JUNE 2009

Dear Laura,

LOOKING TO REACH new customers? Maybe you have a stack of prospect names and physical addresses, but no emails. The thought of purchasing an email list makes you shudder. (It should. You don't know where it's been.) So how do you reach prospects and still enjoy the benefits of personalization you get with an email like this one, Laura?

ENTER VARIABLE DATA PRINTING. It's a tried and true snail mail tactic with a high-tech twist. Not only can we personalize your mailer with graphically rich text, we can also insert photos or illustrations to suit each recipient or market segment.

WE PRODUCED our first VDP direct mail campaign in 2007 for Lokey Metals, a long-standing client. From a database of images, we inserted a different photo for each of 14 geographical areas. The mailer for Austin featured a photo of Town Lake bridge. Beaumont addressees saw an off-shore platform. The folks in Dallas saw a Dallas skyline. You get the idea. The results were so meaningful that every mail campaign for Lokey since has used some form of VDP.

IN ANOTHER LOKEY CAMPAIGN, we used personal URLs on the mailer, sending recipients to an online survey. Completed surveys helped Lokey understand their customers and prospects better. Respondents were rewarded with a gift card, and Lokey was able to build its email database.

HERE'S THE TAKE-AWAY, Laura: direct mail, especially the VDP form, is a great way to attract prospects to your website where they can complete a survey or opt-in for electronic communication from you. At the same time, it raises awareness, brands your company, and generates new business. Another benefit: It's a greener choice than conventional printing! Since it's digital and database driven, you print exactly the quantity of mailers you need. No large minimums, no overs, less waste! Contact me to learn more.

“Over the years we’ve put a lot of effort into maintaining our prospect database. Variable Data Printing has allowed us to get passive information out of the computer and productive in the real world. The ability to personalize a mail piece to a specific application as well as to a specific person makes a huge difference in getting our message heard.

Variable Data Printing involves a number of different people merging a number of different sets of information. You need someone who knows the details of printing, databases, variable data printing and postal protocol to pull it all together. Laura has the knowledge and experience to take our ideas and make the VDP printed product  come to life. Total Spectrum makes it easy.”

TOTAL SPECTRUM designed 14 different primary versions of this mailer, customizing the piece for each region with an image recipients could identify with.

TOP: San Antonio's River Walk.

CENTER: El Paso's high desert mountains.

BOTTOM: Amarillo's Palo Duro Canyon.

Specific names and cities were inserted into the text as well. The message was that Houston customers always got great pricing and delivery, but Lokey makes the same benefits available to customers in distant cities as well. The Houston skyline appears at the bottom of each postcard, since Houston was the city being compared to.