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2018 One Show - Public Relations

USPS - Operation Santa

Agency MRM//McCann / New York

Client United States Postal Service
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Annual ID

OS_PR18001G

About the Work

Every year, the U.S. Postal Service receives millions of letters addressed to Santa. Most written by children from families that can’t afford basic needs, much less Christmas presents. Operation Santa crowdsources gifts in response to these letters. It begins with a website that lets people browse and choose letters. The back-end process of the website stores return addresses and protects the privacy of the letter senders. Those who would visit the Post Office to send gifts would experience a procedure streamlined specifically for Operation Santa participants. People have long been disillusioned with the U.S. Postal Service and mail as a method of communication. Millennials are especially wary of charities, preferring to crowdfund for people with specific and personal stories. Operation Santa appeals to that need to personally connect, and it proves that USPS will do everything to deliver every letter—stepping up to fulfill a responsibility they never expected.