is
  observed. There is no
  
  
  requirement for this information to be left
  aligned.

41
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Customer appended information in barcodes
• The standard customer barcode contains 37 bars,
  however customers have the opportunity to include
  their own information in 52 or 67 length 4-state
  barcodes. The information is encoded and included
  in the additional bars. For more information, see
  the Acquisition Mail service guide, or the
  Advanced Module Barcoding.

52 length 4-state barcode
67 length 4-state barcode
42
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Address Matching Approval System (AMAS)
• The Address Matching Approval System (AMAS) is
  designed to improve the quality of addressing.
  AMAS is a software approval program that provides
  a standard by which to test and measure the
  quality of address matching software and its
  ability to correctly assign a unique Delivery
  Point Identifier (DPID) to each address record.
• To obtain AMAS approved software, a list of
  software vendors is available on the Australia
  Post website at auspost.com.au/amas

43
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Unbarcoded Acquisition Mail articles
• It is important to note that not all addresses
  provided may result in a barcode assignment. To
  reduce the incidence of multiple lodgements from
  the same source data, there is the option to
  lodge barcoded and unbarcoded Acquisition Mail
  together as a single lodgement using the same
  lodgement documentation.
• It is a requirement of the service that all
  addresses within the lodgement are presented to
  current AMAS software and a DPID assignment
  attempted. Customers may be requested to provide
  an Address Matching Processing Summary Report as
  evidence.
• There is no restriction on the quantity of
  unbarcoded articles that may be included as part
  of a lodgement, provided that the lodgement meets
  the minimum volume of 30,000 articles.
• Identical addressing conditions apply for
  barcoded and unbarcoded articles in a lodgement.

44
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Barcode Quality Program
• It is recommended that customers intending to
  lodge Acquisition Mail for the first time should
  submit sample letters to Australia Post for
  testing of barcode accuracy and readability.
• Australia Post provides the Barcode Quality
  Program (BQP) to both customers and suppliers to
  test the quality of barcodes prior to the print
  production stage. Information relating to the
  Barcode Quality Program is available on the
  Australia Post web-site at auspost.com.au/bqp

45
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Barcodes and correct addressing requirements
• Summary
• The key points covered in this section include
• In order to follow a specialised processing
  stream, and to qualify for Acquisition Mail
  prices, Australia Post has mandatory address
  requirements for Acquisition Mail, including
• Article Layout and zones
• Postage zone
• Return address zone
• Barcode and delivery address zone
• Acquisition Mail items need to be barcoded.
  Software approved by the Address Matching
  Approval System (AMAS) provides quality
  addressing and DPID assignment.
• Unbarcoded articles can also be lodged with the
  barcoded articles.

46
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Other Considerations
• Providing a sample of the intended Acquisition
  Mail article
• You must send the final version of the article
  as a PDF or physical sample to the Acquisition
  Mail Administrator to ensure that content is
  compliant. It is recommended that this is done
  prior to production, in case change is required.
  This can be emailed to
• am_at_auspost.com.au
• or mailed to
• Australia Post
  
  
  Attn AM
  Administrator
  
  
  Operations and Industry Relations
  
  
  GPO Box 1777
  
  
  
  MELBOURNE VIC 3001
• Within two working days you will receive an email
  to confirm receipt of the sample and advise if
  the article is compliant. Where an article is
  non-compliant the customer will need review and
  re-submit for approval.

47
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Other Considerations
• Prior to lodgement
• Acceptance staff at the lodgement facility will
  perform an inspection to determine if a lodgement
  satisfies the correct addressing conditions and
  barcodes are valid.
• If articles within a lodgement do not satisfy the
  Acquisition Mail conditions, customers have the
  option of
• (a) withdrawing the lodgement, modifying and
  re-presenting it at a later date, or
• (b) lodging the articles at the appropriate
  postage rate according to the delivery service it
  falls under and accepting a data charge of up to
  0.10 per address supplied.
• Note Articles that do not qualify for
  Acquisition Mail prices, and are lodged in
  another service, will be despatched in accordance
  with the regular delivery transport schedules.
  Australia Post will do all it can to ensure that
  the lodgement meets the regular delivery
  timetables but this cannot be guaranteed because
  of the OFF PEAK indicator on the articles.

48
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Other Considerations
• After lodgement
• Where articles are accepted as Acquisition Mail
  at the time of lodgement but are subsequently
  found to be non-compliant with the terms and
  conditions of the service, Australia Post has the
  right to increase the charges so that the
  applicable delivery service postage rate is
  charged and charge up to 0.10 per address
  supplied. In this situation Australia Post will
  credit the Acquisition Mail charge on the
  customers Australia Post Charge Account and
  charge the applicable postage rate for the
  articles.
• Where a data charge is made, Australia Post will
  charge this directly to the customers Australia
  Post Charge Account supplied at time of
  registration. The customer will be advised by
  email of any potential charges being made.

49
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Other Considerations
• Testing
• If you are concerned that your articles may not
  satisfy all service requirements you can request
  a preliminary test prior to lodgement. Tests can
  be conducted on the following
• shape window panel quality article colour,
  patterns or watermarks paper stock quality
• plastic wrapping flexibility barcode
  readability positioning of logos, advertising
  and other printing.
• Testing involves processing a sample of articles
  to determine if they are suitable for machine
  processing. Articles that pass the test will be
  accepted at the relevant price, provided that all
  other requirements have been met.
• Requests for testing should be directed to
• bqp.help_at_auspost.com.au
  
  
  Australia Post
  
  
  Business
  Letter Services
  
  
  GPO Box 1777
  
  
  MELBOURNE VIC 3001

50
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Cost
• Prices for Acquisition Mail are available in the
  Acquisition Mail service guide and the Post
  Charges Guide (MS11) both of which are available
  on the Australia Post website (auspost.com.au).
• Acquisition Mail items are charged as Same
  State when they are to be delivered in the same
  state as they were lodged.
• Acquisition Mail items are charged as Other
  State when they are to be delivered to a
  different state to where they were lodged.
• Customers may only use an Australia Post
  Business Credit Account or a postage meter, for
  payment.
• Where a customer is having their mailing
  registered by a representative, (ie mail house
  or agency) and does not have their own Australia
  Post Business Credit Account, they may organise
  to use the representatives Business Credit
  Account number.
• Note For payment using an Australia Post
  Business Credit Account customers will need to
  lodge their Acquisition Mail at the office at
  which they hold the account. Otherwise they will
  need to arrange with their account manager or
  Australia Post credit management for their
  account to be made available at the selected
  lodgement office.

51
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Summary
• The key points covered were
• All campaigns must be registered. Address data
  will then be provided for the customers
  nominated target regions
• The Acquisition Mail Data file contains
  approximately 8 million residential addresses
• No Advertising Material and addressed on ADMAs
  Do Not Mail list are excluded from the
  customers list of addresses unless specifically
  requested during registration
• The Acquisition Mail Data file does not contain
  address points for rural and remote areas, PO
  Boxes, Roadside Mail Bags and similar address
  points.
• Conditions apply to the use of the Acquisition
  Mail Data file
• The content of the Acquisition Mail article
  must be acquisition in nature
• Acquisition Mail is available for Small and
  Small Plus size categories, and articles can
  weigh up to 125g
• Acquisition Mail articles can be either in
  envelopes or postcards, and they can also be
  plastic wrapped
• Paper stock must be without patterns or
  pronounced fibers which may interfere with
  mechanised sorting equipment, and be made from as
  low gloss material
• Continued.

52
Acquisition Mail preparation

• Summary, continued
• Plastic wrapped articles are measured on the
  total plastic size, not the size of the contents
• Mandatory inscriptions on the article are the
  Postage Paid or Postage Meter imprint, Off Peak
  indicator, mandatory Return Address and AM Job ID
  Number
• Correct addressing conditions apply to
  Acquisition Mail
• All elements of barcoding must be followed in
  the preparation of Acquisition Mail articles
• A sample of the intended Acquisition Mail
  article must be approved by Australia Post prior
  to lodgement.

53
Assessment
You now need to complete a short assessment to
check your understanding of the information
covered in this module. This assessment
consists of 10 multiple-choice questions and
should take you approximately 10 minutes to
complete. To pass the assessment, you need to
answer at least eight of these questions
correctly. Attempt this assessment as many times
as you need to. If you do not pass, it is
recommended that you review this module again.
54
Assessment
True or false? Acquisition Mail is an Australia
Post service for the delivery of addressed
(non-personalised) barcoded articles to
residential and business addresses within
Australia
1

1. True
2. False

Correct answer B This statement is False.
Acquisition Mail is an Australia Post service for
the delivery of addressed (non-personalised)
barcoded articles to residential addresses only
within Australia
55
Assessment
Mandatory correct addressing conditions apply to
all articles in a Acquisition Mail lodgement.
Please select the incorrect statement from the
list below.
2

1. Correct addressing conditions include the use of
   fonts and the format of the address.
2. The complete address must be positioned in the
   address zone of the Acquisition Mail article
3. The barcode placement must be left justified
4. The second last line must contain the delivery
   address information.
5. It is recommended that the bottom line is printed
   in CAPITALS with no punctuation and no underlining

Correct answer C The barcode is excluded from
the requirement that address lines should be left
justified.
56
Assessment
True or false? Plastic wrapped Acquisition Mail
articles are measured on the total plastic size,
not on the size of the contents.
3

1. True
2. False

Correct answer A Plastic wrapped letters are
measured on the total plastic size, not on the
size of the contents.
57
Assessment
4
True or false? Addresses with No Advertising
Material signage and those on ADMAs Do Not
Mail list are automatically provided in the
customers address file file.

1. True
2. False

Correct answer B No Advertising Material and
addressed on ADMAs Do Not Mail list are
excluded from the customers Acquisition Mail
address file unless specifically requested during
registration
58
Assessment
What must the core communication objective of
Acquisition Mail articles be, in order to qualify
for the Acquisition Mail service
5

1. Personalised to acknowledge an existing
   relationship with the recipient
2. Obtaining customers and/or generating donations,
   sales of products, services and/or membership
3. Informative or educational communications

Correct answer B Acquisition Mail articles must
have a core communication objective of obtaining
customers and generating donations and/or sales
of products, services, and/or memberships.
59
Assessment
Greg lodges his Acquisition Mail campaign in two
separate lodgements of 20,000 each after
receiving 100,000 address points for his
nominated target regions. Which of these
statements is true?
6

1. The 60 saturation rate has not been met and
   Australia Post has the right to increase the
   charges so that the applicable postage rate is
   charged, and charge up to 0.10 per address
   supplied
2. The 60 saturation rate has not been met but no
   further action will be taken because lodgement
   has been made.
3. The minimum volume requirement was not met, and
   Australia Post has the right to increase the
   charges so that the applicable postage rate is
   charged, and charge up to 0.10 per address
   supplied

Correct answer A Only 40 saturation was
achieved and the requirement is 60. Where
articles are accepted as Acquisition Mail at the
time of lodgement but are subsequently found to
be non-compliant with the terms and conditions of
the service, Australia Post has the right to
increase charges to the applicable service
postage rate and charge up to 0.10 per address
supplied
60
Assessment
How does a customer access the DPID for an
address point in order to barcode their article?
7

1. The Postal Address File (PAF)
2. The barcodes are supplied with the customers
   address file
3. Using Address matching Approval System (AMAS)
   certified software

Correct answer C Customers must use Address
Matching Approval System (AMAS) certified
software to obtain the correct DPID for each
address
61
Assessment
8
What size envelope categories is Acquisition Mail
available for?

1. Small and Large
2. Small and Small Plus
3. Small, Medium and Large
4. Small, Small Plus, Medium and Large

Correct answer B Acquisition Mail is available
for Small and Small Plus envelope categories.
62
Assessment
What imprints are required in the Postage Zone of
an Acquisition Mail article?
9

1. Postage Paid
2. Postage Paid (or Meter impression) and Off Peak
3. Meter impression

Correct answer B Acquisition Mail articles
require a Postage Paid imprint (or meter
impression if articles are metered), and an Off
Peak indicator within the Postage Zone.
63
Assessment
10
Where can the Acquisition Mail Job ID number be
printed?

1. This is not a requirement of the service
2. In the delivery address zone, aligned to the left
   above the barcode
3. Above the return address in the top left hand
   corner
4. Either B or C

Correct answer D The Acquisition Mail Job ID
number can be printed in the delivery address
zone, aligned to the left above the barcode, or
above the return address in the top left hand
corner.