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Some marketers don't always understand how sophisticated variable data printing can be, because they haven't used it extensively. Four experts discuss what VDP offers to help smooth out the learning curve
Val DiGiacinto
VP of sales, The Ace Group
With increasing competition and decreasing budgets, it has never been more important to demonstrate positive campaign results, increased ROI, and maximized customer lifetime value.
Personalized URLs (PURLs) can be an effective strategy for marketers. They allow you to have a dialogue with loyal or potential customers by personalizing the experience. As the dialogue continues and you learn more about them, the personalization can improve as well. It's really what we all have come to expect as consumers. Studies have shown that direct mail recipients prefer to respond online and will be more inclined to visit a site that contains their name rather then response@-, info@- or sales@-type addresses.
Although PURLs have been around for a while, the adoption curve has been relatively slow. Those who have moved ahead of the curve and adopted PURLs as part of their cross-media marketing campaigns often see substantial gains in response rates and conversion rates for their customers.
The personalization of the mailpiece should be much more than just the verbiage. Based on what you know about the addressee, images and even the message should change as well. The image of a man or a woman on a golf course may be directed to a senior nearing retirement. A woman or a man rock climbing may go to a younger audience.
Your design for a traditional direct mail piece can be used as the start of a PURL. Adding the addressee's name to the takeaway message and in the URL and possibly changing an image based on an appropriate demographic will produce a well constructed PURL design. You can design the landing page or leave that up to your marketing solutions provider. A mined mailing list is the last component necessary for the project.
A new marketing tool, widely used in Japan and Europe and recently introduced to the US, is QR Code. By adding a twodimensional bar code to your DM, PURL...