Have you ever heard of Variable Data Publishing? If you haven’t, don’t feel bad, because we hadn’t either up until about four years ago, when we were contracted to create a VDP application for the University of Las Vegas. The process of variable data publishing is simple: take the impact of stagnant print publications and couple them with the power of dynamic information. Instead of sending out a single four page brochure to 10,000 clients, you can send 10,000 uniquely targeted brochures to every single person. From 100 clients to 100 million, this system is as robust as your print shop’s
capabilities.

Since that first VDP application, we’ve been working hard to refine a proprietary version that could work under extreme circumstances for any client. Not only is it a VDP application, it also serves as a data mining tool for your clients. Here’s how it works:

• You, the user, create a brochure template that is easily uploaded and instantly integrated into our robust backend system.
• You then set the parameters for the variable data portion of the application. Customized images for one group, blocks of text for another, your imagination is the only roadblock on the road to a fully customized VDP application. Here are a few examples:
  • UNLV wanted specific academic programs to be featured in the brochure depending upon what interests that particular student seemed to have based on their browsing history.
  • NYU wanted localized information delivered to prospective students who lived in the New York area.
  • Clients in California delivered brochures featuring specific products based on their current spending patterns, leading to a much higher rate of return.
• You then specify your variable data elements. If you chose to separate information based on locale, simply enter the various possibilities into the system. If you choose to include product specific information, check off the products that relate and then input whatever message that you want to deliver to your client. It is the very definition of simplistic, and we’ll prove it.
• Once you’ve specified the template and each variable component in the system, you can easily preview your final printed materials on-the-fly. And we don’t just mean a generalized idea, we mean the whole campaign. You can see how the brochure would look like to a person who purchased 8 widgets in Toledo in a period over 18 months ago by filling out our client preview form and hitting submit. You’ll see exactly what they’ll see.
• Our VDP application integrates with a wide variety of print standards and content management systems. Ask us for details.
• Our software is so robust, it can specify delivery methods to your printer. Want them all uploaded/emailed/(insert delivery method) on-the-fly? No problem. How about a batch delivery once per week to save time for your poor overworked print fulfillment house? Again, no problem. You can set the delivery method and frequency right from the start. Whatever your needs, we’ll address it.
• Reporting is essential in any good content management system, and our Variable Data application is no different. You’ll be able to customize reports for yourself at any time using our simple reporting system. Simply choose from any of your current dynamic data components, set any variable information (search terms, filters, etc) and add it to your report(s). You can have any number of dynamic elements, and any number of reports. Just try not to get addicted, usage reports are the gateway drug leading to internet hermitage.

Call us today and see if our VDP application is right for your business.