The 2011 Mobile Barcode Promotion was so successful because it utilized emerging technologies and the prevalence of smartphones to integrate direct mail with modern devices. Customers and businesses alike benefited from the ease of use and the postal savings affiliated with this promotion.

The following information describes the proposed 2012 incarnation of the promotion:

The 2012 Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion provides mailers with an upfront postage discount on qualifying Standard Mail® and First-Class Mail® letters, flats, and cards that contain a mobile barcode or similar print technology that can be read or scanned by a mobile device.  The technology must lead the recipient to either:

1. A webpage that allows the recipient to purchase a product or service on a mobile device.
or
2. A personalized URL, which leads to a web page that is unique to an individual recipient.

Program Parameters

Registration Begins: May 1, 2012

Program Period: July 1 through August 31, 2012

Discount Amount: 2% of eligible postage. The mobile barcode discount is calculated in PostalOne!® and applied to the mailing statement at the time of mailing. Normal postage prices as listed in the published price schedule apply to the mailing, and the discount is applied to those prices.

Eligible Mail Classes: Standard Mail® letters and flats, Nonprofit Standard Mail letters and flats, First-Class Mail^® presort and automation letters, cards and flats

Registration Requirements

Program Registration: Participants and/or mail service providers must register on the Business Customer Gateway.  Mailers agree to participate in a survey about the promotion. Registration opens May 1, 2012 and will continue throughout the promotion period.

Mailing Submission Requirements

Documentation/Postage Statement:  Mailings must be submitted electronically via mail.dat, mail.xml or Postal Wizard.

Participating mailers will be required to affirmatively claim this promotion on electronic postage statement submissions.  All mailpieces in a mailing statement must be eligible for the promotion. Note, the discount must be claimed at the time of mailing and cannot be rebated at a later date.

Mailing Date:  Mail must be tendered for acceptance during the promotion period, July 1, 2012, through August 31, 2012.  Qualified PVDS mailings that are verified and paid for by August 31, 2012, will be accepted at destination entry postal facilities through September 15, 2012.

IMB Requirements:  Automation mailpieces must contain an Intelligent Mail barcode.

Postage Payment Method: Postage must be paid using a Permit Imprint, or Precancelled Stamp permit.  Some Meter Permit mailings may qualify.  OMAS and “Official Government Mail” mailings are not eligible for the promotion.

Mailpiece/Mailing Content Requirements

The two-dimensional barcode or similar print technology which takes a consumer to a mobile optimized site that either enables mobile commerce or is personalized for the recipient. All qualifying mail must contain a mobile barcode or equivalent technology that can read or scanned by a mobile device (this includes two-dimensional barcodes, tags, and watermarks).  The mailpiece must also contain text near the barcode or image providing guidance to the consumer to scan the barcode or image. Additional requirements are listed below.

Mobile Commerce

If the barcode is used to facilitate mobile commerce:

• The destination web page(s) must contain information relevant to content of the mailpiece, and some or all of the service(s) and/or product(s) advertised in the mailpiece must be available for purchase on a mobile device.
• The destination web pages must reside on a web site platform that contains (or is deeply integrated with) a checkout functionality so that consumers can complete the purchase of the good or service referenced in the mailpiece through a complete mobile optimized experience.
• Websites used for e-bill payment of prior purchases, or regularly scheduled payments (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc.) for goods and services are not eligible.

Mobile Personalization

If the barcode leads to a personalized website:

• For each mailpiece recipient, the web address is unique to the recipient, as is the content of the web page.
• Unique web page content is based on relevant customer data such as prior behavior, life stage, segmentation, and demographics.

Requirements at the time of mail acceptance and post- mailing

At Mail Acceptance:  The mailer must provide a hard copy, unaddressed sample of the mailpiece showing the placement of the mobile barcode to the acceptance clerk. If a mailing contains mobile barcode mail from multiple mailers, a hard copy sample of each mailer’s mailpiece must be presented. If mobile personalization is used, at least two samples must be submitted in order to demonstrate that the web addresses are unique to each recipient.

Post Mailing Requirements:  All mailers who receive the discount must retain an electronic or hard copy sample of the mailpiece until October 31, 2012, and if requested by the Postal Service must forward such sample to the promotion program office.

This post was provided by Rich Cicha who writes for the SourceLink blog. It provides excellent information for the direct mail industry from a company who specializes in “connecting data, design & delivery.” 

I don’t mean to keep writing about QR Codes. It’s just that there are so many great things to write about. I’m finally happy to report on something really positive (and useful in more ways than one). The Girls Scouts really got it right this time . . . mostly.

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s Girl Scout cookie season. I happen to have a Girl Scout, so we’re full up on cookies, but there are millions of people who aren’t. They need to be.

If you haven’t already ordered your Girl Scout cookies, you can buy them at one of the thousands of booths around the country, but where is the booth nearest you?

Enter the mobile app for locating Girl Scout cookies. Girl Scouts of America is promoting a QR Code that takes you to a mobile app for locating the closest Girl Scout cookie booth at the time you are hungry for them.  There are two codes—one for iPhone and one for Android, along with instructions for downloading a reader for the codes.

Great idea!  Use the mobile code to download an app for your phone for something you want. It’s particularly useful because the booths move around and are open different days at different places and different times. Especially if you’re a Girl Scout leader or mom, the ability to direct people to local booths is helpful. If someone asks where to get cookies, you can tell them.

Couple of nits with the program, though.

First, I was annoyed by the need to download an app. Why do I need to go the extra step of downloading and installing an app for this? It would be much more user-friendly to simply be directed to a mobile site where I could get the same information. It saves a step and doesn’t clog up my screen with an app I’ll only use once a year.

Second, the QR codes are incredibly crowded, increasing the chance of scanning error. Just look at the URL to which users of the iPhone code are taken: http://littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/find-girl-scout-cookies-on-your-mobile-phone/iOS-QR.

The QR Code looks like this.

It’s a wonder anyone can scan that.

Or the Girl Scouts could have shortened the URL with something like bitly. It would have looked like this:

http://bit.ly/xM96Wn

Much easier to scan. Plus, they would have the ability to track access to the code for free.

Still, the Girl Scouts have the idea right. Implementation is a little off, but I could scan the code and the ultimate end use is genuinely helpful.

As an industry, we’re getting there.

For the last several weeks, the Business Improvement Group on LinkedIn has had an ongoing discussion on whether the old adage, “If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it” is still relevant in the contemporary business environment. The full range of viewpoints have been put forth, from “don’t mess with what’s working”, to “don’t settle for the status quo”. The majority seems to weigh in on the side of continuing to improve as a requirement to stay competitive and survive in today’s economy.

Several important points can be extracted from the discussion. The first point is on the definition of “broke”. Do you look at it from the perspective of internal operations, or based on customer requirements and feedback? It would seem that many people who are satisfied status quo do not look outside their organization’s business operations at what is happening in the broader business environment with customer requirements and new technologies. As it relates to our industry, even the best run commercial print operations are struggling due to changes in customer demand and competitive technologies both which are driving down volume and price. The second point that I found in this discussion is that even in companies that understand the importance of change, many of the failures, (and new Coke was used as an example), have to do with not clarifying and documenting the driving forces behind the improvements being sought. Entering into a business improvement project without a clear understanding of the business environment, including business goals, customer needs and technology, is almost certain to fall short of expectations.

A Business Process Improvement methodology can be a helpful tool in deciding whether something is “broke”, and what to do to fix it. BPI provides a framework and structure for answering these questions, and is definitely still relevant to contemporary business and especially our industry, where both customer demands and technology changes are happening at a very rapid pace. Where is your business on the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” continuum?

Valentine’s Day was a big event at our office this year. The door bell rang with deliveries of flowers at seemingly every other hour. The lunch room was filled with boxes of heart-shaped cookies. A few of the employees even wore bright red clothing to commemorate the occasion.

And yet, seeing all of these things caused me to think about marketing!

Specifically, I started to think about all of the things that people do improve their relationships, especially when they are married. And while that certainly is very important (if my wife is reading this, let me say “Honey, I love you!”), I also think that there are lessons marketers can take from those marriage tips to help them grow their business.

Making the Connection: Marriage and Marketing

Just because you are married, it doesn’t mean that you shut down and think that you set the dial at “coast.” You still need to stay on top of your relationship, work on it, build on it. Because you want your relationship to be the best it possibly can.

Building a relationship with a prospect should be looked at the same way. We should never just rest on our laurels or set the dial to “coast.” We need to keep things fresh and interesting. We need to let our prospects know we are here for the long haul.

Here are some ways you can translate suggestions made to better your marriage and use them to enrich your marketing:

• Honesty is the best policy. Be 100% honest with your prospects.
• Just as you should be honest, you should also respect your prospects. Respect their time. Respect their interests. Respect their feedback.
• Be supportive. Let your prospects know that you are there for them. You don’t want to appear to be all about the deal and then you’re gone. And you don’t want to appear like you don’t care.
• Share the good times and the bad times with your prospects. Every marketing message doesn’t have to be a happy-go-lucky story or catchy tagline. If you present yourself as “human” and less of a faceless corporate entity, you will find your prospects feel more emotionally attached.
• Determine any issues or problems your prospects face and then try to solve them. Just like burying your head in the sand at home, if you ignore problems with your prospects, they won’t go away. In fact, they will get bigger. So tackle issues head on and communicate!
• Listen to your prospects. Really listen. And then let them know you are listening by responding in a personal fashion.
• Remember that prospects have bad days too. Don’t let that bad day set back your relationship. Be willing to forgive and move on.
• Have a regular “date” when you contact your prospects to check up on them and see how things are going. Of course, don’t hesitate to make that “date” in person when you can. A cup of coffee or a lunch goes a long way in making a relationship grow stronger.
• Have a good memory. Remember the anniversaries and the birthdays and acknowledge them. Make your prospects feel special.
• Surprise your prospects with little things here and there. Discounts, specials, resource materials, etc. Think up ways you can give your prospects a little “pick me up” that will make them fall in love with your business.

I hope that you find these tips helpful!

Of course, there are certainly many other common marriage tips that could be applied to a marketing lesson. If you have one on your mind, I’d love to hear it! Please feel free to share it in the Comments section.

This weeks fold is the Accordion with Rockin’ Millboard covers sent it from Print It in Vancouver, Canada. This promotional piece highlights print technology and expertise at its finest. The piece features a long accordion fold which is actually two different folds seemed together. The front and back covers feature 60 point millboard to add weight and stability to the piece. Adding an additional creative feature, Print It embellished the front cover with perfectly die-cut and centered circles. Not to be outdone by the front cover, the back cover boasts of black letter press. See for yourself!

In case you missed it, I’ve created quite a stir on the 2D Barcodes LinkedIn discussion board. My Digital Nirvana post from last Friday also spawned an unusually high number of comments. The reason for the ruckus? I asked the question: Do we really need to add the trademark symbol to QR Code? After all the fallout, here are my comments and observations.

It all started last week, when a client of mine sent around an email from Denso Wave, the creators of QR Codes, indicating that the term QR Code — the open-source 2D mobile barcode created by Denso Wave now being used by any number of companies across the globe —needs to use the trademark any time the term is used.

Considering that the industry has been using “QR code” as a generic term for these codes for years, this may be a surprise to some, but it’s true. Denso Wave does have the term trademarked, and on its patent page, the company requests that the (TM) be used. It also requests that people add the phrase “QR Code is registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED” somewhere on the page where the term is used.

One of the challenges for this request, of course, is that the code itself is open source, and Denso Wave has made it readily available for anyone to use to create their own codes . . . and they have. Just look at the number of companies using the code to create their own QR Code generators. Denso Wave also has not been aggressively enforcing the trademark. Even some of the biggest marketing firms promoting the use of mobile barcodes are not using it in their white papers, blogs, new releases, and so forth.

The public consensus to my pot-stirring was that Denso Wave trademarked the term and has a right to have the trademark used. Several people claimed they regularly see QR Code trademarked in content they read. This was a surprise to me, however, since I do not recall ever having seen it myself, and I do a tremendous amount of tracking and writing on this subject. My own reports on QR Codes, including “QR Codes: What You Need to Know” and  “QR Codes: The Data Speaks,”  do not use the (TM) either.

We do not apply the trademark to Data Matrix, BeeTAG, Microsoft TAG, or any of the other 2D barcodes. Adding the (TM) to QR Code would stand out like a purple thumb. Because we tend to associate (TM) with promotional efforts, using it would also create the appearance of promotional intent, which is something most editorial users very much want to avoid.

Other thoughts on this issue:

• Denso Wave’s patent page presents the use of the (TM) as a request, not a demand.
• AP Style (used by newspapers and many magazines) specifically says not to use (TM) in editorial.  (Which is why you don’t see the (TM) used in trade magazines.)
• The overwhelming trend in the industry is not to use the (TM) with QR Code.

I’m choosing not to use the (TM) in my editorial either. I wholly respect and support Denso Wave’s right to its intellectual property. At the same time, I consider blog posts, white papers, and reports to be editorial like newspaper or magazine content and therefore not requiring the mark. The addition of the (TM), in my mind, undermines the objectivity of the writing because of its implication of promotional intent.

I do cave on one issue related to the trademark, however. As not just an industry writer but professional editor, I have been using QR code (lowercase c) to refer to these codes as generic open-source products not associated with a particular company. Because the term QR Code is actually trademarked, I will now grit my editor’s teeth and capitalize the “C” to preserve the integrity of the term as I would any other trademarked property.

I will also redouble my efforts to make the very clear distinction between the Denso Wave open source QR Code and other 2D mobile barcodes. In fact, the “QR Codes: The Data Speaks” has now been renamed “QR and Other Mobile Barcodes,” and throughout the report, I have gone through each reference to QR Codes and made the distinction between Denso Wave open-source QR Codes and other 2d mobile barcodes.

After all, Denso Wave is right about one thing. There really is a significant difference between its open-source codes and other forms of 2d mobile barcodes, and in editorial coverage, that distinction needs to be preserved. Perhaps, in the end, that’s all Denso Wave wanted anyway.

Cause marketing is a well-minded marketing initiative that connects the cause of non-profit organizations with the reach and audience of businesses to create a mutually beneficial relationship. The strength in this approach is the business’ ability to provide greater visibility to the non-profit and to capitalize on people’s point of purchase decisions. Non-profits benefit from cause marketing through the ability to share their message with larger audiences and to solicit donations and support from these audiences. The business benefits from a positive brand reputation through the association with a non-profit organization. It’s a win-win situation.

Cause marketing can take a few different forms. Think of pink Yoplait’s “Save Lids and Save Lives” program that benefits the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Another popular campaign is Project Red at the Gap where proceeds from sales benefit The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis & Malaria. While these are all highly successful and integrated campaigns, others are not quite so innovative.

When checking out at the grocery store, I’ve been offered tickets to donate $1, $3, or $5 to help feed a child. Maybe I’m just an evil person because I know this is a great cause, but nothing about the offer compels me make this donation. It’s just another way in which people are constantly asked for money. Another example are the tear-off pieces of paper that you can write your name on and post on a wall in return for a $1 donation to some specific cause. While I like the idea of showing solidarity in support through the arrangement of papers on the wall – this is still not something that really inspires me or moves me to act. Yes, it’s easy (and that’s part of the success with point-of-purchase cause marketing), but it’s not compelling.

This is where I can envision an opportunity for print excellence to excite the world of cause marketing. Marketing service providers and print shops are so skilled at creating promotional items that you want to pick up and immerse yourself in. Why not tap into this excellence to promote the non-profit world?

Here’s what I’m thinking… Imagine waiting in line at the grocery store and instead of leafing through a tabloid magazine, you pick up a perfectly bound book complete with full color photos on fresh, glossy paper illustrating the plight of Tigers in Eastern Asia or a struggling village in Libya. Would you be motivated to add $1 to your grocery bill to help this cause? I imagine this book would move you to act much more than a paper-wrapped can or a simple graphic tear-off paper begging your donation. (Of course, the grocery store would want to secure the photo book to the check out area, but I’m sure that is possible).

Or what if when you donated to a cause, instead of receiving a tear-off paper, you received a glossy postcard with an image of those tigers or village residents? The donor could then mail this postcard to a friend or relative and essentially say, “I just donated to XYZ cause at XYZ store. Stop by XYZ so you can support this cause, too! Or visit www.XYZ.com for more information and to activate your support.” Now, not only has this postcard effectively solicited a donation, it has also communicated the cause to another individual, hopefully prompting their visit to the store and ultimate donation.

Personally, I love the idea of cause marketing. Maybe this post is optimistic, but I’d love to see more creative tactics and I know print can help create more impactful communications. In the end, it’s all about reaching customers in just a way to compel their support of the non-profit and I’m positive that print creativity can do just that.

This past week, a client of mine forwarded me an email from Denso Wave Incorporated, the originators of those 2d mobile response codes we call QR Codes®. We call them that because Denso Wave trademarked the term, although few of us may be aware of it. But they did.

(View Denso Wave’s trademark info here.)

But Denso Wave has not protected its trademark, and over the years, the industry has used the term as a generic for mobile 2d response codes. Think of all of the references in white papers, research papers, publications, marketers, printers, blogs, and newsletters . . . how many times have you seen the trademark used?

Call me clueless, but I’ve never seen one. So when my client forwarded me an email from Denso Wave asking not only that the trademark be used with every reference to QR Codes® (apparently, Denso Wave also wants it with a capital C), but also that the phrase “QR Code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED” be included somewhere on the Web page or in the publication, if I’d been dead, I would have turned over.

The fact is, there are many different types of mobile 2d response codes. QR Codes®, Datamatrix, BeeTAGG, MS Tag, SnapTag, JagTag, and the list goes on. What’s different about QR Codes® is that Denso Wave chose to make the code open source, so anyone can download it and create their own. Just Google free “QR code generator” and see how many companies have done it.

Combined with lack of enforcement (or, at the very least, selective enforcement) from Denso Wave, the result has been an explosion in use of QR Codes® (which I’m sure pleases Denso Wave), but also a genericization of the term QR Code® itself, which clearly does not.

I understand the desire to protect a trademark, but there is a certain level of common sense here, too. Can you imagine what writing on this topic would be like if every company trademarked the names of their codes or insisted on the ® be used after the ones that are?  Then the phrase “[such and such] is a registered trademark of [company]” be listed for every one? You’d use up your word count before you ever began writing.  Plus, every magazine article, piece of marketing collateral, and white paper would end up looking like a press release or advertisement.

I don’t know whether Denso Wave has suddenly changed its policy and decided to enforce its trademark more aggressively after all of these years or whether one of its employees simply got a burr under his or her saddle and sent the email on his or her own accord, but it reminds me that, in this industry, we need a generic term for 2d mobile response codes that doesn’t involve someone’s brand name.

So let me suggest one — 2d mobile response codes. It’s not as clean as QR Code®, but it’s a true generic that will prevent letters from trademark attorneys or vigilante employees and marketing collateral and publication pages that look like alphabet soup.

There is no doubt that the world of mobile is creating many opportunities for folks in the marketing and communications industries. Mobile technology has opened up new ways for companies to reach prospects, generate leads, and provide customer support.

For service providers, there is opportunity to help marketers achieve their mobile-related goals.  One area in which this is true is related to mobile websites. As the number of smartphone owners continues to rise, so will mobile web traffic.

The technology to build and provide mobile websites for other companies exists. But how can a print service provider sell this solution to their clients and prospects?

Here are 3 ways to get that conversation going:

As a Service That Complements QR Codes

If you are currently creating, tracking, and/or printing QR Codes for your customers, then you have a tremendous opportunity to engage them in a conversation about mobile websites.

Many of the QR Codes that I see “in the wild” today still point to regular websites that were designed for viewing on a desktop computer or laptop.

This is bad for many reasons! For one, it means that the person who puts forth the effort to scan the QR Code with their smartphone is going to have trouble simply reading the content on the website! Even if you rely on them to tap-and-zoom, chances are that they are going to be less than pleased with their interaction with your company. Big images may cause the site to load slowly, and certain functionality may not work at all (such as Flash).

Since QR Codes are going to be accessed by folks on mobile phones, the value of pointing people to mobile-optimized content should be clear to your clients.

By presenting your ability to provide that service to them easily, it should help you to grow your business!

Also, it should help them to increase the success of their QR Code efforts.

Become the Local Mobile Expert

While there is no doubt that mobile is a very hot topic in the marketing world, there are still many people that are not yet up-to-speed with how it affects their business.

This means that you have the opportunity to aggressively educate your customers, prospects, and other businesses in your local area about items such as mobile websites. If you can position yourself as a thought-leader, your chances of being the ones that they turn to when they realize they have a need should absolutely increase.

This educational effort can be done in a number of ways. Here are a few:

• Offer to speak about mobile marketing at local Chamber of Commerce events (or similar events that bring together local businesses)
• Write about it on your company’s website and blog
• Discuss it in your monthly newsletter
• Talk about it on your social networks
• Send direct mail and emails that highlight important mobile statistics… and your services

Set the Example

Of course, one of the best ways to convince someone why they need your services is to walk-the-talk.

If you are going to tell someone that they need a mobile website, then you certainly will want to investigate what it will take to create a mobile website for your own company.

Not only can this help to demonstrate that you truly believe in the importance of “going mobile”, but it also can be a great conversation-started (“Hey! I noticed your website looks different on my phone”) and a way to increase your effectiveness as you seek to reach the growing mobile audience.

I am looking for some case studies or statistics that talk about increased response rates using PURLs. What type of response rates have you experienced when using PURLs? Or do you know of a source where I can find those stats? I have tried [industry vendors] and most other reputable sites without any luck. They talk about how it works, but not much in the way of numbers.

This request came from one of the industry ListServes. When was this request written? Last month? Last week? This morning?

The the other day, my seven-year-old spilled water on the keyboard of my MacBook. Although she sopped the water up up quickly, the keyboard did not survive. That put me back on my old MacBook from, well, the turn of the century (I’m not completely kidding about that.)

After being pleased that it fired right up, I began poking around some of the old files still on the hard drive. One of the files is a column I wrote for a publication (no longer in print) for nearly a decade. The quote above came from one of the oldest folders still on the drive – 2007.

Just in case you missed it, yes, the quote at the top of this post was written in March 2007.

Reading it gave me quite a jolt because I still read requests like this on ListServes and social media forums like LinkedIn.  Haven’t we learned anything since 2007?

The answer then, as it is now, is that there are no meaningful statistics on the lift provided by PURLs or any other element of a marketing campaign. This is because the lift will depend on all of the other aspects of the campaign, such as the list, the creative, the offer, and many other factors. The PURL, QR code, or other element of the campaign is just a response mechanism like an 800 number, tear-out form, or web address. It’s all but meaningless by itself.

That question concerned me back in 2007 because, as budding marketing service providers, the participants on this ListServe should have known the answer to this question. That’s what being a marketing services provider is (although they were calling themselves “one-stop shops” back then) about. That so many in the industry are still asking the exact same question today is unnerving.

Haven’t we learned anything?

On January 20, the U.S. Postal Service released five gorgeous stamps. The artistry of American stamps is nothing new, of course, but this collection reminded me of the potential value of decorative stamps in targeted direct mail campaigns.

In searching for high resolution versions of the five stamps, I happened upon a wonderful website, BeyondthePerf.com.

For those interested in the art and design of U.S. stamps, the site features a video interview with the five USPS art directors who bring illustrative meaning to “decorative stamp.”

Ethel Kessler talks about the talents of the five people who work on the stamps. “Each of us has different passions, different strengths. And we’re relentless, [asking] what can we do at every level to enrich it.”

Phil Jordan, who created the USPS Civil War series, says his effort seeks to honor past acts of courage or accomplishment. Getting there wasn’t easy. “What evolved was a labor of intense scrutiny… I wanted to express what people were thinking and what the common person was doing, particularly the common soldier.” Was all the research worth it? “What we have, we know will stand up to scrutiny,” says Jordan.

Kessler researched the Nobel Prize winners series just as diligently. Rather than detailing each scientific achievement, she was dedicated to capturing the essence of this highly coveted award. “Ethel really did an amazing job says Derry Noyes. “She was working with murky photographs of scientists and complex formulas. This could have been a recipe for disaster, but everything went beautifully.”

Antonio Alcalá’s favorite series spotlights industrial design from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Greg Breeding also is partial to this Pioneers of American Industrialism series, which he says has inspired so many objects we use today, including the iPad, telephones, etc.

What does the stamp series add up to?

“We’re telling a story; we’re telling America’s story,” says Kessler — and that story is complex in more ways that we can imagine. Consider, for example, the Latin Music Legends series. “I worked with Raphael Lopez who is himself a musician and a brilliant illustrator. We decided what we were looking was ‘performance,’ so that we could hear the music.”

Likely, only a designer can discern the many possibilities that comprise a powerful picture. “What is it that grabs you? Is it the title, the color, the graphics? Is it pretty, is it edgy? Designing stamps is more work than you think,” Noyes concludes. “It’s a real collaborative effort. If the collaboration has worked well, then we have a great stamp.”

Kessel adds, “Our biggest success is when it looks easy.”

BeyondthePerf made me remember that this institution upon which direct marketers have built their livelihoods does many things well — and most of it looks much easier than it is.

So, hurray for the American stamp and hurray for one of our greatest institutions: The U.S. Postal Service.

“Personalization” continues to be a prominent topic in a number of different circles: marketing, publishing, eCommerce, social networking, and search. It’s no wonder why: personalization helps boost response rates and profitability in cross-media campaigns, helps marketers drive conversion on their Websites & landing pages, and much more.

Wikipedia provides a very broad definition of personalization, which I do like: “using technology to accommodate the differences between individuals.” Specific to the groups that I am referring to, I believe that personalization can be more precisely defined as leveraging data to deliver relevant content to specific individuals.

That’s still pretty broad; what kind of data? what kind of content? what channels are being used? With this many constituencies looking to use personalization in their own ways to meet specific goals, those answers can range extensively. Furthermore, when these groups end up talking to each other about personalization, it can cause confusion and miscommunication. To clear the air, so-to-speak, I wanted to shed some light on the different ways personalization is being employed by these different groups.

• Cross-media Direct Marketing: You’re likely familiar with the personalization model for cross-media campaigns: a digitally-printed direct mail piece (or e-mail) with variable text and graphic elements and a personalized URL, which links to a personalized microsite with variable text and graphic elements, often highlighting the recipient’s name in some way. Personal and demographic data is primarily used to drive the personalization in these applications. Depending on the client/campaign, additional data may be used for more granular, relevant content.
• Digital Marketing: Personalization is popular with digital marketers. E-mail is a popular spot for personalization: according to a 2011 study by marketing technology provider Alterian, 72% of marketing professionals surveyed reported using personalization for their e-mail campaigns. E-mail marketing complexity ranges from mass blasts to segmentation to real-time individualization, typically using customer data and purchase history data to make recommendations. Another prominent personalization tactic for marketers is retargeting, which involves serving ads to a specific user after they have left a Website in efforts to raise brand awareness, recapture their attention, and drive people back to their Website.
• eCommerce: Business-to-consumer eCommerce was and still is a center of innovation in Web personalization, driven by Amazon.com and other eTailers looking to provide a custom-tailored experience for each individual user in hopes of getting them to buy more. For these sites, personalization often comes in the form of a recommendation engine, which tracks your browsing habits, shopping cart, wish list, reviews, purchase history, and other facets to deliver personalized recommendations on what the system thinks you would like. It should be noted that digital marketing goes hand-in-hand with eCommerce; real-time individualized e-mail marketing is common for eCommerce companies, and retargeting helps bring back shoppers that left the conversion funnel.
• Publishing: For print publishing, personalization often means mass customization, specifically in the print-on-demand model for books, where eCommerce orders trigger specific books to be printed, often in one-off fashion. Services like MagCloud and Time Inc’s Mine Magazine endeavor represent personalization efforts for magazines. On the Web and in digital media, personalization is geared more toward delivering relevant content based on an individual’s specific interests or preferences. Sometimes meeting this objective requires readers to input specific information about their tastes; other times, information like a Twitter, Facebook, or Google Reader account may be analyzed to assess your interests and deliver content based on who you’re friends with, who you follow, or what news you already read. A great example of this method is exhibited through Zite, a “personalized digital magazine” mobile app.
• Social Networking: Social networks are rife with different types of individuals’ data, making them ideal for personalization. Social networks typically employ personalization to deliver relevant content feeds from a user’s friends or connections on a network, as well as to deliver highly-targeted display advertising. For content delivery, networks may use algorithms to interpret connections, interactions, and profile information among users and deliver content based on what it believes is most relevant to each user. For advertising, networks typically act a facilitator between advertisers and users, presenting key profile characteristics of users that advertisers can choose to target.  Facebook generated over $3.5 billion in revenue through this type of advertising.
• Search: Search engines have always utilized algorithms to determine the display results of a user’s query, but these algorithms have recently started to take user information, such as profile or location data, into consideration before displaying results. Just recently, Google stepped up its game in this area, launching “Search, plus Your World“, which integrates a user’s Google+ data into everyday search queries. Advertising is a critical component to search, and generated over $35 billion in revenue worldwide for Google in 2011. Up until now, most search ads have been delivered based on the content of users’ search queries, but location information and even personal information are starting to be used to deliver more targeted search ads to users.

At its core, all that is needed to enable personalization is data, content, and a mechanism to have one drive the other. As has been covered, applying personalization for different use cases has a substantial impact on the type of data being used, the content that is being tied to that data, and the types of delivery mechanisms that enable that personalization. Understanding these differences and requirements for each application can help different stakeholders communicate more effectively when pursuing personalization, as well as open the door to new opportunities

It’s not often that one of those hokey affordable healthcare  commercials made me smile, but this one did .  .  .  just not for the reasons you might expect.

The commercial showed the response of three different sets of consumers to the product — a recent college graduate, a mid-life couple, and a retired couple. Each asked a set of questions that presented a need that was answered by the product.

At the end of the commercial, the college graduate boasted that he got his quote online. The mid-life couple beamed that they got theirs by calling an 800 number. The retired couple said they got theirs by walking into one of the brick-and-mortar stores.

Well done, I thought. It wasn’t heavy handed, but it was there. There were multiple ways to respond to the offer depending on the needs and inclinations of the different segments of the marketer’s target audience.

This is a lesson we need to be taking to heart.

You may have worked hard to convince a client of the benefits of using personalized URLs to update their contact list or add additional variables, for example, but it’s important to give people another way to respond, as well. Give them a phone number, a tear-off form, a QR code to an online form. You worked hard to convince the client of the benefits of this approach, so you want people to use it, of course, but you don’t want to lose people who are interested in the offer but don’t want to use the personalized URL either — and they’ll be out there.

Not sure it’s worth undermining your efforts to market certain types of campaigns or technologies to your client base? Do a simple A/B test. Send the offer with the personalized URL (or whatever response mechanism you are working with) only. Then send the same offer with multiple response mechanisms. Everything else is the same. Track the response rates for each set and see what happens.

Anyone out there done a similar test? I’d love to hear your experiences.

This week, we showcase the Iron Cross with Stitched-in Booklet submitted by Digital Ink in Alexandria, VA created for the American Bankers Association. The piece first opens in gate format to reveal two sides that fold out to create an iron cross format. The innovation doesn’t stop here. The interior boasts of a 12 page stitched booklet. This booklet provides an excellent opportunity to include marketing material into a leave-behind brochure or mailed item. Watch the video for more!