Print Solutions November 2006
433 East Monroe
On the Verge of a Growth Spurt
Depending on whom you ask, variable data
printing (VDP) is in its infancy or maybe its adolescence, but
few would say it’s a mature adult. The technology that
drives VDP has come a long way. More printers adopt it every
year. However, when it comes to developing applications that
address end user needs more effectively than traditional print
solutions, the industry is still teething.
There have been incremental successes, many
of them documented in Print Solutions. One that comes to mind
is a direct mail application that FRI Resources supplied to an
automotive service equipment manufacturer. The St. Louis-based
distributorship worked with manufacturer MAR Graphics,
Valmeyer, Ill., to make photographs of sales reps a standard
variable field in the mailer. When I wrote about their story
two years ago (see June 2004), adding variable graphics to a
direct mail piece was fairly innovative. Now it’s fairly
common.
The larger question is—what to do
with increasingly sophisticated capabilities that printers
offer? Why aren’t VDP applications responsible for a
greater portion of distributors’ sales? Two recurring
issues seem to be stunting VDP’s growth. One is the
longer sales cycle that characterizes VDP sales. It takes time
to evaluate a customer’s needs, develop an application
and prepare a robust database. Distributors and end users
aren’t accustomed to the extra time and effort. Another
hurdle is price. End users still are fixated on cost per piece,
and digital print pieces tend to cost more. It takes
persistence on the part of distributors to show end users how
VDP can actually reduce the cost of customer acquisition.
Despite its growing pains, VDP is proving
itself a lucrative sales opportunity. The case studies featured
in this issue demonstrate a growing demand by end users for
custom solutions. A key component is the ability for print
applications to complement the end user’s other marketing
vehicles. Read about CRW Graphics’ partnership with Saks
Fifth Avenue on page 30. We detail Franklin/Trade Graphics
LLCs’ work for Hilton International on page 38.
One of the most exciting developments in
VDP is the use of personalized URLs (pURLs). These applications
work by reaching prospects through direct mail, then guiding
them to a personalized, interactive web site. Response rates
for some campaigns reach as high as 30 percent. Read more about
this topic on page 52.
Andy Brown
Managing Editor
“Despite its growing pains, VDP is
proving itself a lucrative sales opportunity.”
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