Upload Creative

Before you begin designing, be sure to take a look at our extensive template selection and detailed instructions on file dimensions, address block, and export settings:

pageTemplatespageStatic CreativespageDynamic Creatives

Step 1: Name Creative & Select Format

Give your creative a unique name and select the size & format that corresponds to your design files:

Our address block is auto-applied, please DO NOT include a white block in your back artwork. We take care of that for you.

Step 2: Shipping Speed & Paper Stock

Keep in mind that postage type is assigned by creative and not campaign. Postage speed can be changed after finalizing your creative upload by clicking Edit Creative. USPS Standard postage is calculated into the Base Rate:

Premium Uncoated stock can only be used with static creative files (PDF/X-1a, PNG or JPG/JPEG).

Timeline

The following is a typical average timeline for First Class and Standard mailers sent through Poplar:‌

Poplar is optimized for speed, mailers are sent to production almost immediately and start printing within 24 hours. Depending on the postage used, in-home time can be as little as 3-7 days. Mailers sent in the early-to-late afternoon may not enter production until the following day.

Due to recent policy changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, USPS has been experiencing backlog in certain areas of the country. We kindly ask our clients to keep this in mind when determining shipping speed and tracking mailers sent via Standard shipping. For time sensitive campaigns, we recommend mailing First Class when possible.

Step 3: Upload Creative Files

Postcard creative files are uploaded in two parts: front and back. Two different supported file formats can be used in one creative; for example if only one side of your creative uses dynamic merge tag elements, the dynamic side should be an HTML file and the static side can be uploaded as PDF/X-1a.

If receiving an error when attempting to upload, review out list of common print errors for troubleshooting:

pagePrint Error Guide

Step 4: Set Merge Tags (Optional)

If your creative is in HTML and contains a Custom Merge Tag, the platform will detect it and prompt you to set a Default Value. This value will populate in the event of an empty field in the recipient merge tag data being sent to Poplar. If your HTML creative contains Default Merge Tags, Location Based Merge Tags, and in some cases Liquid Logic, you will not be prompted to set a Default Value.

If you're passing custom merge tags to Poplar via triggered integration, use your Test API to confirm the data matches your creative and is present in the Request Details under your campaign's History tab.

Step 5: Review & Finalize

The last step in the creative upload process is to Review & Finalize. Here you will see a preview of the front and back after cut, with our address block applied and populated with default data, the postage type, and a list of any custom merge tags present with their default value.

We recommend always downloading and reviewing your creative as a PDF preview to assure all images and text are rendering in high resolution.

Edit & Deactivate Creative

After finalizing your creative upload, you'll be brought to the Creative tab within your campaign. Click into one to see an overview of the creative's file format, size, postage, number of custom merge tags and sample data guides which include a CSV template mail file and custom webhook for API integration.

If only one creative is present in a campaign, that creative will automatically be defaulted. If more than one is uploaded, you'll have the option to default one or none of the creatives. To un-default a creative, simply deactivate then reactivate it.

Edit Creative only allows you to edit the creative name and postage type after finalizing. To make any other updates such as merge tag default values or file changes, a new creative must be uploaded.

Deactivate Creative will render it inactive and it will no longer be available for trigger or One Time Send selection. The inactive creative will be greyed out but still visible from the creative tab. If a live trigger is pointing to creative that is deactivated, the campaign will stop mailing.