Intervenção no Fórum Filatélico de Berna

Anexo a intervenção que fiz em Berna:

Personalizing the Postal Stamp – A few introductory notes

1- One of the biggest problems that we have today, in what concerns the Promotion and Development of Philately in all the Postal Administrations and Postal Operators, is the fact that fewer Postal Stamps circulate each Year. If Stamps circulate less we loose public awareness for Philately and it will be more difficult and expensive to teach young children this hobby.
Even more important, in almost every Postal Administration Philately is a by-product of the Postal needs and the circulation of Stamps is mandatory in order for Philately to exist.
(Please note article 8 , number 2.1, of the UPU Convention.)

2- As a matter of fact (and to be able to make a profit ) the Postal activity – all over the world – relies more and more on “postage paid” labels and mechanical franking marks instead of the traditional Stamp, which is more expensive and time consuming to sell at Postal counters and to sort at the huge Sorting facilities build for speed and accuracy.
Sometimes “the enemy is inside the gates” meaning that efficiency processes – in the Post Offices – are nowadays theoretical bitter adversaries to the pursuit of a development strategy for Philately that includes the increase of circulated stamps..

3- When we speak of more developed countries, were the Postal Counters Net Work is now beeing evaluated as a profitable “commodity” ready to be sold or rented to third parties, this problem is even more evident . These “Third parties” will be driven by profit considerations alone, and will only sell stamps at the counters if forced to do so.

4- Taking all this into account Postal Operators and Postal Administrations will have to internally solve these potential conflicts, bearing in mind that to maintain an healthy Philately Bureau may be much more profitable for the Company as a whole than to let this noble activity slowly die. Apart from net profitability, which also has to be evaluated on a case by case scenario, we may also mention the huge “goodwill” that the Philatelic activity generates for the Corporate Image of the Posts and issuing Country.


5- In the near future, I personally believe that Philately development and the increase\promotion of the circulation of actual Stamps will have to be considered almost as the same task inside the Post Offices. Strategies to implement both objectives will have to be congruent and part of the same Marketing Plan.

6- That is the reason why all the ideas that will tend to give more awareness to Postal stamps and increase their circulation are particularly welcome by WADP.
“Personalized Stamps” deal with a very important vector in the Post Office’s MKT: Proximity to the Clients and to the Public in general. They contribute to increase stamp circulation and give “visibility” to postal stamps. All very good things from the Philately point of view.

7- On the other hand we have to keep in mind that Philately has been, for many years, a non-biased activity and that many “Players” in this field will have difficulties on classifying this new trend, and many doubts will be raised...

8- Are they to be considered Commemorative Stamps and - if so .- will they be depicted on catalogues and showed in official Collections at the offical Stamp Exhibitions?

9- Will it be possible for any Post Office Corporate Client to use the Personalized Stamps for promotion purposes even if it is (for example) a Tobacco Company or an Arms Manufactor?

10- Are they “inside” or “outside” the scope of WADP and UPU regulations and recommendations?

11- I do not have all the answers, but we can only hope that our Fórum, today, will cast a new light on all these matters.

12- A last word of caution: even if we - at the Postal Administrations Sector - do not “sympathize” with this type of Stamps and will tend to neglect the MKT options that such a new approach will make possible, I am sure that our Competitors in the activity, after the liberalization of the Postal Services in Europe, will be delighted to carry on with this idea in order to create awareness for their own Companies and to establish “nice” ties with their Clients ...