EVERYONE LIKES THIINGS that are personalized rather than off-the-rack generic. And marketers are increasingly finding that the unique selling proposition of digital printing --the ability to personalize a wide variety of documents-- can yield powerful results for all types of companies. One of the most powerful ways to do this is with "trigger events," the moments that define the times and landmarks of our lives.
Leveraging the Triggger Points of Life Direct Group Installs the first Océ JetStream 2200
The , a Pennington, New Jersey based provider of direct marketing and fulfillment services has purchased the Océ JetStream full color, high speed ink jet printer to build on its capabilities in trigger personalized marketing campaigns for financial services clients and other customers. Compelling from the moment they arrive, these campaigns are communications triggered by important life events such as retirement. When tightly targeted, they generate significantly greater response rates than traditional direct marketing techniques.
Trigger mailings, with their emphasis on targeted, data-driven communications, generate significantly superior response rates as compared to traditional batch-based programs, explains Bruce Biegel, direct marketing industry analyst and Senior Managing Director at Winterberry Group. According to Biegel, highly personalized trigger mailings with fully variable color formats can produce response rates of 5 to 15 percent, compared to traditional direct mail where 1 to 3 percent is considered a good return. Such results are especially important in the face of rising postal rates and the resulting demand for ever-greater campaign effectiveness.
Savvy marketers are taking personalization and trigger-based mailings even further. They follow up the printed message with message- and time-coordinated e-mail, collateral mail, telemarketing or other contact techniques. When used with elements of Océ PRISMA software, the Océ JetStream system fully supports this next-stage marketing strategy, which can drive even better response to direct marketing programs.
Cost Improvements The Océ JetStream 2200 system will help our clients improve results and control costs by leveraging trigger-based personalized mailings, and implement more effective postal strategies to combat rate increases, says Direct Group President and CEO Don McKenzie. The capabilities provided by the Océ JetStream system will allow us to deliver improved response rates for our clients, while significantly lowering total campaign costs for customer acquisition programs, including postal and logistics expenses.
With its selection of the Océ JetStream, Direct Group is positioning itself as a leader in the rapidly growing industry adoption of TransPromo marketing, remarks Kemal Carr, President of industry advisory firm Madison Advisors. Sophisticated data handling and personalization capabilities, color, speed, and quality are critical to successful TransPromo marketing. With the Océ JetStream, Direct Group will be able to offer its clients truly cutting-edge marketing applications.
Another factor important to Direct Group was sustainability and environmental impact. Océ has been recognized for its social and environmental responsibility by a number of international organizations, and we appreciate that this commitment has been carried through products like the Océ JetStream, Mr. McKenzie noted.
The Océ JetStream recently won a Best in Show Honorable Mention award at the AIIM/On Demand conference and exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts, where judges noted its speed, excellent image quality and ability to take advantage of Océ PRISMA workflow tools. Those tools will help Direct Group use variable messaging, quality color, mixed forms, co-mingled data streams, and affordable short runs, all within the same workflow The JetStream runs at 500 feet per minute, and in the two-engine configuration used at Direct Group, prints at up to 2,090 letter-size impressions per minute.
Expanding the Customer Experience Going Beyond "Customer First"
Combining Océs Customer First culture with a complete portfolio of state-of-the-art resources, Océ is significantly expanding its Customer Experience Center at the Océ Production Printing Systems headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida. Slated to open this spring, the 18,000 square foot facility will house the full portfolio of Océ cut-sheet and continuous-feed, black and white and color systems, from office and workgroup printers to production printing and wide format systems, as well as the full suite of workflow software.
Combining Océs Customer First culture with a complete portfolio of state-of-the-art resources, the center will help solve customers' technology requirements as well as guide customers in new directions. In one central location, customers will benefit from a variety of offerings to address many needs:
Complete portfolio of Océ software, hardware and service solutions for office, digital print centers, transaction environments, graphic arts and wide format printing.
Demonstrations by feeding and finishing partners
Customized visits
Application and paper testing
Collaboration with application development experts in workflow, software, print, finishing, or specific applications like TransPromo or book printing
Workflow analysis and design
Delivery of professional consulting services
Staging of workflow and equipment solutions
This investment extends our highly successful approach to customer engagements. Visitors will have access to Océ senior management, thought leaders, software experts, and technologists, professional services, along with the full Océ technology suite and testing facilities. Customers can experience first hand how Océ can best serve their diverse and complex printing needs, said Joseph D. Skrzypczak, President and CEO, Océ North America.
Accelerating Personalization Strategies New Océ Partnerships Designed to Shorten Tme to Money with TransPromo
Wouldn't it be great if you could generate new revenue from the statements your company sends out each month? You can, if you know how. "TransPromo" applications offer tremendous potential for turning statements into revenue-generating documents. But it is not a simple process, and these trans-promotional applications can be complex to develop and launch. They require a thorough understanding of variable content database management, dynamic application layouts, white space management and experience with digital color printing. To help customers up that learning curve, Océ has partnered with NEPS, LLC and Art Plus Technology to provide TransPromo Application Development Services to help customers take advantage of emerging TransPromo opportunities.
The potential is clear. According to market researcher InfoTrends, some 95 percent of transaction documents such as invoices and monthly statements are opened and read, making them excellent vehicles for reaching customers with other types of messages and information. InfoTrends notes that studies have shown that the average consumer will spend one to three minutes reviewing a bill and usually refers to it at least twice. In addition, consumers continue to have a strong preference for direct mail, largely because paper-based communications are minimally intrusive and easily managed. These trusted documents can be enriched by the addition of relevant personalization and marketing messages.
Océ's TransPromo Application Development Services will help customers achieve rapid prototyping through capabilities such as:
Application development and design optimization for fastest production workflow
Campaign and statement messaging strategy for effective personalization
Application design and usability testing to validate concepts
Post-implementation results evaluation to measure and fine tune campaigns
Data mining and optimizing data metrics to create the most relevant messaging
This new service is part of the Océ Professional Services portfolio, which includes a broad range of services. This constantly expanding offering includes customer education, workflow design and engineering, project management services, and print sample and application testing, among others.
The new Océ TransPromo service offering leverages the extensive Océ software and hardware portfolio, including Océ Document Designer Advanced software, and the full line of Océ digital print solutions. The new Customer Experience Center, now under construction in Boca Raton, Florida, will provide access to the new Océ JetStream full color ink jet system to support TransPromo Application Development Services. Along with the Océ JetStream family, the Océ VarioStream 9000, Océ ColorStream 10000 and Océ VarioStream 8000 continuous feed lines are especially suited to the demands of high-volume personalization and TransPromo strategies. Customers can test their TransPromo applications on any other Océ continuous feed product, and print runs can be mailed and deployed for usability tests.
To learn more about the market for TransPromo applications, download the free Océ TransPromo white paper at .
