Personalization – Inkjet’s Perfect Pitch

Just as the ability to manufacture greater quantities of products faster and more efficiently ushered in mass production, “mass customization” is ushering in another paradigm shift. 

Inkjet print technology is playing a major role in this shift, having gone through several of its own. Continuous-feed inkjet print technology’s use in a transactional white paper workflow environment, perfect for creating and printing bills and statements with variable-data information, has been joined by webfed and sheetfed inkjet, used to produce commercial offset quality custom direct mail pieces, and direct-to-substrate printers, used to add personalization to promotional products.

For inkjet print providers, the new era provides a unique opportunity:  

• 70% of consumers under the age of 35 who receive a direct mail will take more than 2 minutes to look at it
• The expected value of the personalized gift market by 2021 is expected to be $31 billion – up 55% from 2016 (Technavio + Exploring Personalization, Sparks & Honey, Sept. 2018)
• 25% of consumers are open to sharing their data in return for a personalized experience (HP)
• 50% of Millennials and GenZ express a desire for personalized products (HP)
• 70% of consumers are willing to pay at least 10% more for personalized products; between 27% and 51% are willing to pay 20% more in some categories (HP)

 “Personalization allows inkjet providers to deliver higher value at the same price as they would with toner or toner overprinting of offset jobs – and realize a significantly higher margin, said Elizabeth Gooding, president and co-founder of Inkjet Insight.” The consultancy helps companies grow their businesses using production inkjet. 

The challenge, she added, is for print providers to avoid using the capability to simply drive down the price, and perpetuate the race to the bottom.

Personalization is a major element of the modern marketing strategy, considered a major driver to increased customer demand, engagement, and loyalty.

As one of the production tools for executing marketing campaigns, inkjet printers, said Gooding, deliver

• A deeper level of branding for client companies on statements and bills, for example brokers and advisor logos in color on the same document
• Data-driven customization of direct mail based on credit score or other personal data. So for example, for the real-estate market, it can customize based on interest rates or location. This makes mailings more efficient in addition to providing more effective and timely targeting.

“In each of these cases, work that would have been broken into multiple jobs to support customization of personalization can be completed in-line, faster, at lower cost, and with a greater level of granularity in the personalized content,” said Gooding.

In the retail and business markets, personalization and customization is a growing trend, acknowledged Jay Roberts, UV product manager, Roland DGA.  “What we are seeing as a common thread is that business owners are looking for ways to make their gifts a little more memorable to their clients, or potential clients.”

So, far example, when companies send gift baskets, normal stock items are personalized to that customer – offering that “personal touch” so coveted by today’s consumer.

Corporate marketers are looking for personalization to be synchronized across all the touch-points – not just the print piece, stressed David Baldaro, product marketing manager, XMPie. “This is a critical element to future-proofing the business,” he said.

However, advised Inkjet Insight’s Andy Gordon, “If we are going to promote print as being a higher value offering, we better ensure that our personalized messaging is relevant, useful, and authentic.”

TECHNOLOGY & MARKET ADVANCES 

HP’s Personalization Pinwheel

In January, HP unveiled its Personalization Pinwheel, a new framework developed to help brands tap into the burgeoning personalization market. Led by Jose ‘Pepe’ Gorbea, head of brand & agencies EMEA, the framework was informed by research that followed more than 45 million global online conversations in four countries, from which HP identified six main drivers for personalization: 

• Fingerprinting:  drive share of market through collectability of unique items 
• Mindful materialism: thoughtful consumption
• Bringing bonds to life: fully customized products to drive engagement
• Permission to indulge: tailoring experiences to consumers’ unique preference 
• Finding your flag: personalizing products according to heritage/ codes 
• Letting it all hang out: celebrating consumer stories individually 

HP is using the Personalization Pinwheel to provide tailored recommendations for its brand clients to unlock strategic communications though digital print, to drive personalized storytelling at scale, said Gorbea. 

Scottish beverage brand IRN-BRU’s “Bru’s Your Clan” campaign is an example of the ‘flying your flag’ driver. The brand created a series of labels with personalized flags of 56 Scottish clans to tie in with the country’s January Burns Night celebrations. The personalized labels helped drive stronger engagement and differentiation vs. the competition. 

Canon Solutions America Océ ProStream

Launched last year, Canon Solutions America’s Océ ProStream series combines the high-productivity of continuous feed inkjet with variable-data versatility. “The ProStream covers the market,” says Eric Hawkinson, senior director of marketing, Production Print Solutions, Canon Solutions America. “It delivers high-coverage for the direct mail market, at a true 1200x1200 dpi, with personalization capabilities to drive consumer engagement.” 

With the ProStream 1000 commercial printers are able to go after the big box retailers to create personalized postcards or specialized mailers, added Hawkinson. 

Canon, too, is actively involved in helping its customers market the ‘inkjet edge’ to their customers, and how to sell personalization to primary industry segments. Most recently, it is taking its message to the road, at four regionally selected customer locations, for a two-day experience. On day one, new and potential customers can bring in their salespeople; on day two, they can bring in their customers. 

Canon has also been a primary sponsor of Print Media Center’s Peacock Project, visiting brands and agencies to share with them the power of personalization and the quality possible with inkjet. Over the last two years, says Hawkinson, “we visited 50 brands and some of the biggest agencies.”

XMPIE’s PersonalEffect

Variable-data capabilities are at the heart of the XMPie platform which can be used to power any digital print press including inkjet, said Baldaro. “With XMPie software, print providers can efficiently process a high-volume of personalized print with no compromise on creativity, delivering high-value output for the clients.”

Brands are looking to print providers to lower their campaign production costs, save time, and increase the return on their marketing investment, noted Baldaro. “These requirements can be delivered with VDP,” he said. “Instead of producing ineffective static pieces, VDP applications focus on the relevancy to the recipient. One template is created, and that template automatically produces different versions of the document based on changes in the data.”

The various touch-points within a campaign can be powered by the same core platform - PersonalEffect. “This shares the data and business rules across multiple channels simultaneously, so the data is always synchronized for a truly holistic brand experience,” said Baldaro.

Omnichannel campaigns can also include new technologies such as chatbots whereby, for instance, a customer can be prompted to order a personalized insurance brochure during a conversation with a chatbot. 

The technology not only helps deliver high-volume, high-quality personalized print pieces, but also can synchronize the delivery of personalized emails.

Roland’s COTOdesign application 

Roland is also going full onboard with its message of personalization. At the 2018 SGIA, in addition to its VersaUV direct-to-substrate printer, Roland DGA showcased its new COTOdesign application, designed to bring the concepts of customization and personalization to the promotion market.

The concept is similar to on-demand photo printing, except now the end-user can take that photo or other graphic element, upload it to the COTOdesign application, and print it onto a journal, book, or even a giveaway for a customized product. 

At SGIA booth visitors were able to scan barcode to link to a site, upload a photo, add personalized text to journal, and create customized journals on the fly. 

Roberts sees three different avenues for its use:

• Internal corporate culture, where, for example, HR can use it to create personalized items for employees. 
• External corporate events – At an event for a new product release, customers can upload a graphic from their phone and print their own unique coffee coaster or journal. 
• In a retail environment, at a store or kiosk at the mall. The customer purchases a new phone and customizes the product on location. 

“The customization of the product only adds to the value of a brand name,” said Roberts.