Posted on Tue, May 15, 2012
Can holistic Customer Communications exist in your business?
May 9 and 10 in Singapore, I was fortunate to attend a unique gathering of minds from the Asia Pacific banking industry at Next Bank Asia in Singapore. The attendees included innovative bankers, multi-media artists, creative IT professionals, inspirational UX designers, 
and experienced consultants. They represented banks from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand.
The conference covered many topics related to banking, but most of the presentations pointed to serious deficiencies in the customer experience. Clearly, there is a real need for banks to re-evaluate their entire customer experience. While this is mostly inspired by some banking presentations, it is widely applicable.
Update the entire customer experience? But I am only one person...
Changing the entire customer experience sounds like a daunting task. I have been thinking about some of the barriers that exist, and there are many. For example, some banks are investing in branch redesign to improve customer experience. Other banks are re-designing branch experiences. Some are focusing almost exclusively on mobile applications. Yet others are forming innovative social media teams. As HVTO professionals, we tend to focus on customer communications. To truly reconceive and implement a new customer experience, we’re going to have to involve a lot of people.
We are talking about a lot of things that Outputlinks readers like us assume happens elsewhere without our input. Generally, we are oblivious to all of the marketing, real estate, IT, legal, and strategy decisions that set the customer experience. But as banks get holistic in a customer-focused orientation, we need to participate in those decisions. We will understand more about the smaller part of larger picture that we help create. When I started thinking about this, I realized that I simply do not know all of the right people.
So, it comes down to who you know... and most of us come up short.
Many enterprises do not have a unified customer communication strategy, let alone have a strategy that is integrated into a part of an entire customer experience that spans all departments. While some organizations are in a better spot to make customer communications a strategic part of their business, most enterprises do not fully understand who needs to be involved.
See if you can match the task to the owner in your own organisation. If you can identify these task owners, you are ready to be a critical part of discussions that elevate the strategic importance of HVTO in the larger context of customer experience.
Time to take the test...
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Task:
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Owner:
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1
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Who is responsible for producing your customer communicationss?
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2
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Which department pays for the production of print-based customer communications?
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3
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Who is responsible for the web-based customer communications?
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4
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Who is responsible for the design of online pre-sales marketing communications?
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5
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Who is responsible for the design of print-based pre-sales marketing communications?
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6
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When a new customer is on-boarded, who is responsible for the new customer communications?
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7
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If your company has customer-facing apps for smart phones or tablets, who designs and develops those apps?
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8
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If your company has customer-facing apps for smart phones or tablets, who pays for the development of the apps?
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9
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Who designs and contracts for the non-print advertising, like TV advertisements, radio commercials, and Internet ads?
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10
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Who is responsible for the Twitter presence of your organization?
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11
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On your company’s Facebook page, who responds to customer posts on your wall?
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12
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In your call center, who controls the scripts around the up-sell and cross-sell initiatives you have in place?
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13
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When a customer calls into your call centre, does the representative on the phone have the ability to suggest relevant and personalized content?
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14
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If your company offers a loyalty program, who ensures that the customers are not sent offers that are not relevant to them?
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15
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Who coordinates marketing campaigns that execute across multiple channels?
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16
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Who owns the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) keyword strategy for the business?
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17
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For all of the previously mentioned projects, who in the organization is accountable for all of these communications?
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18
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When a new product is created, who coordinates marketing across all channels?
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19
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When an important regulation changes, who is responsible for making sure all of the customer communications are evaluated for potential changes?
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20
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When a major, enterprise-wide, marketing change occurs, who moves that change through all of the communication channels?
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How well did you do?
Many enterprises are beginning to figure out which elements must come together to create a truly customer-focused business. Today, many are not putting the right teams together. Your business has professional skills, incredible passion about your customers and an abundance of powerful, smart people. Those are valuable assets to your business. Simply connecting these people can give your business incredible power. How can you use this list to bring these interesting people together to do some great things in your business?
Scott Draeger, M-EDP is based in Sydney and serves as HP Exstream’s Customer Communication Strategist for the Asia Pacific region. He also serves as a member of Xplor International’s Board of Directors. He holds a BA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has an International MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He joined HP Exstream in 2007. In 2010, Scott earned his M-EDP (Master Electronic Document Professional) designation from Xplor International.
Posted on Wed, May 09, 2012
By Elisha Kasinskas, Marketing Director, Rochester Software Associates, Inc.
In-plants and corporate print centers,
Now you have a chance to do just that! And, you can even vote for who you would like to include on a “dream team” panel of successful in-plants at the headliner in-plant event of the NEW in-plant track at GRAPH EXPO. Titled “In-Plant Panel, Success Stories from the Field,” in-plant session attendees will get an exclusive view into how these top in-plants are growing their operations, adding services and have become a strategic asset to their organization.
Vote by 5/22/12 to help determine:
- Who we should include on the panel
- What in-plants would like to know about these operations
- If a strong in-plant track with dedicated networking space will impact your plans to attend the show
This voting process creates an unparalleled opportunity for in-plants to create a peer-led panel and determine content that is most relevant to you. Be sure to vote by 5/22/2012 and stay tuned to learn who is chosen and what secrets they will share at this first-ever session.
For more information about the panel session on Monday, October 8, 2012 from 10:30-Noon at GRAPH EXPO, contact the session moderator, Elisha Kasinskas of Rochester Software Associates (RSA) at marketing@roccoft.com
Posted on Mon, May 07, 2012
Posted by Andy & Julie Plata, OutputLinks Communications Group
May 7, 2012, Océ Printing Systems GmbH, Poing – Océ InfiniStream technology matches offset regarding quality, productivity and media versatility while adding digital flexibility.
Océ, the market leader in web-fed dry toner and inkjet printing, is adding a third technology to its portfolio to further extend its reach into new market segments. With this new technology, the Company again underlines its technology leadership in high-speed digital printing.
The new technology will shift breakevens significantly upwards, without compromising on quality or media. The vision of high-volume just-in-time production of high-value customized output has now been realized.
Ground-breaking liquid toner technology
Océ InfiniStream technology is based on highly mobile, uniform colorants and a unique heatless wet-in-wet image transfer. Both core innovations result in high productivity, top print quality and enhanced cost-effectiveness. A completely new digital liquid toner press architecture has been developed based on the proven offset system geometry – inking system, imaging cylinder and rubber-coated blanket cylinder – that enables variable imaging on all coated and uncoated offset standard papers with the look and feel of offset printouts. The unique modular print tower concept allows unrivaled speeds of up to 120 m/min with a 28-inch (711 mm) wide web, resulting in up to 14,400 B2 sheets or 7.200 B1 sheets per hour. Due to seamless printing cylinders and an infinite real-time imaging process, the press enables fully variable format lengths including 70 x 100 cm or B1 sheet sizes.
Efficient folding carton production
Current digital technologies either do not provide the required quality on coated cardboard or do not deliver the productivity needed in the main production segment of up to 5000 sheets, and therefore are not attractive pricewise.
By providing offset quality on all kinds of coated material, the Océ InfiniStream technology is excellently suited for the production of coated folding cartons. With the B1 format sheet output, the traditional workflows using large die-cutting solutions can be addressed, opening up entirely new possibilities for packaging converters. Minimized set-up, combined with a unique capability to individually change contents and artworks, paves the way for real mass customization with the shortest possible time to market.
Share your comments below.
More on Océ >>>.
Posted on Wed, May 02, 2012
But does purchasing control your outsourced communications?
Scott Draeger, M-EDP, Customer Communication Strategist, HP Exstream
Back in February 2012, I wrote a piece called, “The Outsourcing Continuum: Setting Your Sourcing Strategy,” which roughly defined five types of outsourcing. This topic has since come up many times at trade shows and client meetings in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the United States. The question was asked in many ways, but usually it went something like this: “Can I get more control of my communications?” For enterprises that outsource customer communications, the purchasing team often controls customer communication strategy. For these enterprises, this is a significant barrier to communication innovation.
Wait, the purchasing team doesn’t control my customer communications…
Many of the people who explored the topic with me clearly have ownership of the content of their customer communications at the level of individual projects. For all intents and purposes, these are the people who get blamed if something goes wrong with a communication. They handle change orders and manage the complicated pre-processing of the data feeds. They work with the areas of the business that owned new products, regulatory compliance, or other critical areas of customer communications. But they rarely sit at the same table.
Upon further discussion, however, many of these people operate within the confines of an outsource agreement, which established prices, quantities, and service levels. Ultimately, this places several powerful areas of innovation well outside of their control. For example, these agreements generally are managed by purchasing teams in order to discourage major changes to customer communications, as these changes incur fees that purchasing challenges.
But isn’t making hard negotiations to save money the purchasing team's job?
Purchasing does a great job keeping costs down and optimizing vendor arrangements over time with their outsource partners. But purchasing professionals are not hired to be the innovation engine that drives customer communication strategy. If purchasing is given too much authority in an organization, they can effectively block innovation, concentrating on cost reduction at the expense of new revenue opportunities.
Many existing contracts are often renewed without first checking to see if there are new opportunities to innovate. Purchasing has the most leverage in a transaction when the quantity increases but the commodity doesn’t change. Suppliers have the best leverage when pitching new, upgraded, or expanded services. The purchasing team is smart, and they are compensated based on savings.
Since the purchasing team is primarily tasked with managing costs and enforcing contracts, they don’t have a lot of extra bandwidth to consider what could be improved with the items they are managing.
Purchasing manages at the project and commodity level.
Purchasing is not charged with needing things; rather, they are charged with getting you the things you need. If a contract manages the production of physical customer communications, the electronic communications might not be managed the same way. Multi-channel marketing campaigns might use an entirely different set of suppliers.
If these critical communications are treated as separate, unrelated transactions, you’re going to have trouble making adjustments during the execution of a complex communication strategy. If you execute too many changes, many of the efficiencies that were negotiated can be negated with high change fees. And if you become averse to change because of anticipated costs, you are allowing your competitors to chip away at your market share. Either way, any redesign is almost entirely out of the question until the next budget cycle.
So, it’s your job to let the purchasing team participate when you set strategy!
If you really want to control your customer communication, you must invite the purchasing team to the table. This partnership usually drives towards one of the following conclusions: either the business will find a true full-service DPO (Document Process Outsourcer) partner or it will manage the strategic composition components of customer communication in house.
Using a DPO with multi-channel capabilities makes it easier to manage communications by standardizing on a single source for all of your customer communication needs. The largest hurdle in this arrangement is generally the assembly and transmission of many types of data and content that reside in disconnected systems. But the production technology will be better and costs will be lower than if you attempted to achieve this on your own.
The other common approach is to use a hybrid model that brings the composition and creation of customer communications into the business units. Owning the creation of communications, but outsourcing the fulfillment and delivery, allows the business to continuously innovate. This mixture makes it easier for the purchasing team because they own the commoditized part of the transaction, leaving all of the design and content control to the business.
There are many ways to manage the acquisition of customer communications. But, without involving purchasing, you will not create an environment that delivers market-leading customer communications. Your competitors will.
Posted on Mon, Apr 30, 2012
Posted by Aaron Kiel, senior editor, OutputLinks
Recent event connects experts and leaders in marketing, creative, printing and procurement; Conference Showcases CGX’s investment in customer success
April 30, 2012 – The emerge conference is a unique event hosted by Consolidated Graphics (CGX), along with the support of companies such as HP, Ricoh, Kodak and many others. The recent event was held April 17 – 20, 2012, at Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, and it gathered nearly 1,000 guests/customers of CGX.
CGX, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is one of North America's leading general commercial printing companies.
emerge gave attendees access to the latest printing and related technology solutions in an environment designed specifically to connect selected leaders – in marketing, creative design, printing and procurement – with industry experts.
Attendees came together at emerge to share new and creative ideas to streamline processes, improve efficiencies and maximize results. Conference delegates focused on learning new methods of integrating print with other forms of media, and experienced first-hand how successful companies connect with customers to achieve growth.
Keynotes offered by senior executives – representing the top names in their respective markets – shared their experiences in brand development and marketing. Breakout Sessions delivered information on emerging trends in graphic communications, and the business expo offered hands-on experience with break-through communication solutions. Consolidated Graphics, along with top names in print solutions and technology, showcases the latest products, services and solutions that are shaping the future of graphic communications.
Consolidated Graphics said the event demonstrates their commitment to investing in their customer’s success now and into the future. “We’ve attracted keynote speakers that are experts in their respective fields, people who are committed to leading their audiences forward and building a future that shifts the status quo,” said Aaron Grohs, executive vice president, sales and marketing at CGX. “Emerge underscores our own commitment to push the boundaries of print technology, to think differently and to engage the support of our customers and suppliers to optimize our collective business performance.”
Grohs added: “It is with the support of our suppliers and partners such as HP, Ricoh, Kodak and Adobe that we are able to host such a groundbreaking event. Our hope is that emerge will continue to be a significant contributor to advanced thought leadership in the print industry for many years to come.”
At the conference, CGX announced the winners its second annual Encore Awards presented by Adobe, in celebration and recognition of innovative use of print in a variety of categories. The Encore Award winners were announced on April 18 at the Encore Awards gala. In addition to the nine category winners, emerge guests voted to select a single entry among the category finalists to receive the People’s Encore Award, an honor created to highlight creative appreciation among peers.
The categories and their winners are:
• Books & Annual Reports: Monkeywrench Records, Eddie Vedder: Ukelele Songs
• Brochures: IKON Public Affairs/Can of Creative, Colorado Beer Distributors
• Catalogues & Magazines: Stitch Design Co., Portland General Store
• Digital: Studio XL, Stuart Weitzman Diamond Book
• Direct Mail: University of South Carolina Creative Services, Carolina’s Promise
• Environmentally Friendly: Moxie Sozo, EOS Sustainability Brochure
• General: Coach, Coach 7 for 70th Anniversary Piece
• Packaging: Cinco Design, Microsoft Phone Box
• Print & Technology Solutions: FEI, Brand Campaign, FEI Explore. Discover. Resolve.
IKON Public Affairs/Can of Creative also received this year’s People’s Encore Award.
“Now in our second year of celebrating the Encore Awards, our customers are continuing to raise the bar in terms of relevance, engagement and creativity of print,” said Grohs. “Through our 70 print facilities across the country, we have the honor of working with the most talented designers, agencies and creative teams in business. The Encore Awards are a showcase of this talent, and a testament to the potential of ink on paper.”
The Encore Awards were created to recognize the innovative ideas of Consolidated Graphics’ customers and to showcase the many ways they deliver creative and effective print and marketing solutions to support their own customers and the markets they serve. An independent panel of six judges reviewed and discussed the merits of more than 400 submissions.
"Emerge is evidence of our focus on evolving the print industry and integrating technology with ink on paper. It's an opportunity to collaborate with our customers, suppliers and industry experts to explore opportunities to better communicate with our audiences," shares Grohs.
The dates for emerge 2013 are April 30 – May 2 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
Did you attend the 2012 event? Share your comments and feedback below?
Posted on Mon, Apr 30, 2012
Posted by Aaron Kiel, senior editor, OutputLinks
April 30, 2012 – Canon and Océ are making their first drupa appearance since Canon’s acquisition of the Dutch printing powerhouse, so while at drupa 2012 in Düsseldorf, Germany, stop by their booth and see the bigger picture with these two companies.
Visit the Canon & Océ stand at drupa 2012, Hall 8a, C06-1, to:
- View the largest display to date of the combined Canon and Océ portfolio of production print solutions
- Understand the business opportunities these companies present, especially in growth areas such as cross media communications
- Experience innovative applications that highlight customer successes on the stand
- Learn about the Fourth Canon Insight Report, which gives an understanding into print buyers’ purchasing requirements, expectations of print providers and views on the value of print in the communications mix
- Discover Canon’s new Essential Business Builder Mentoring Program, where independent industry experts work with print businesses to achieve their goals
- And gain access to a broad portfolio of professional print products and solutions – whether the requirement is for mono or color, inkjet or toner, high speed or outstanding print quality, A4 or large format, standalone device or multiple engines managed by a production workflow.
David Preskett, 
European professional print director, Canon Europe, who was appointed in December, 2008, says, “The depth of expertise and technology that Canon and Océ can now offer is very exciting, so for visitors to drupa who are looking for inspiration, I’d urge them to come to the Canon stand to see that there’s much more to print than printing.”
Preskett adds: “As well as observing the latest Canon and Océ technology in action, they’ll also have access to valuable advice from independent business consultants and to fascinating insights about their customers. Add to that the more than one hundred customer success stories and print applications that will be on display, and the Canon stand should be on the itinerary of every visitor looking for new opportunities to grow their business.”
See a pre-drupa video interview with Preskett >>>.
The full range of Canon and Océ technology will be shown on the Canon stand at drupa, including the new Océ ColorStream 3700. The stand will also feature four different zones: one for external print service providers, one for internal print departments, one that showcases Canon’s added value services such as the Essential Business Builder Program and one focused on growth areas such as cross media and photo print. Whether a customer’s focus is on cutting costs, exploring new business areas or seeking inspiration from real-life examples, Canon’s stand aims to provoke thought and inspiration amongst visitors.
For updates, go to Canon Europe’s website >>>.
Share your views on Canon & Océ below.
Posted on Mon, Apr 30, 2012
This week’s drupa 2012 – the heart & engine of the printing and media industry – considers new and intelligent multi-media opportunities for communications. Event takes place May 3 – 16, 2012.
Posted by Aaron Kiel, OutputLinks senior editor
drupa organizers say, “Life without printing and media is simply unthinkable – books, 
newspapers, packaging, instructions for use, posters, prospectuses, business cards and tickets are an integral part of everyday life. Even the rise of digital media has not displaced print media, but rather enriched it: The various methods of communication are stimulating each other, opening up new and intelligent opportunities which form our everyday life.”
Indeed, the international printing and media industry is looking to the drupa 2012 event with a great deal of excitement. The event kicks off this week, May 3, and runs two weeks until May 16. It’s the most important and largest trade fair of its sector in the world.
And while in the Western industrial countries the printing and media industry is experiencing a profound structural change, the markets in the emerging countries of Asia and Latin America are dynamically developing, according to drupa.
"The drupa event in Düsseldorf is an important provider of ideas and the platform for exchanging solutions and successful business models especially in view of this background", says Bernhard Schreier, president of the drupa 2012 event, emphasizing the outstanding importance of drupa.
Yes, drupa has been unearthing, explaining and promoting the mega trends of the industry for more than 60 years, as well as setting the pace for their development and presenting the complete global market offerings.
"The entire trade fair ground with its 19 halls will transform into the biggest printing house in the world during this period. In doing so, approximately 1,850 exhibitors from more than 50 countries will demonstrate the diversity and innovation strength of their industry – regardless of whether this has to do with newspapers etc., packaging printing, commercial or functional printing", says Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, drupa organizers.
Here are drupa highlights and hot topics…
drupa Innovation Park: Smart solutions for the media industry
A diverse specialist supporting program with seminars, conferences and special shows will take up the current topics of the industry and thus complement the exhibitors’ technology services. The drupa innovation park 2012, presented by digi:media (dip), will present current, innovative and trendsetting solutions and applications for the entire media industry in Hall 7.0. The dip, with approximately 130 exhibitors, is composed of nine topical worlds. Innovative print products such as lenticular, 3D printing, electronic printing, augmented reality or the "tool kit" for cross-media campaigns, in other words the preparation of content for the media channels of print, tablet PCs and smartphones, will be presented. The special feature is the spatial proximity to the drupa cube presented by digi:media in Hall 7a – the event and conference location on the topic of cross-media communication.
drupa Cube: Trends in marketing, publishing & creation
drupa visitors will be able to obtain information about trendsetting technologies in the dip, and the neighbouring drupa cube will provide the associated content and business solutions. At this location everything will revolve around the trends in cross-media, print-based communication for 13 days duration. Print buyers, those making marketing decisions, advertisers, publishing companies and creative persons are invited. Each exhibition day has its own motto, from "Print – Web – Mobile" to the "Day of Corporate Communication" and the "Day of Newspapers". Whether it is magazines, books, out-of-home applications, dialogue marketing, packaging, electronic printing or media production – on each day there will be a half-day symposium on the various communication models. More information here >>>.
Sustainability: Media mundo@drupa
The special show "Media mundo@drupa" (Hall 9, Stand E55) will revolve around the topic of sustainability in media production. Visitor information, live discussions and exciting presentations given by experts and industry giants (such as Don Carli, President of Nima Hunter, USA) will be offered on approximately 240 m² of exhibition space. Here, innovations, stimuli and sustainability concepts from diverse fields revolving around sustainable media production will be found. Alongside associations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Forest Steward Councilship (FSC), the European Waterless Printing Association (EWPA), the Allianz deutscher Designer [Alliance of German Designers] (AGD), the International Association of the Deinking Industry (INGEDE) and the Bundesverband Druck und Medien [Federal Association for Printing and Media] (bvdm), service providers from the paper, energy, media production, process and workflow management and packaging sectors will present themselves. All of the lectures will be broadcast parallel and live on the Internet and those watching from all over the world will be able to pose questions to the respective speakers via Twitter.
PACK PLUS: special exhibition on package printing
The underlying concept of the 300 square metre special show (Hall 11, Stand D 44) spotlights the importance of integrated package printing, illustrating this with a product example: the “D” Drink. This is presented in the centre of the stand in various primary and secondary packages designed for this purpose by the exhibitors at the special show. The participating companies include: Brand Anarchists, Crown, Deco Glas, Druck Chemie, Epda, Epple, Gulpener Brauerei, Huber Packaging Group, Saueressig and the Association of Metal Packaging. The showcased results clearly reveal how a brand or a product can be supported by the choice of materials and the printing and finishing techniques.
World premiere of the 58th TDC Show
The most important competition in the world on the topic of font – the Type Directors Club of New York – will be stopping by at drupa and presenting the prize winners of the current competition to the world public for the first time (Hall 6, Stand B 06). 223 awards for work from 21 countries were bestowed from 1,600 entries, 47 pieces of work come from Germany. Diego Vainesmann, the TDC President and Carol Wahler, Managing Director of TDC, will come from the USA to open the 58th TDC show on 03 May (3 pm). This year, the TDC show will be accompanied by the type design competition TDC2 as well as the new TDC Title Design, a competition for innovative opening credits and moving image typography.
drupacity: A city sees red
Since the drupa 2000 event, Düsseldorf has been transforming into the drupacity during drupa: A network of partners from the catering, retail, art and culture trade come together to make the stay in Düsseldorf as pleasant as possible for guests from all over the world. A highlight will be the vessel fit for the high seas, the drupaperboat made by the Dutch paper designer Filip Jonker which will be anchored in the Kö-Graben. The 7.50 m long and 2.65 m wide boat made from 2,000 kilograms of paper with 2,500 kilograms of sand as ballast, has been made extra waterproof for journeys by sea. Its test journey last September went from Rotterdam over the channel to the Thames Festival in England. Other offers in the city will also convey the core topics of the drupa 2012 well and in an understandable way. In the shopping malls around the Kö, artists will present their work with print and paper for the drupart project; these range from highly fashionable accessories from paper to individually designed pieces of furniture made from paper.
drupa will be open on a daily basis from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (until 5 p.m. on the weekends). A day ticket costs 40 euros online and 65 euros at the box office.
More on drupa here >>>.
Share your comments on drupa below.
Posted on Wed, Apr 25, 2012
Nielsen study proves the effects and attraction of the envelope and shows the new challenges it faces
By RAPP Germany GmbH
Postal recipients want the envelope. While the battle rages for customers in postboxes and email inboxes, the Nielsen information and media company confirms the unique advertising effects of an envelope – even in this digital era. Today, recipients of advertising expect on the one hand the value of a real envelope and on the other hand the personal touch of an e-mail. The demands placed by advertisers on the envelope have increased through the efficiency benefits which electronic communication offers: speed is of great importance.
Digitalisation has led to a flood of advertising. Customers' attention is gold currency these days. Direct, goal orientated and individualized offers raise the chances for advertisers to be noticed. However, which forms of direct address are preferred by customers and optimize the success of advertisements? To find out, RAPP Germany commissiond Nielsen to conduct a study of around 1,800 participants in Germany and the USA. The effects of five different direct mailing techniques along the entire purchase decision process were tested: the offline versions – standard envelope, printed envelope, self-mailer and wrapper and the online version – email.
The printed envelope: the medium for success
The study shows that the printed envelope stood up during the whole purchase decision process. The envelope is most effective in drawing at attention and generates the highest number of readers compared with the standard envelope, the self-mailer, the wrapper and the email. Printed envelopes were opened and their contents read by 84.5% of recipients, which made them the most opened advertising (standard envelopes 75.6%, self-mailer 71.4%, wrapper 71.2%). While all postal mailing versions lead to readers informing themselves more about the product to a similar extent, the printed envelope outshone the competition in one specific way: no other mailing version was valued as highly.
Printed envelopes influence the purchase decision the most.
The significance attached to a printed envelope generates a unique activation potential. The printed envelope encourages a customer to further recommend an offer to friends and family twice as much when compared with emails (see graph). This is a decisive advantage for sales today, because studies show that such recommendations are the most important factors of influence when people make a purchase decision.
Young recipients prefer envelopes – as long as they are personalized.
Interestingly, it is the older target segment (55–65 years) and not younger target groups (16–34 years) that value emails in a positive manner. Younger target groups are aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of electronic communication. While 63.2% of 16–34 year olds see emails disappear in the flood of advertisements they receive, an individually addressed printed envelope is valued very highly. Younger target groups want the best of both worlds: a real envelope and the flexibility of individualized emails.
The customized enveloped has to become more efficient.
Phillip Schilling, Managing Director of RAPP Germany, an international advertising agency, says the envelope has stood the test of time and has potential to improve its standing in the future. Work with clients shows that marketers prefer email over direct mails due to its high-level of individualization and its efficiency benefits.. Phillip Schilling suggests that the Nielsen study shows that if envelope-based communication can manage to combine itshigh quality with individualization and a reduced time-to-mailbox, it will increasingly be the medium of choice when addressing customers directly.
Speed is a decisive factor.
Recipients of advertising preferred postal mailings with individual advertising in real envelopes. Marketers want effective direct campaigns – high quality, direct and individualized – with a significant decrease in time required from the initial brief to the mailbox: Time-to-Mailbox is crucial for the future of direct mail.
About RAPP Germany
RAPP Germany is one of the leading multi-channel agencies in Germany today. Originally founded 25 years ago as a direct marketing agency, RAPP Germany now develops networked communication solutions for clients across all media and disciplines: advertising, online/mobile marketing, email marketing, dialogue, sales literature, retail, CRM and social media. At the helm of RAPP Germany, there is Phillip Schilling and Stefan Setzkorn. They lead a team of around 200 specialists in a Hamburg and Dusseldorf offices. RAPP Germany proudly enjoys long-standing relationships with many of our clients, including Adobe, HP, Vodafone and airberlin.
Source: RAPP Germany GmbH
Florian Thieleke is with Nielsen since 2005 and is now responsible for media and advertising effectiveness analysis.
Share your comments below.
Posted on Mon, Apr 23, 2012
When it comes to communicating with your customers, how much is enough??? Should you increase or decrease your mail spend?
A recent Deliver magazine article talks with Andrea Godfrey, assistant professor of marketing in the School of Business Administration at the University of California, Riverside, who published “Enough Is Enough! The Fine Line in Executing Multichannel Relational Communication,” in the July 2011 issue of Journal of Marketing.
According to the article: “Although the study cautions marketers not to oversaturate consumers with heaps of communication, it also made a discovery that even Godfrey admits was a surprise: Customers are willing to take on at least twice as many direct mail messages as communications through any other medium. Because of this, the authors suggest that companies not only keep mail as a key part of their communications arsenal — but that they consider boosting their mail spend.”
Godfrey says in the article: “Many companies believe that one way to build stronger customer relationships is to increase the amount of contact they have with customers. That makes sense, of course, but our findings suggest that taking this ‘more is better’ approach isn’t always beneficial for building customer relationships and, in fact, can actually drive customers away.”
The Deliver magazine reporter replies: “Interesting. And yet the study also discovered that customers will tolerate twice as much mail as e-mail contact. Why?”
Godfrey says its convenience. “When customers receive information by mail, they can review the information when it’s convenient for them,” she explains.
Get the full story here.
What do you think?
Should CMOs boost their direct mail spend? What are the considerations?
Offer your thoughts or insights for discussion below.
Posted on Mon, Apr 23, 2012
American Printer, an OutputLinks Communications Group division, is generating lots of attention and buzz on its official re-launch!
The NEW American Printer, the most recognized information source for today's printing professional, is a powerful B2MeMagazine, and it was just profiled in Mr. Magazine’s blog, which has 1.25 million monthly-views. Katherine O’Brien is the editor.
American Printer is created specifically for each individual subscriber, and articles and ads are dynamically generated at time of print, in accordance to the subscriber's demographic profile.
The premiere edition of American Printer – out this month – utilizes today's integrated, interactive print technology to update the publication's 130-year+ tradition as the authoritative source on printing technology and management challenges.
Andy Plata, co-CEO of OutputLinks Communications Group, says in the Mr. Magazine interview: “We wanted American Printer to be born again for renewed life after we purchased it in September after it had been shut down by Penton Corporation in August. As we investigated the best way to accomplish this objective we developed the B2MeMagazine platform to provide the 130 year old American Printer and other subscriber-based publications with a 1:1 personalized platform that would provide the multimedia interactivity that today’s readers seemed to expect.”
Mr Magazine asks: “American Printer now integrates the power of print, web and social media all in one… can you explain this concept and how it will amplify the future of print?”
Plata says: “The effectiveness of any kind of communication experience is increased by enhancing the richness of the communication. American Printer enhances the magazine reading experience through the B2MeMagazine platform. The platform provides subscribers a tactile print-magazine experience integrated with mobile and web experiences all via the personalized immediacy of B2MeCode launch points that include QR, Purl and other pattern-recognition. The future of print technology will be defined by how effectively printers seamlessly integrate current and future communications technology onto printed pages to provide the best communication platforms for their clients’ desired messages. American Printer’s endeavors to have its subscriber base of printers experience the future of print in each issue of the magazine.”
Get the full story here >>>.
To subscribe to the NEW American Printer, key www.AmericanPrinter.com/Subscribe or scan this B2MeCode.
