Catalogs Can Grow from Personalization!
The good news is that printing technology now enables measurable and targeted print catalog programs similar to direct response media. The beauty of catalog personalization is that it delivers the best of both worlds—proven brand building along with the ability to speak to individual readers.
Why Should You Use Personalization Strategies?
Whatever the industry or media, everyone feels the demand for greater sophistication and personalization. There is also more pressure to show results from your marketing campaigns, which pushes catalogers toward measurable direct response media ranging from direct mail to web-driven campaigns. Adding a personalization strategy in your print catalog program allows you to:
- Speak to your buyers at a variety of personalization levels
- Use innovative strategies to break through the clutter
- Reach only targeted buyers who fit specific campaigns
- Create more engaged, loyal buyers
- Add measurability to your print catalog program
- Expand testing opportunities
- Improve return on investment
- Make your print catalogs as competitive as other personalized media
- Match Up! cover content to the buyer’s name or by calling out a specific section of the catalog
- Test spin-off catalogs by interest or region
- Reference past purchases and promote complementary products
What’s more, all sizes of catalogers can benefit from personalization strategies. National catalogers with a portfolio of products or brands could vary products or brands per region. For example, a farmer growing corn in the Midwest doesn’t necessarily have the same product needs as a farmer growing cotton in the South, and they won’t necessarily buy the same products and services.
How the Technology Works
From low-end inkjet imaging to high-end variable data output from a digital press there is a wide range of personalization options available for catalogs.
Versioning
- Allows you to create different static-content covers, inserts or signatures that are “selectively” bound according to a reader’s region, age, income and a wide range of geographic and sociodemographic variables.
Match Up!
- The ultimate in 1to1 personalization for catalog marketers. The technology uses an optical character recognition (OCR) system to selectively insert highly personalized covers, outserts and signatures. This capability can be installed on any type of finishing equipment— stitcher, binder or polybagger—and enables you to Match Up! any preprinted 1to1 personalized piece to the buyer’s name.
- The key is in the bar code printed on the personalized preprinted piece. The optical recognition system on the finishing equipment reads the bar code and matches the personalized piece to the publication, which is then inkjet-addressed to the specific buyer at the end of the line.
Where to start
The first step is to look at the possible options and decide which ones are the most relevant to your print catalog program.
Ask your print provider what personalization capabilities they offer and how other catalog publishers have used them successfully in the past.
Budget
For cost consideration, you should plan on adding the cost of printing the personalized components, which will vary depending on the quantities, format and technology employed. As well, as add an extra cost to cover for the slow-down created on the finishing equipment. The surcharge is usually small and it is easily offset by the greater return on investment.
Does everything sound great but you’re having trouble thinking about the data issues? Read on to learn how to get over the data hurdle in "Personalization Tips".
Contact your Transcontinental representative to see which personalization options are right for you. |
