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JoAnn Johnson, Kim Boyer, and Meena Samtani – congratulations to these three winners of the NPS raffle for participation in our NPS customer survey! NPS recently conducted a survey to find out how our customers feel about our new look, our new website, and our overall products and services provided. Out of the participants, three random customers were drawn as winners of Visa gift cards. JoAnn Johnson of Torrance Memorial Medical Center won the 1st place $100 gift card. Kim Boyer of CHOC Children’s Hospital won the $50 gift card, and Meena Samtani of International Refridgeration won the $25 gift card. We are delighted to have such appreciative customers – enjoy our token of appreciation in return!
Our mission at NPS is to help businesses run more efficiently and grow stronger by providing the most relevant, creative printing and marketing solutions. In keeping with our mission, it is essential that we understand our customers needs, hear their frustrations, and share in their vision. The many responses we received have been extremely valuable in helping us to grow in the right direction. We appreciate all our customers’ participation; and we encourage you to continue sharing your ideas, appreciation, and criticism with us. Our success depends on yours!
Owner Neal Verga with winner JoAnn Johnson
NPS Consultant Dan Kerins with winner Kim Boyer
NPS Consultant Dan Kerins with winner Meena Samtani
They are popping up everywhere. You are seeing them on business cards, on restaurant menus, and even on tickets to your favorite sporting events. So what are these peculiar “box codes” imbedded into our everyday print and what does it mean to us?
First of all, don’t panic! You are not the last person on the planet to familiarize yourself with this new technology called a QR code. Recent studies have shown that 52% of Americans have acknowledged they have seen a QR code, and 28% have actually scanned one. However, these numbers are multiplying daily. From July to December 2010, there was a 1200% increase in QR code scanning¹ which has not let up in 2011. This rapid rise in scanning means two things. One, there is a world of information just waiting to be tapped into; and two, if you’re not familiar with QR codes yet, it’s time to learn!
Quick response codes (QR codes) are two-dimensional bar codes readable by both QR barcode scanners and cell phones. They were created in 1994 in Japan by Denso-Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota. QR codes were created with the purpose of tracking vehicle parts. Unlike traditional linear bar codes, each two-dimensional code is capable of storing up to 4,296 alphanumeric or 7,089 numeric characters.² Although their success in Japan, The Netherlands, and South Korea has been momentous, Westerners are slowly adapting to this newest wave of technology as leaders such as Target, Best Buy, Pepsi, and Starbucks have recently begun incorporating QR codes into their marketing campaigns.
So what is the advantage of using a QR code? Consumers today want access to immediate, relevant information, and QR codes make that possible. No more scribbling down names or manually typing in URLs. Users are able to scan an image of a QR code, and a message is delivered in 4G time. The creator decides what hidden message they want to convey; whether it be a company web site, a special discount, or specific product or contact information, the creator now has a captivated viewer with a 72% likelihood to remember the message simply because it was delivered via a creative medium.
Now how does it all work? First of all you need a mobile device with a camera, a program to do the decoding, and Internet access to find out where the code will take you. Anyone with a smart phone or an iPod touch must simply download an application which enables QR code scanning. Some of the newest devices have been upgraded with built-in QR code readers; however, there are over 50 free QR code reading applications to choose from. Barcode Scanner from Zxing for Android and NeoReader for iPhone are two of the most popular. Once your app is downloaded, you simply snap a picture of the code, and your message will be in your hands (literally) within no time!
¹ ² The QR Code Statistics you have been looking for – infographic by Wayne Sutton, www.socialwayne.com
Written by Molly Braun, General Manager and Editor at NPS
An Internet information company seeking to boost response rates and drive traffic to its website was reluctant to use direct mail. After the campaign generated so-so results in numerous online channels, however, a direct mail test produced the highest response rates and the most stickiness of any medium they used—even for the coveted new-media generation of 18- to 35-year-olds.
The moral: “Sometimes you find a role for print in the areas you least expect it,” says Matthew Downey , vice president, Anderson Direct MarketingOpens in a new window, agency to the aforementioned Internet information company.
Many marketers still have high expectations for printed direct mail. The Winterberry Group Opens in a new windowprojects spending on direct mail to increase 5.8 percent in 2011 to $47 billion dollars, more than any other direct or digital advertising category. This would be the second consecutive year of growth, following three years of decline.
“Print is alive because you can create an integrated mix that is relevant to the person you’re targeting,” says Alan Scott , member of the CMO Council Advisory BoardOpens in a new window and former senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Enterprise Media Group, Dow Jones and Co.Opens in a new window “Print plays a vital role, but it’s different than it used to be.”
Print Is in the Mix
The mean number of media used in today’s direct marketing campaigns is three, according to market research and strategic consulting firm InfoTrends. A recent test conducted by the Xerox 1:1 LabOpens in a new window demonstrated the role that relevant, personalized print can play in these campaigns.
The 1:1 Lab program runs tests comparing the results from a traditional direct mail campaign to the same campaign with customized messaging that is relevant to each recipient. In tests run in multiple industry vertical markets, the customized messaging has consistently delivered positive results. Highly regarded direct mail leader Reader’s Digest Canada as much as doubled response rates with a more personalized approach.
A recent lab test dramatically boosted enrollment in Miami University of OhioOpens in a new window’s honors program. In the test, conducted jointly with direct marketing provider b+p+t communication solutionsOpens in a new window, nearly identical multimedia campaigns using direct mail, PURLs and email were sent to two groups of 20,000 randomly selected prospective students. One group’s campaign applied relevant content based on students’ interests, while the control piece limited personalization to basics, such as name and address.
The data-driven campaign generated a 1,466 percent greater response rate than the control and a 6,000 percent increase in targets converting to prospects. Seventy-six percent of PURL visitors had received the personalized mailer. Campus visits increased by 32 percent over the previous year, reaching capacity and thereby shutting down promotions early. The incoming class size was 31 percent larger than the school’s goal, and 90.5 percent of the enrollees had received the data-driven mailer.
Results like these have convinced many enterprises to include print in multichannel marketing. Universal Pictures puts most of its budget into broadcast, but “Print is seeing a resurgence since digital [printing] came into play,” says Doug Neil, senior vice president, Digital Marketing, Universal PicturesOpens in a new window. “There are touch points with consumers in all different media. We’re making sure all our touch points are covered.”
Driving Better Responses
One reason direct mail makes such strong contributions to multi-media campaigns is that today’s more relevant, personalized print drives better response rates than the static and “Dear Frank” personalized pieces of the past. Where average direct-mail response rates long hovered at about 1 percent, the 2010 DMA Response Rate Trend ReportOpens in a new window found letter-size envelopes generated on average a 3.42 percent response rate for a house list and 1.38 percent for prospects.
And, contrary to the popular belief that direct mail is tossed directly into the wastebasket, eight out of 10 households reported that they read or scan direct mail received at home in the 2010 U.S. Postal Services Household Diary Study on 2009Opens in a new window.
Indeed, some promotions are still done best in print-only formats. The Ford Motor Company Opens in a new windowhas found in testing over the years that direct mail works best for generating extended service plan sales for its vehicles. In a Xerox 1:1 Lab test produced in conjunction with Ford’s fulfillment and direct marketing vendor partner BudcoOpens in a new window of Highland Park, Mich., a more relevant direct mail piece boosted sales by 35.7 percent.
Combining relevance and a compelling reason to open the envelope drove similarly stellar results at Dow-Jones. “One of our most successful campaigns used mass customized publications that we delivered by FedEx,” says Scott. “We got a 50 percent response rate from C-level executives. They read it because it was delivered overnight. They responded because the content was so strong. We showed them we know their company.”
Adapting to the Digital Era
Of course, testing helps marketers determine the best triggers for driving results. Here again, today’s digital printing provides an advantage. First, the technology’s cost-effectiveness in short runs makes producing relatively small test batches imminently practical.
Second, results are measurable. And when print drives targets to Web locations, the results can be tabulated automatically and immediately for prompt campaign adjustments.
Indeed, crossmedia campaign management solutions can often roll up results from all media channels into a single marketing console to provide key metrics, such as return on investment, across the entire campaign. That’s because these systems are fully integrated across multiple media, using a single set of rules to drive creation and management of multiple pieces in various media from a single collection of assets.
Any digital medium can be incorporated in cross-media campaigns, from email to micro websites to social media and SMS text, streamlining management while reaching targets in their preferred media. And increasingly popular QR Codes—readily created for print in most variable software packages—make it easier than ever for consumers to connect to a Web location by simply scanning the code with a mobile device.
Yes, print’s role in direct marketing is changing. And perhaps the most critical change is that today’s personalized, relevant print is driving better results than ever before.
Gina Testa is vice president, graphic communications and business development, Xerox CorporationOpens in a new window. You can reach her at gina.testa@xerox.com.
http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/print-s-personalized-data-driven-role-modern-direct-marketing#utm_source=targetmarketingmag.com&utm_medium=article_page&utm_campaign=tools
At NPS, we make it our committment celebrate earth day not only today but everyday by living by the triple R’s — reduce, reuse and recycle. We realize that being practical, conscious, and aware not only cuts down on our waste and saves the planet but also helps us work smarter and more effective. We also make it our mission to partner up with printing companies that are FSC certified, giving them first priority on all our jobs. The number of printing companies around the USA that are certified is growing every year, proving that printing isn’t always bad, and that measures can be taken to help our environment.
While you may have the mindset that printing companies just waste paper and that print advertising and marketing aren’t so green, we are here to prove to you that that theory is wrong. Yes, while printing does mean using thousands of pounds of paper per year, printing solutions providers such as NPS have taken steps to make sure we put back into the environment just as much as we take out.
One web site we love is Print Grows Trees. It’s an educational campaign that is proving how printing on paper can help grows more trees and how it keeps our forests from being sold for development. It actually disproves the theory that “by using less paper, trees will be saved.” Don’t believe us? Go check it out for yourself!
Happy Earth Day 2011!
Written by Molly Braun, General Manager and Editor at NPS