The average person is bombarded daily with marketing messages, which arrive in a variety of ways-—from print to electronic communications such as Web sites, emails, text messages, and digital audio. The challenge for both the marketer and its media partners is to rise above the noise, to stand out from others vying for an individual’s attention, to speak directly to the person, and to communicate in a meaningful way. It’s a challenge that variable data print (VDP) set out to tackle decades ago, and the very same principle used in VDP is now applied to communications intended for other means of dissemination.
Personalized content, if it is to be at all effective, must be just that—personal. The best variable campaigns are carefully constructed with messages, offers, and imagery to assure the recipient that his or her needs and wants are understood.
“We have a lot of customers and prospects looking at variable imaging, as well,” says Phil Rose, product manager, XMPie, Inc. “What’s intriguing to them is not only that you’re able to pick the right image for the customer—it might be a picture of a palm tree with coconuts for recipients interested in Miami Beach—but that you can personalize the image even further. Maybe you have the person’s name written in the sand. That one little piece of personalization can make a big difference. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, it’s a whole lot more than that.”
The Players
The marriage of variable-information (VI) applications and digital print equipment is a mature relationship by now. However, even in its maturity, this past year provided a resurgence in the print industry’s interest in variable data.
The number of VI developers decreased as leaders Hewlett-Packard (HP) and EMC Corporation each acquired VI companies—Exstream Software, LLC, and Document Sciences, respectfully.
“Businesses—whether a bank, healthcare provider, or utility company—need to communicate relevant, personalized information to their customers through a broad range of channels,” reports David Murphy, senior VP, Web Services and Software Business, IDG, HP. “We expect that the acquisition of Exstream will allow HP to address a broader set of customers and be a strong leader in the fast-growing document automation market.”
Though there may be fewer VI software developers serving the North American market, those that remain continue to innovate. Brands are enhanced to include solutions that enable customers not only to aggregate and output VI, but to capture good data and to adjudicate the effectiveness of personalized campaigns. For example, Kodak introduced InSite Campaign Manager for just this purpose. For in-depth information on this new solution, and a number of others—from desktop-level tools to robust, enterprise-wide software suites—don’t miss the next issue of DPS magazine when we look closer at VI software on the market and the capabilities they provide throughout the production workflow.
The investment and interest that companies such as HP, EMC, and Kodak put into VI technologies isn’t so surprising, considering the current market conditions and challenges.
“Given the state of the U.S. economy, the ability to tap into variable data technologies will certainly become more valuable to companies marketing their products and services,” says XMPie’s Rose. “There are people looking to spend money, but they’re being very judicious about how they spend it, and they want to make sure that what they spend it on is going to bring them revenue and return,” he adds. “Variable content is certainly a way to get more bang for your buck.”
Breaking Barriers
VDP transcends boundaries that segment the print industry. Specialty areas such as email campaigns, direct mail, and wide format digital print are applying variable data to applicable jobs.
For example, Think Big Solutions of Denver, CO, adopted variable content software last year. The print supplier caters to a custom base that includes franchises, large corporations, and multi-location organizations. Via a Web-to-print workflow, its clients create and order personalized print.
“We use XMPie software to put our clients in the driver’s seat—controlling how, when, and what they communicate to recipients of one-to-one programs—we also provide proven strategies for creating the most relevant and resonant campaigns and localized point-of-sale programs,” reports Shawn Allison, president, Think Big Solutions.
“What we hear from our customers is that they currently see great opportunity for VDP,” says Jon Bracken, VP, marketing, Kodak’s Enterprise Solutions Group. “Since their customers need to generate better return from their marketing dollars, and more importantly, actually be able to measure their ROI,” Braken continues.
He also notes that variable data participants aren’t always traditional print companies or advertising agencies. The field is broad, allowing business owners to redefine—and refine—their organizations, no matter what market.
“We have a really interesting customer based in Europe,” recalls Bracken. “He prints for the automotive industry there, and he’s putting in variable data technologies and digital printing systems that are very closely tied to the manufacturing plants and producing things like customized manuals according to chassis number—in sequence with the manufacturing line. So he prints variable data, but if you talk to him, he considers his business to be part of the manufacturing supply chain for the automotive industry.”
TransPromo Opportunity
Building upon the concept of variable data, businesses also see new opportunity in TransPromo marketing—the blending of transactional documents with advertising and other forms of marketing messages.
“Over the past 18 months, a combination of new technologies, postal changes, and market conditions created an environment where transaction documents like statements, invoices, and notifications are used effectively to generate sales and long-term relationships,” states, The TransPromo Revolution: The Time is Now, a white paper published by InfoTrends, Inc. in March of 2008. “Now, companies are starting to use these communications to create ongoing, sustainable customer dialogues that promote products and services in addition to communicating transactional information,” the paper states.
InfoTrends continues to analyze the market, and recently published a report, Trans Meets Promo É Is It More Than Market Hype?, which reveals that the North American market for TransPromo communications printed in full digital color was 1.7 billion impressions in 2007, and forecasts that volume to reach 22.8 billion by 2012, a compound annual growth rate of 68 percent. This forecast is predicated on the market ability of ultra high-speed printing solutions that have or will be announced by suppliers to the industry.
Making it Happen
Creating a successful one-to-one marketing campaign—whether it’s bound for print or some electronic form—requires partnerships and alliances to form throughout the supply chain. A typical campaign may be touched by customer service, IT, creative, imaging, marketing, legal, production, and manufacturing. All of these disciplines, working toward a common goal, have a vested interested in the project, and cooperation between them is paramount.
Print suppliers, in particular, may form a new kind of relationship with customers, acting not only as a manufacturing partner, but often as a marketing consultant, and IT expert, as well.
There is no shortage of software solutions available, which enable the creation, production, and output of variable information. Rather, the greatest challenge to a more rapid embrace of variable data-driven communications is the lack of good data—or a perceived lack of good data.
“That is one of the barrier to the more rapid adoption of VDP—simply, the availability of good data and knowing what to do with it once you have it,” notes Bracken.
It is extremely important for marketers to scrutinize the information they already have on customers. Marketers and document owners also need to be sure they are judicious when using this information. “There’s a fine line, where personalization crosses over into privacy issues,” cautions Deb Cantabene, VP, workflow marketing, Xerox Corporation. “I think that’s one thing that people have learned—you want to be careful how you use the information that you have. You want it to be a positive and relevant experience.”
This is perhaps the best example of how the print sell differs from the sales process inherent in personalized communications, whereby a print service supplier must be prepared to consult with clients on not only the mechanics of VDP, but best practices in marketing, as well.
“Graphic communications providers have been in a constant state of education for a few years now—not only learning the technology, but learning how to market and how to coach and counsel their customers. Many are now hiring people with marketing backgrounds,” notes Cantabene.
Despite the technical ability to produce documents based on variable content, the one-to-one space is still largely untapped in the U.S. Even with sophisticated software, marketers must harness the technology. In 2008, the CMO Council studied the market and published its findings in The Power of Personalization: The Impact + Influence of Individualized Content Delivery, which reveals that, “personalized marketing techniques are still in the early stages of being integrated into most companies’ marketing campaigns and budgets.”
Simultaneously, the report explains that marketers are mandated “to derive greater ROI from investments, increase response rates, and advance the customer experience.”
In Conclusion
When marketers obtain and use good, solid data; when the marketing message is clear and compelling; when the graphics are meaningful and aesthetically appealing; and when the workflow seamlessly takes the project from concept to output in a fluid, economical manner—a one-to-one marketing campaign reaps exceptional rewards.
