The spending power of new movers is phenomenal. From decorating a new home to trying out new brands of everyday products, a new mover is likely to spend more money in the months following a move than the average consumer will spend in three years. The U.S. Postal Service has created a program that allows marketers to reach virtually all of the new movers in the United States both pre- and post-move. Advertisers can choose between the Mover’s Guide, to reach people while they are preparing for their move, and the Welcome Kit, to reach people after they move. Both of these programs work in conjunction with mandatory communication that the mover has with the USPS in order to establish forwarding service for their mail when they move.

Since the Mover’s Guide and Welcome Kit are put out in partnership with the USPS, a bidding process has been established to insure that all advertisers have an equal opportunity to reach consumers. When a category is open for bidding, advertisers submit blind bids based on what they are willing to spend on the vehicle. Once the bidding process is closed, the advertiser with the highest bid is accepted. The category is then locked up for an entire year by the winning advertiser; and at the end of the year, the category will be open again for bids. In most categories, if no one else has expressed interest, an advertiser can establish their cost per thousand (CPM) without going through the bidding process. In this instance, the advertiser must provide information including their cost of acquisition per customer and lifetime value of a customer. These numbers are used to develop a fair CPM for the advertiser. These programs have been in existence for over ten years and continue to work well for most advertisers, boasting an average renewal rate of 85%.