What is the USPS Tactile, Sensory & Interactive promotion?

The USPS Tactile, Sensory & Interactive promotion is a limited-time postage discount that rewards mailers who add physical engagement to a mail piece, such as special coatings, textured stocks, unusual inks, or dimensional and interactive elements that a flat printed sheet cannot provide.

How it works

The mailer designs a piece that meets the USPS engagement criteria, such as a soft-touch coating, a raised spot treatment, or a heavy textured stock. The design is reviewed against the official requirements before it goes to press, since a piece that misses the criteria forfeits the discount. The campaign is enrolled in the USPS Business Customer Gateway before any piece is mailed. The mailing is then presented with the correct promotion documentation so the discount is applied automatically at acceptance, coming off the postage line rather than as a later rebate.

When and why it is used

Mailers use this promotion when they are already producing, or willing to produce, a high-impact piece and want the Postal Service to subsidize part of the postage for it. It rewards mail that is more likely to be noticed, touched, and kept, so the discount and the lift in response often arrive together. The window is time-limited each year, which is why the planning decision usually has to be made well before the mailing date. With 35 years in business (since 1990), Mail Processing Associates produces qualifying enhancements and handles the enrollment so the discount lands. For the full 2026 calendar, deadlines, and savings math, see our USPS direct mail promotions guide.

Reviewed by the Mail Processing Associates production team, 35 years in business and over 10 million mail pieces a year.