Targeting the print market of one - Magazine feature

The age of mass media is coming to an end. Slowly but surely, like a drifting iceberg, it is melting in the warming seas of personal expectations. Adrift in a world where many new forms of communication are under the control and discretion of individuals, mass mediaÕs grab for the attention of anonymous consumers is losing its force. People prefer the private to the public, the personal to the standard.

If marketers want to communicate with individuals who are increasingly protective of their personal preferences, they have to address them directly.

Consider the trends* Ð network television audiences peaked in 1985 and have steadily fallen ever since; newspaper circulation peaked in 1987 and its decline is accelerating; radio listener-ship is at a 27-year low. On the other hand** Ð direct marketing is growing at a rate of 17 per cent per year; the telemarketing industry is also growing at 17 per cent per year; in the 1990s 15 per cent of Australian homes were connected to the internet, today itÕs 60 per cent and 1.5 million of these have broadband. The underlying trend is one of individuation, of personal ownership of information and communication.

For the printing industry, the message is loud and clear Ð develop the ability to communicate with the new personalised market paradigm or risk being marginalised to the point of extinction. A century ago almost all advertising and marketing was print based. Today print accounts for less than half the total spend and its share is decreasing.

In the single year between 1999 and 2000, there were 722,000 new business sites established on the internet. When you consider that marketing, especially large corporate marketing, is responsible for generating over 70 per cent of all print and that marketers are constantly evaluating where to allocate their spend, it is plain that printing needs to reinvent itself as some thing other than old mass media.

Direct marketing is more than a paper tiger
Direct marketing now represents over 50 per cent of all media spending. Businesses are targeting customers in the full knowledge that only a value message that addresses a real and positive requirement in their life will get through the filter and be acted upon. Creating this message is the role of the new business of printing.

Digital printing is a product of the new age, and its potential is still almost entirely untapped. Of all its differentiators Ð short run, on-demand, push-button Ð none has the promise and the potential of personalisation. Receiving a well-directed personalised invitation to act on your preferences and abilities is almost irresistible. Sell a golfer a pair of golf shoes, a new car owner a GPS, a skier some travel insurance Ð itÕs a walk up start if you know who the customer is and can address them by their name.

It is not rocket-science and the tools are in place, but it takes knowledge and commitment. The advent of the Fuji Xerox iGen3 and similar powerful digital print engines has opened up the possibilities of personalised direct marketing.

Phil Chambers, managing director of Fuji Xerox Australia, has seized the opportunity and within the corporationÕs Global Services division is seeding the next revolution in printing. He has anointed Steve Pryce to head up the Technology and Innovation Group with the brief to develop new, effective direct marketing campaigns using personalised printing for major corporations.

Already it has achieved some benchmark successes with landmark corporations. Much of its work remains confidential but the growing evidence of outstanding results is making an impression. The queue of customers wanting to participate in the initiative is stretching around the block and lengthening. Revelling in the stunning responses some of the initial campaigns with major telcos and financial institutions, the sunrise business seems assured of fulfilling ChamberÕs expectations of becoming a major revenue source for the company.

Experiment, create, innovate
One of the most dynamic developers of personalised communication is Craig Stokoe, of LPN, a Sydney-based visual communications company. According to him the company works with its customers to harness the potential that personalisation can bring to marketing campaigns. ÒWe are creating new ways for customers to maximise their brand awareness and make striking impressions on their target audiences, and in the process achieving even better results than those utilising conventional marketing communication and printing methods.Ó


For one client, LPN runs a loyalty program with a niche target market. Variable date printing allows LPN to issue monthly 'statements' with graphic depictions of member points-achieved, points-redeemed, prizes available and reminders of prizes already redeemed.

ÒThere is no limit to the size of the target market that can be reached with seemingly individually-tailored messaging when relying on the impact of fully-personalised direct mail,Ó he said.

Variable data printing allows LPN to provide the marketing department of another client with 'ready to go' mail pieces for distribution to its sales force. Each printed piece is personalised towards the prospect with content altered according to industry type.

Following printing, each letter is fully addressed, sealed and supplied to sales teams ready to lodge at their own discretion.

ÒIn this scenario, sales personnel are given control of the timing of the direct mailers and necessary follow-up contact with targets in accordance with their own schedules to support and fulfil subsequent orders,Ó explains Stokoe. ÒIt is an ideal marketing solution as it maximises opportunities created by the personalised communication by incorporating the sales support into the equation. This is the essence of personalisation: recognising that the importance of customer communication lies more in who receives it and what eventuates rather than who sends it.Ó


Mail - internet invitation
For certain customer events, LPN creates printed invitations that feature personal URLs for RSVPs. ÒBy leveraging the convenience of the internet and providing each recipient with their own personalised RSVP page, we have found that it is easier for potential attendees confirm their availability. It also provides the event coordinators with immediate and accurate attendee data that helps with planning the event. Most of all, this unique way of responding to an invitation gives us an opportunity to customise the customerÕs experience and as a result, receive response rates that are well above the norm.Ó

Stokoe concludes, ÒIn addition to expanding our own business offerings, we are using pioneering digital printing technology to produce personalised, one-to-one documents in full colour to add value to our customers. This not only heightens brand awareness and loyalty, but the value is visible in bottom line success such as increased customer response and repeat business."