A Tale of Variable Data: Preparing the Next Generation Part 1

By Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor

April 5, 2005 -- After reading Dr. Joe Webb’s recent comments about the effectiveness - or lack thereof - of 1:1 communications and variable data in his weekly WhatTheyThink commentary, I decided to do a little research into what kind of teachings the next generation of graphic arts professionals were getting in this arena.

Industry pundits have been calling variable data and 1:1 communications the Holy Grail for digital printing technology (well, except Dr. Webb, that is) for over ten years now, and have been predicting that the use of personalized, 1:1 communications would explode, carrying with it increased placements of digital printing engines and skyrocketing volumes on those engines. So far, we have seen pockets of success, but the growth has not been as widespread as everyone had hoped. Some of the reasons the experts have posed include:

• lack of good customer data and the resources to adequately analyze that data to develop effective communications;
• lack of knowledge among marketers that the capabilities exist to cost-effectively produce printed 1:1 communications;
• price/performance of digital color presses
• lack of database expertise on the part of print service providers

With the exception of the last item, which is still more prevalent than we would like to admit, the other three areas have converged to create what should be a variable data Perfect Storm. One other barrier, though, as Dr. Webb pointed out, is the lack of “a well-designed, independent longitudinal survey that would tell us in an objective way what 1:1's true ROI might be.” This is further complicated by the unwillingness of those who have been successful to share the good news because they often view their success as a proprietary competitive advantage.

So what will cause this explosion to actually come to pass? I believe it will require a new generation of graphic arts professionals who have been taught the ins and outs of variable data and 1:1 communications as just another arrow in their quiver of communications tools. To test that opinion, I spoke with educators at three well-known graphic arts educational institutions to see just what our next generation of students is learning and how that learning might shape the future of business communications as they enter the employment market. Among them, they are turning out over 800 qualified graduates each year that could ultimately have a huge impact on the ability of this Holy Grail to finally be achieved.

In this two-part Special Report, we spoke with representatives of three leading graphic arts schools to gain their perspective: Parsons School of Design, RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences and Clemson’s Department of Graphic Communications. Read on for Parsons’ view, and don’t forget to look for Part Two tomorrow to hear what RIT and Clemson have to say.

Parsons Communications Design Department

The Parsons Communication Design Department of the Parsons School of Design has established The Parsons Communications Design Publishing Center to serve as a resource for the members of the Department, it's students, faculty and alumni. As its name indicates, the Parsons Communications Design Department, whose Chair is Charles Nix, focuses on communications skills—the role of graphic design in establishing a dialog and building community. The Communication Design Dept is one of the oldest graphic design programs in the country, and offers concentrations in the full range of graphic disciplines - print, advertising, motion graphics, information design. According to Michael Josefowicz, Special Projects Manager, the Publishing Center’s primary mission within that curriculum is to serve as a production resource for students, faculty and alumni, but also to articulate the voice of the creative professional in industry discussions. Josefowicz says, “I believe that the industry, particularly on the vendor side, has a basic disrespect for creatives; this will ultimately get us in trouble. At Parsons, we are working to ensure that their voice is heard in a meaningful way.”

Josefowicz says, “We train our students to be able to create the appropriate visual form for an idea, emotion, message or piece of information. The look and the content depend on timing and who is getting the form. We figure out how to make the communication work.” One way the school accomplishes this is to run a series of professional projects that act as a learning experience for the students.

According to Josefowicz, “Our theory of teaching creatives is that first you have to teach the craft skills—typography and how to control it; visual imagery and an understanding of its power; color—those are the tools that make the designer a professional.” Then, he says, the best way to get students to exercise and learn those skill sets is to give them a real problem, with a deadline and the task of solving it.

Parsons has partnered with Astoria Graphics and XMPie to execute some of these projects. Josefowicz says, “XMPie donated uDirect to the school. And Ron Koff, President of Astoria Graphics, took a risk and partnered with us. He understood that he has limited time available to figure out the types of innovative programs that the market is demanding and partnered with my class to see how he could go about getting into variable data printing.”

The class came up with five or six programs to be implemented by Astoria Graphics. Programs were targeted at specific types of small businesses or organizations, including an ice cream store, a bakery, and a church. They developed campaigns to communicate with constituents and prospective constituents of each that would build a conversation with the individuals in a respectful manner, but one likely to deliver the desired effect—more people attending church, or buying ice cream or baked goods, on a more consistent basis.

Josefowicz says that through this type of program, students learn about digital printing and customized communications as they develop and execute prototypes. He says, “We spend the first two to three weeks talking about what it means to create a community, and then we look at what tools do we have to make it work.” That’s when Josefowicz introduces the students to XMPie’s uDirect, which was donated to the school by XMPie. He indicates that he can give them the tool on a Friday, and by Tuesday, everyone knows it. He adds, “uDirect is a watershed enabler. It is a plug-in to InDesign, and the students don’t even realize it is a separate program. It is just there as a tool that they can use to solve a particular problem.”

In Josefowicz’ opinion, mass direct mail as it is practiced today is an unsustainable model. He says, “Any business that considers itself a success when 90% of its product goes in the garbage is not sustainable. It strikes me a little like the color separators and typesetters that had their most profitable years in the two years before they all disappeared.” He believes the power of digital printing lies in being able to make communications more relevant to the recipient. He tells his students, “Three years out, direct mail will essentially be replaced by transactional marketing. When you get your VISA statement, you are interested in what you bought and what you want to buy. VISA knows what you bought, and with a little intelligence behind it, they could figure out what you want to buy. It’s the old story of selling—give people what they want, make it easy for them to buy, and they will buy.”

Josefowicz concludes by saying, “I love print. Print is totally unique in being able to create real communities through relevant communications. The Internet is extraordinary in creating virtual communities. But the power of change comes from real communities, like the church, ice cream store and bakery examples. And what we are trying to achieve for creatives is an increasing recognition of their professionalism as the trained communications experts they are. At the beginning of any communications program, you need a communications professional at the table who is trained—not in how to manipulate people, but in how to communicate with them—what’s appropriate, what is respectful, what will work in the long run, what is sustainable.”

About 120 trained communications professionals graduate from Parsons
Communications Design Department each year.

Part 2

This report was written by Cary Sherburne. She can be reached via email at cary@sherburneassociates.com, online at www.sherburneassociates.com and by telephone at 603-430-5463.

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