Did you know that Procter and Gamble is one of (if not the) largest advertiser in the world? The parent company of consumer brands like Tide, Gillette, and many others, estimates assume that P&G’s annual ad spend is somewhere between $8 and $10 billion-with-a-B per year.
Oh, to have an advertising budget like that!
Sadly, the rest of us will have to make do with what we have. For startups and small businesses, advertising budgets are typically 5–10% of gross (not net) revenue, and often less than that. Needless to say, every dollar counts.
That’s why using technology like variable data printing (VDP) can really make an impact—and VDP isn’t just for small businesses who need to stretch their advertising budget. Giants like Coca-Cola, Nike, and others have used it.
Let’s learn more about VDP and how you can implement it in your next in-house marketing material designs with a little help from Xerox:
Xerox’s PersonalEffect Print Makes VDP Easy for Everyone – Even Without a Big Marketing Budget
Variable data printing is a technology that allows for dynamic content in printed media. What that means is that you can use a database, say, of your customer’s first names (or anything else), and customize something you’re printing with it, like a marketing mailer. So, instead of just saying “Hello,” your advertisement might say, “Hello, Susan.”
While that’s a grossly oversimplified example (since VDP can help you incorporate into your marketing materials anything you have the data for), it’s exactly what Coca-Cola did in 2011 when they launched their “Share a Coke” campaign, where cans of the beverage were sold with many different first names printed on them in an attempt to encourage people to share the drinks with people who had those first names. It worked—Coca-Cola reported a 7% increase in consumption among young adults in Australia. They eventually launched the campaign in 70 additional countries, including the United States.
PersonalEffect Print brings this same capability (and more) to your small business.
PersonalEffect Print: How It Works for Small Businesses
PersonalEffect Print is compatible with Adobe InDesign, which is the most widely used, industry standard software for desktop publishing. If you create in-house marketing materials, you probably already use it.
Once installed, PersonalEffect Print allows you to connect your data to your InDesign project. Many different data types are supported, from complex spreadsheets to simple comma separated values in plaintext.
Designers will love this bit—you don’t have to use any software outside of InDesign to use PersonalEffect Print. You can stay right inside your InDesign project the entire time. This is a huge benefit because it means you don’t have to deal with any kind of complicated conversion software. As you would usually, your project can be output to whatever format you like, such as PDF. Then, you simply process and print the PDFs (or other format) as you would normally, as each file will have been customized with your data.
Ready To Step Up Your Office Game? We’re Here To Help – Let’s Start a Conversation!
Whether you’re interested in variable data printing with PersonalEffect Print or you need to upgrade your office equipment, our team at Preferred Document Solutions is here to help. Come and see us in Colorado Springs or give us a call at (719) 634-1134. You’re also more than welcome to contact us online or request a free quote. We can’t wait to help you meet all of your printing goals!
