Putting the Wow in any offer requires understanding and delivering value. If you want to understand the value of TransPromo, you need to look at it from a few different perspectives:

• What does marketing (your customer) value?
• What creates value for the organization producing the document?
• What does the end-recipient of the document (your customer’s customer) value?

If you can understand and deliver value for all three of those groups, Wow! What an offer!

TransPromo, which involves leveraging transaction data to deliver relevant, personalized customer communications, provides this opportunity. The capability to add relevant marketing content to transaction documents, such as statements, invoices, and electronic payment notifications, is tremendously valuable to marketing because it allows the marketing budget to be used more efficiently and, in many cases, more effectively. For example, TransPromo can:

• Replace direct mailings to customers by leveraging campaign content on the transaction document
• Reinforce and promote campaigns delivered via other channels (see our new ad on MTV! Visit our website for the latest discounts!)
• Generate improved response rates and develop stronger customer relationships by making offers that are relevant to each reader and delivering “point-of-need” content triggered by customer data

If want to read the rest of this article and for more like it, visit www.OceWow.com to download the July Newsletter!

Transform your customer’s statements into their best customer communications vehicle… with personalization and relevant content.

 TransPromo communications take a standard bill or statement and add meaningful marketing messages — in other words, integrating a TRANSactional document with proactive PROMOtional marketing. The changes in postal rates and technology have created an environment where TransPromo makes good business and economical sense for many companies. TransPromo can be implemented in black and white, yet enhancing a statement or bill with color can significantly enhance response. These formerly routine documents can help you sell additional products and services and build brand loyalty.

 Study after study shows that statements command the most attention among many other common forms of customer communications. With so much attention paid to this document every month, there is huge potential to communicate directly with each customer on a “one-on-one” personal level.

 Through the use of targeted, personalized statements, DST Output has helped customers unleash the power of this opportunity and created deeper, more meaningful relationships with their customers. Cheryl Kananowicz, Vice President and Dave Smith, Operations Manager share how DST Output does it.

Over the past year or two, I’ve had the impression that the term “TransPromo” is perceived outside the printing industry as being very print-centric. I have this impression because that’s what people outside of the industry that I speak with about TransPromo tell me. Perhaps because the terminology was so talked up in our own industry that the perception is warranted, although as an analyst that’s covered this area to a certain degree, I’ve always tried to emphasize that TransPromo isn’t just about print. Leveraging transactional data to drive the delivery of targeted, relevant messaging can be executed for multiple output channels to varying degrees of application and immediacy.

Whether or not the “TransPromo” term sticks around is not really of my concern; what I can say with great confidence is that it’s happening today, especially in the electronic/digital world, and it’s only going to grow over time. Why? There have been a number of recent developments and announcements that highlight how transactional data is being analyzed and utilized to drive highly-targeted and relevant messaging, with many signs pointing to increased investment in this area in the near future:

• A number of companies are either starting up or creating new offerings that enable real-time digital transaction- and behavior-based marketing. Cardlytics is a provider of inline targeted advertising for financial institutions and currently partners with the likes of Fiserv and others to deliver coupons, rewards, and ads to recipients. CLOVR Media promotes a similar offering that it calls “Card Linked Offers”, which are tied in with financial institutions’ loyalty programs. Cartera provides eCommerce solutions to industries that have loyalty programs and is also getting in the game with analytics-driven digital marketing and offer management services.
• Online consolidator services that help consumers aggregate their online financial accounts and provide tools for tracking and budgeting (e.g., Mint.com, Pageonce, etc.) are becoming more popular due to ease-of-use and value delivered. These offerings have access to thousands of peoples’ consolidated transaction information and the companies that run them are using this data to deliver targeted, relevant messaging, marketing, and advertising to users.
• Last week, Google announced its foray into the world of mobile payments with “Wallet”, a service that leverages up-and-coming Near-Field Communications (NFC) technology embedded in smartphones to enable “contactless” point-of-sale payments at retail merchants. What does this mean for Google? The ability to access, mine, and analyze your transaction data virtually in real-time, enabling them to deliver targeted, relevant marketing and advertising, including coupons, loyalty reward points, and more. It’s highly likely that Google will implement a marketplace where advertisers of all sizes conduct real-time ad buys to instantly reach users.

Many of these developments are happening strictly on the digital technology side, but I still consider the application to be of the transpromotional variety. Furthermore, I believe that these developments, despite being digitally-focused, will ultimately bode well for print communications. Many of the issues that have plagued the push toward achieving TransPromo for print communications, including organizational alignment and technology infrastructure, may receive a thrust toward resolution with the new era of real-time transaction-based messaging, marketing, and advertising being touted by the likes of Cardlytics, Google, and others.

There’s a wealth of information that can be gleaned from this type of data, and if pure-play digital tech innovation is the catalyst for increased use and awareness across all channels, I’d say that’s step in the right direction.

Bare Deal likes to describe its coupon service as “Groupon meets Netflix.” Its founders are a couple of Northwestern grads who mail (yes, mail) coupons to consumers who’ve asked for them, requiring payment only when consumers use the coupons.

Bare Deal co-founder, Glen Andrianov, explains through an example. ”This week, we are  featuring the company, Chocolate for Your Body. Anybody who signed up for Bare Deal is able to select this specific deal on our website. A scratch off-card for Chocolate for Your Body is then sent to the person’s mailing address.”

Put another way, this is the process:

• The consumer hears about the service via Twitter, Facebook, word of mouth, or opt-in email and goes to the Bare Deal website, and “signs up.”
• The consumer who wants to explore a deal, registers for that deal.
• Bare Deal digitally prints and mails the consumer a scratch-off coupon featuring a 40- to 100-percent discount, branded with the business’ info.
• When ready, the consumer takes that coupon to the business and redeems it.

Because the recipient asked for the coupon, the open-rate is high. But there’s another – some might say better – reason to open that envelope immediately. Consumers don’t know precisely how big their discounts will be until they scratch-off in the privacy of their home. The discount could be a healthy 40%, or the discount could range up to 100%.

Andrianov says consumers have fun with the coupons. “Instead of a product focused only on savings (Groupon and competitors), our scratch cards provide variable savings, which create excitement – consumers are ‘winning’ a discount.”

Couponing is huge in the Windy City (as this Chicago Tribune article notes) so there’s plenty of competition. But coupons enjoy impressive marketing acceptance, too. So how does Bare Deal differentiate and market its coupons? Andrianov says the company set out to create a service people would love and drives traffic to the website mainly through word of mouth and social media (Facebook and Twitter). “Also, members pay businesses directly, which helps foster loyalty between consumer and their business.”

Lynford Morton, owner of PhotoTour DC, a company that teaches photography on walking tours around Washington, DC, would concur that business access to consumers is critical, but also missing in most coupon arrangements. Morton, who has a lot of experience with coupon marketers, says, “I get pitched by these coupon companies all the time. They all claim some novel differentiator…which really turns out to be yawn-inducing. Every now and then I get a couple smart ones who want to talk to me about where my pain points might be with the daily deals of the world and how they might address them. Others bring me solutions to problems I don’t have. If I understand the Bare Deal approach correctly, this business solves one huge problem by letting you communicate with your customers. To know 600 people bought your product, but you can’t communicate with any of them is nuts. Giving a business owner direct access is huge.”

Andrianov agrees. “Businesses prefer us over competitors because they are able to put their brand identity on a physical product, compared to a black-and-white printed piece of paper with no brand identity.”

Customers must love the pay-as-you-go arrangement, too? I mean who doesn’t have at least a few coupons already paid for, but unredeemed sitting in a folder somewhere? Guilt! Angst! Pressure! Ah… relief!

The delivery of branded, redeemable scratch-offs can happen only one way: via direct mail. “Because we provide a physical product that can’t be printed on a computer, we use direct mail .. This process allows us to send scratch cards only to members who are interested in a specific deal … If a member does not select a deal, they will not receive anything in the mail.”  

In short, Bare Deal’s innovative merger of a pay-when-you-use-it-only coupon with the thrill of a strike-it-rich scratch-off should add up to a model with promise.

As Netflix already proved, the U.S. mail has its advantages. In fact, some people would argue that the U.S. Postal Service made Netflix successful. So, yes, it’s good to see smart marketers still working the direct mail angle.

Printers! Take Your Mark! Get Set! GO!

. . . Or maybe I should be saying Marketers Take Your Mark. Either way, I’m seeing example after example of why printed communications need to become increasingly nimble to stay relevant in the marketing mix. I was inspired by a recent post from Pat Allen of Rock the Boat Marketing (and by the Old Spice Guy video embedded in the post)

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According to Pat, “the tilt toward real-time communicating exposes what we believe to be the greatest weakness in investment product communicating: Reacting after the fact and on a delay.” While she is looking at the asset management industry through a marketing lens – you could easily point that same lens at print service providers and in-house shops. “The Old Spice guy work is an excellent demonstration of an emerging communications competency: the preparing to improvise, the organizing to be able to react in the moment to external stimulus,” says Pat.

Old Spice Guy says “Now I’m on a boat. Look in your hand. Look back at me. Now I’m on a ship. Look at your man. Look back at me. I’m on a horse.” Can your communications shift that quickly – and look that good doing it? (Phew!)

There have been several posts recently about combining print and other digital marketing channels. Most frequently referenced is putting PURLs on direct mail. You know what? That’s already old hat. PURLs provide an additional channel for the recipient, which is good, but it is not necessarily preparing the marketer to be able to  react quickly to external stimulus from social media sites, breaking news or other market activity.

We need to enable our print campaigns to launch on a dime in support of trends gleaned from online activity. Of course, we will want to communicate with people who are already online through online means – but why not extend the learning to be able to launch the same great message to the customers we know don’t use our online channels? Or simply reinforce the online message with a tangible printed campaign?

Allen cites a social media presentation by Matthew Guiste, category manager for social media at Starbucks and successful revenue-generating programs that involved a rapid exchange of information, internally and externally. Starbucks identified mini-trends from activity on Facebook and Twitter and worked quickly to syndicate that content across multiple other social media outlets. They could also have launched a direct mail campaign – but sadly – with the response times of most organizations today – not fast enough to ride the wave of the current trend.

For direct mail (and transactional communications) to gain a broader piece of the “social media response” pie it will need to be faster and more collaborative with what is now a social media silo. If the collaboration and rapid publishing tools can be put in place – with workflows that link social media monitoring, analytics, content management, approval and production approvals – social media can be a great friend to digital printing rather than a competitor.

So, look at your social media channels. Look back at me. Look at your direct mail. Look back at me. Anything is possible. I’m on a plane (Seriously, I am.)

One of the cornerstones of the CARD Act of 2009 is that all the forms and statements that credit card companies send out “have to have plain language that is in plain sight.” The law makes specific requirements for each type of document in terms of content, language and in some cases even type size. The requirements were based, in large part, on extensive consumer research sponsored by the Federal Reserve. An overview of the research and results can be found at http://tinyurl.com/l6o6fr

For card issuers already struggling with portions of the Act that go into effect this week (see Countdown to the CARD Act Part One) the clock is ticking to get all of these changes designed, coded and tested in advance of the February 2010 deadline. I’ve summarize the key content and formatting changes to each type of document below.
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The clock started ticking on May 22, 2009 when the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act was signed by President Obama. It is a landmark piece of legislation that provides American consumers with stronger protection against unfair credit practices than previously imposed by the Federal Reserve under changes to Reg Z and Reg AA. It also gave issuers less time to comply than the Fed: the first date for compliance is this month, only 90 days after the law was passed. Tick. Tick. Tick.

On August 20, 2009 the first provisions of the CARD Act go into effect. By this date, card issuers must have made the changes necessary to ensure that:

• - Cardholders have a minimum of 21 days to pay their bill;
• - Cardholders receive 45 days’ advance notice of significant changes to their card agreements;
• - Notice is provided that cardholders have a right to opt out of significant changes in their account terms, including interest rate and fee increases, as long as they are not more than 60 days overdue on their payments.

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Heidi Tolliver-Nigro noted in a recent posting that 1:1 print jobs are rarely repeated. Let’s think about that for a minute. First, what do we mean by 1:1?? Name and address with a customer loyalty coupon? Some real estate post card application? Those are nice, but they have little or nothing to do with the notion of TransPromo. These 1:1 jobs are one-off projects, simple promotional mailings usually composed in a PostScript of PDF creation tool and printed on cut-sheet machines – usually color. Transactional printing on the other hand is done in huge volumes using AFP/IPDS. When promotional messaging is integrated into these kinds of document you get a whole new thing. First of all you have the opportunity to dump all of the blow-ins, inserts & generic coupons. The result is something currently called TransPromo. TransPromo and 1:1 are two distinctly different kinds of print jobs for two distinctly different markets and different types of customers.
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According to an article I recently read by InfoTrends, 63% of customers prefer promotional pieces over purely transactional documents. For this reason, “incorporating promotional messaging in transaction documents can both boost the appeal of a transactional document and generate a higher read rate for the marketing message.”

When I read this, I had to stop and think about that again. Putting a promotional message on a transactional document can “generate a higher read rate for the marketing message.” On the surface, this makes sense. Use something people like more (promotional messages) to boost readership of something people like less (transactional documents).

But as usual, I had to re-think it in a contrarian way. You are hitching the more desirable (the marketing message) to the less desirable (the transactional document). In some ways, you could argue that, by doing so, it’s like putting flat tires on a sports car. Of course, you could argue the other way, too, and that’s what is being done here. Bills have nearly a 100% open rate. You can’t say that about most direct mail, even highly personalized direct mail. By attaching the marketing message to the transactional document, you are increasing the chance of eyeball exposure.

I guess what struck me was its over-simplicity. As analysts and consultants, we are prone to blithe and pithy statements that make great pull quotes. But we need to be careful not to over-simplify.

I mean, another way to put this is that, if you’re talking about transpromo credit card statements, for example, and if credit card statements irritate people (which they do), you’re hoping that your marketing message catches the coattails of something that people fundamentally don’t like and that irritates them. Those marketing messages better be cheap to add!

It’s just another way to look at it. I’ll be available for tomato throwing later