Ceska posta takes mail high-tech

In an effort to stay on the cutting edge of mobile communication, the national postal service, Ceska posta, has come up with a new service that will transform pictures sent through multimedia message service (MMS) technology into regular printed postcards.
"Travelers or anyone else can send us pictures and text messages via MMS, an e-mail or by placing it on a Web portal (doschranky.cz), and Ceska posta will transform the picture into a regular postcard and deliver it," said Ivo Mravinac, spokesman for the company.
After a monthlong testing period, in which hundreds of people took advantage of the offer, Ceska posta introduced personalized postcards July 24. Clients can use the service by sending messages and pictures over e-mail to [email protected] with their phones or computers or by posting them onto a Web portal.
Originally, Mravinac said, it didn't intend to offer the service before Christmas. But new management appointed in the past two months decided to speed it up to demonstrate the company's flexibility and capability to keep pace with the evolution of digital technology.
Getting modern
The idea of personalized postcards emerged out the e-communications services Ceska posta offers businesses. Companies can send the postal service data via MMS and have it printed into invoices and invitations to parties and other events, Mravinac said.
"We decided to expand the service to the general public," he said, adding that similar products have been successful in Scandinavian countries.
"We hope this new service will earn recognition here, and that it'll become a standard product for most of our customers by Christmas."
This might be a long shot, considering people are sending fewer postcards in this country, a result of the growing popularity of text and MMS messages. In 2004, 82,883 postcards were printed here. That figure fell to 74,024 in 2005.
Mravinac insisted, however, that postcards aren't going to disappear.
"Just look at books. There were also concerns that they would be pushed out of the market by the Internet, and they are still on the shelves," he said.
Ceska posta will charge a flat 30 KC ($1.30) fee for personalized postcards, and they will be delivered within three days.
It will compete with Telefonica O2, the company that resulted from the merger of fixed-line operator Cesky Telecom and its mobile arm Eurotel. The companies merged earlier this year after being bought by Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica.
Eurotel began offering personalized postcards in June 2003. They cost 22.50 KC a piece and reach mail boxes within two days.
Martin Zabka, spokesman for Telefonica O2, said hundreds of people send personalized postcards every day.
Vodafone spokesman Jakub Hrabovsky, like Zabka, said MMS technology presents a major opportunity for many business sectors, including those outside the telecom industry.
"The use of MMS has been expanding, especially with younger people," Hrabovsky said.
For Ceska posta, personalized postcards won't be a major source of revenue, but they are one step in the company's overall modernization strategy, Mravinac said.
It plans to open branches in hypermarkets and shopping malls to get closer to customers. Also, it is working on a project that will allow people to use e-payments for postal services.
Mravinac did not want to elaborate on this project, however.
"It would not be wise to disclose all of our strategies to competitors," he said with a laugh.
Despite the ongoing liberalization of the postal market, Ceska posta remains the dominant player. It has a monopoly on the delivery of all items weighing less than 50 grams (1.8 ounces).
Last year, it saw net earnings increase 50 percent to 667 million KC, its second-best year-end result.
Frantisek Bouc can be reached at [email protected]

About personalized postcards
1. Ceska posta has introduced a service that will transform pictures sent through MMS technology into printed postcards
2. Clients can send pictures through e-mail or a Web portal with a written message, and the post office will deliver a printed version to a specified address
3. Each personalized postcard costs 30 KC ($1.30) and will be delivered within three days