Inkjet & Digital Printing
Effective and economical: Océ produces valued-added collaterals on demand at drupa 2008
Friday 16. May 2008 - With businesses and ad agencies keener than ever to target their marketing efforts precisely and leverage their budgets, many are turning to digital printing as the most efficient way to produce booklets, flyers, brochures and catalogs. Supported by web-to-print solutions, customers can order collaterals quickly and easily from the print service provider and rely on swift order turnaround. At drupa 2008 Océ is staging real-life application workflows to demonstrate how high quality collaterals can be produced profitably on demand.
Communication is in; one-size-fits-all is out. To get a promotional message through to customers, businesses today have to do something special with their flyers, booklets or catalogs. Good design matters, of course, and full color is imperative. Yet so does being absolutely up to date – and targeting the media tightly to specific audiences. It is precisely on these factors that digital printing makes its mark – because digital workflows make it easy to update documents, personalize them or produce short runs with preselected content targeted to specific groups, all without compromising on quality.
Short runs: always targeted and up to date
Collaterals on demand are about more than speed. What also matters is flexibility. Digital workflows enable businesses to produce their flyers, brochures and posters on demand in multiple short runs, without tying up cash in inflexible inventory. The digital workflow produces exactly the quantities required at any one time; the next edition is printed when needed, creating the opportunity to update content in the meantime if need be and accommodate latest events and developments. Even when minor product details change, for instance, digital workflows ensure the latest versions of product documentation are always available. Jobs can also be split in order to accommodate specific regional circumstances. For instance, the names, addresses and promotional offers of local sales partners can easily be integrated into brochures; it is also possible to target customers through a specific selection of images.
Above all, though, the key benefit is that content can be adapted to specific target groups and prospects. A case in point: why should a toolmaker always send out bulky catalogs when its perfectly clear that each group of professionals will only be interested in a small section of the range? And whats stopping travel companies – assuming their CRM is up to the job – from targeting their printed catalogs specifically to the preferences of their clients?
“Individualized collaterals on demand not only make more impact on recipients, they also substantially reduce the volume of material used – because you dont have to update or compose the collaterals until you actually need them. This reduces inventory and costs”, says Peter Wolff, Vice President Graphic Arts.
Collaterals on demand: benefits for all stakeholders
To find out how to deliver high-impact customer communication with pick-and-mix content, visitors should join Océ at drupa (hall 6, booth 44), where the company is co-staging a web-to-print solution with Dutch press agency pressofoon. Pressofoon realized that few customers were actually interested in the entire content of a catalog or special-interest magazine. Most people focus on particular aspects and need more detail on these specific issues, particularly if they are about to make a purchase decision.
Based on this insight, Océ and pressofoon have developed an innovative web-to-print application. Clients can visit pressofoons website and create their very own magazine, mixing and matching their own personal choice of content from a range of themes. The articles on offer are all by professional journalists and authors, ensuring that journalistic standards are maintained. Customers can read a précis of each article and then decide whether to include the full text and graphics in their personal magazine. Having completed the selection, the customer orders the magazine online – which is delivered straight to his or her home. The magazine is funded by local and national advertising.
This is a win-win situation all round. Pressofoon can differentiate itself with a unique service and saves print costs. Plus, there is no surplus inventory – which eliminates the waste of pulping material. Readers get the information they are really interested in. And pressofoons advertising clients can microtarget their ad placements, eliminating the imprecision of scatter marketing. The individually assembled magazines are printed at pressofoon on the Océ CS650, which will also be running at drupa.
“pressofoon illustrates the sheer versatility which digital printing brings to the world of communication. And digital printing is growing in popularity,” says Peter Wolff. “Ultimately it doesnt matter one bit whether youre producing a brochure, catalog or special-interest magazine – what does matter is that the content exactly fits the customers interests. And no one knows better what these interests are than customers themselves. For this reason alone, individualized mix-and-match collaterals are the most customer-friendly method of communication.”