Valassis, one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, announced today that it will begin moving forward with plans to introduce a mail product that provides national retail advertisers an affordable avenue to reach a broad base of consumers following the Postal Regulatory Commission's (PRC) approval of a three-year negotiated service agreement (NSA).

"We applaud the PRC's decision and their validation of this innovative proposal," said Steve Mitzel, Valassis Senior Vice President/General Manager, Shared Mail.  "They have endorsed the dynamic elements embodied in the Valassis NSA that should incentivize new mail volume growth and marketplace expansion."

Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will provide discounted mailing rates allowing Valassis to attract durable goods advertisers with physical retail outlets in 30 or more states in distinct markets where the company has existing Standard Mail Saturation programs.

"As partners with the USPS and newspapers, we will continue to work hard to sustain the relevancy of hard copy, consumer-valued advertising and promotion delivered to American mailboxes," said Rob Mason,Valassis President and Chief Executive Officer. "It's time to begin the real work of executing our plan and we are excited about testing this program in select markets over the next few months."