“She says that the printed piece started the engagement process much more effectively than and e-mail blast, which is very easy to delete or forget. Once you are engaged, you are more likely to respond to an e-mail follow-up or call to action,” Kilgore says. But it all starts with the printed piece.”
The October-09 issue of Deliver Magazine highlighted this direct mail initiative by Ricoh which can be found one page 28 at www.delivermagazine.com . Also of great interest is the “Made to Order” article on the “Mine” Magazine and personalization initiatives by Time Inc.
“Time Inc. Media Group president Wayne Powers says that while “Mine” may be viewed as direct to consumer, it is more of an engaged relationship.” Consumer engagement is the lexicon of these two highlighted initiatives, one that brings value to the advertiser and the consumer, win / win initiatives. While one of the holy grails of print is print metrics, another identified by Mr. Powers is “Are there ways we can better align the content within these magazines to match the consumers interests?” Although this topic may be once removed from the printer & press manufactures, they must help solve such holy grails of print to remain relevant to publishers and advertisers.
The amount of customization already done by printers on press and in post press is amazing, but publishers and their advertisers want more. Let us not rest until print is truly interactive.
By Roger Belanger, GossRSVP, LLC
