When Executive Printing, Inc. Digital (EPI) wanted to let their customers know about the variable-data-printing capabilities of their new NexPress 2100 digital color press, they didn't just tell them about what the printer could do”?they showed them.
For a special event to introduce customers to the NexPress 2100, EPI Digital produced personalized invitations to a wine tasting. The invitation response card asked each person to list a favorite type of wine. At the event, each attendee was presented with the bottle of wine of their choice, complete with personalized bottle tag. The goody bags that EPI Digital distributed to attendees at the event included personalized wine guides and stationery.
But the day wasn't entirely devoted to wine tasting and goody bags; the event included some practical information as well. Roundtable discussions such as, “Getting Personal: Marketing with Digital and Variable Data Printing,” “Designing for Digital and Variable Data Printing,” and “Capture the Data,” covered the how-to's of producing variable-data digital marketing applications. Educational support for the event was provided by Heidelberg's Business Development Services team.
In addition to showing the impact of personalized and one-to-one messaging, EPI Digital demonstrated how customers how easy it now is to generate multiple versions of a brochure segmented by market or keep brochures updated and current and print them out as needed. The event attracted more than 100 people, many of whom had never been exposed to the concept of variable-data printing.
EPI Digital's customer-education activities aren't limited to special events, though. EPI Digital Vice-President Cindy Woods sometimes takes a customer's existing marketing piece and rearranges it, using variable data to show how personalization can make direct marketing pieces more powerful. (EPI Digital: www.executiveprinting.com)