The TransPromo Revolution: The Time Is Now!
By InfoTrends, Inc.
TransPromo
"Blending relevant, personalized (and thus valued) marketing messages with statements, invoices and notifications is a way for marketers to make a connection that may well drive the purchase of a service or product."
Year: August 2007
Authors: Barb Pellow, Cary Sherburne, Eve Padula
Type of Promotional Material/Activity Tested: Transpromotional marketing (the blending of promotional messages into transactional documents such as statements, invoices and other notifications).
Methodology: InfoTrends’ white paper detailing interviews with print service providers and marketing executives who have added, or are planning to add, transpromotion to their marketing mix, as well as InfoTrends’ desk research and studies including The Future of Mail 2006: Direct Mail, Transaction, and “Transpromotional” Documents, which examines the future of direct mail and transaction documents and the adoption of “transpromotional” strategies.
Select Top Line Findings: Consumers’ views on transactional documents and direct marketing: InfoTrends’ 2006 Future of Mail study surveys 850 consumers to uncover trends and preferences relative to transaction documents and direct mail. The results? Consumers overwhelmingly say that direct mail is their preferred method for companies to make contact with them for marketing and promotional purposes.
Source: InfoTrends
The majority of consumers (56%) surveyed in the Future of Mail study express a preference for personalized direct mail with messages and offers that reflect their needs and interests. Yet, when asked about the direct mail they currently receive, respondents state that less than a third of it was personalized and useful. The majority of direct mail received was not personalized and found to be not useful (40%), or personalized yet not useful (29%). When asked if they would prefer to receive a traditional statement with advertising inserts or a personalized statement with graphics that contains relevant offers, nearly two-thirds (63%) state they favor receiving a personalized statement with ads relevant to them.
Print/Mail Service Providers’, Document Owners’, and Print Buyers’ views and practices related to transpromotional documents:
- Close to two thirds of document owners and print buyers currently include promotional messages, information, or advertisements in their transactional documents or plan to do so by 2010.
Source: InfoTrends
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Print/Mail service providers (e.g., statement printers/service bureaus, direct mail firms, commercial printers, in-plant data centers and printing establishments) report that 36% of the transaction documents that they currently print contain digitally printed marketing messages. They believe this share will increase to 50% by 2008 and 54% by 2010.
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InfoTrends’ 2006 Future of Mail study reveals that about 46% of businesses use some digital color for their transaction printing, up from 39% in a 2002 survey, and that by 2010, 33% of transactional documents will be printed in full digital color.
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InfoTrends estimates that the North American market for transpromotional applications printed in full digital color was 1.62 billion impressions in 2006. This value is forecast to reach 21.72 billion impressions by 2010, representing a 91% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over a four-year period.
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Document owners response as to what is holding back transitioning to transpromotional:
“To what extent do you consider the following to be inhibitors
to transpromotional documents?”
Take-Away: Consumers are bombarded with hundreds of marketing messages on a daily basis yet receive relatively few transactional documents per month. InfoTrends’ research finds that 95% of all transaction documents are opened and read, and recipients spend one to three minutes reviewing them. Blending relevant, personalized (and thus valued) marketing messages with statements, invoices, and notifications is a way for marketers to make a connection that may well drive the purchase of a service or product.
Complexity rating: 1 out of 3 (Complex statistical analysis scale: 1= none, 2= moderate, 3 = difficult)
TransPromo Revolution: The Time Is Now! is available for purchase from the InfoTrends Online Report Store.
