The evolution of variable data publishing and the technology that enables it has been a bumpy journey. While that journey long predates my entry into the print industry, many of the issues that printers have had to deal with when trying to accomplish the creation and production of a variable data job have persisted: processing complex variability at rated device speeds, color management & transparency conflicts, and a mixed bag of “optimized” file formats have been thorns in the sides of printers and designers for probably the past decade. In the next five years, those problems are likely to go away.
Why? PDF/VT. PDF/VT is one of the newest ISO standards (ISO 16612-2 to be exact) under the overarching umbrella of PDF standards, with VT standing for “Variable” and “Transactional”. The intended goal of PDF/VT is to create an end-to-end, PDF-based imaging workflow for variable data jobs, making VDP jobs much more predictable, repeatable, and able to handle more complex imaging functions like transparency and blend modes. In addition, PDF/VT is intended to make variable data jobs more portable and more universally viewable. In other words, true PDF for variable data. (more…)
. . . 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.)
