THE ACE GROUP--One to One

Val DiGiacinto is spreading the message of variable data printing and one-to-one marketing. And his clients are heeding his call.

BY CAROLINE MILLER

If you build it, they will come. It is the now-famous phrase uttered in the movie "Field of Dreams." It also aptly describes the transformation that the New York City-based The Ace Group underwent in the 1980s when it changed its core business from typography to digital prepress. It continues to hold true today as The Ace Group plans its next metamorphosis into the world of digital and variable-data printing.

"We are now a commercial prepress company that does digital printing," explains Val DiGiacinto, vice president of technical sales and a leader of the revolution occurring at The Ace Group. "The digital printing and e-commerce sides of our operation are where we really see the future and the growth of our business," he predicts.

But, DiGiacinto doesn't need a crystal ball in order to speculate on where the industry is headed. He has hard numbers to back up his predictions. In 1999, 15 to 20 percent of the work The Ace Group did was variable-data printing. This year, they have seen that number increase to between 50 and 60 percent.

"It's an area in which we really see potential for growth," he discloses. "We believe that is where the future of this business is moving."

In part, the move toward variable-data printing has increased as the technology has come of age. "The technology has migrated to the point where, as a salesperson, I no longer have to make excuses for digital printing," he says. "The technology has improved to the level where it satisfies the needs of our clients—even to the point that it's not just a 'good-enough technology.' "

DiGiacinto admits that The Ace Group's move into the digital printing market in the 1980s was viewed by some as a risk. But it's a risk that paid off for The Ace Group, an Agfa Chromapress (now Xeikon) user. "We're ahead of the digital printing and the variable-data learning curve because we got into it so early."

The improvements in digital printing technology have also influenced the complexity of the variable-data jobs The Ace Group now prints, he adds. It is no longer just personalized post cards for direct mail. The Ace Group is now producing very individualized brochures and marketing materials. For example, one of their clients—a college—is using variable-data printing to target prospective students individually based on their specific interests. When students make a request for an information packet from the college, they no longer receive the run-of-the-mill general college admissions and programs information.

Instead, the packets that arrive on their doorsteps are uniquely developed to attract each student's attention by utilizing the basic information a student supplies the college when requesting admissions information. If a student checks off that he is interested in political science, soccer and joining a fraternity, the brochure that student receives includes information about the political science department, the school's soccer program and fraternities. However, it is not just the text that is personalized to his or her tastes. The images in the brochure also reflect the student's interest. The personalized brochure might include pictures of intermural soccer games or fraternity gatherings on campus.

While the marketing power of using variable data is obvious, it can also be costly, concedes DiGiacinto. Still, he insists that while each printed piece may be more expensive, the ROI is well worth every penny for a client. "It's not the ink and the paper that our clients are buying, it's the message," he explains. "If we can prove to them that their response rate can be 20, 30, 40 percent or better, then they no longer need to order millions of pieces in order to get the response they need at that traditional 2 to 3 percent."

Despite the better response rate that comes with variable-data printing, DiGiacinto readily admits selling the cost of variable-data printing can be formidable. "It can be difficult getting people to understand that the cost of the printed piece should almost be irrelevant. Sometimes it's hard for them to envision just how well this process works."

In the end, he says, what sells his clients on variable-data printing is education.

He believes printers that offer variable-data printing must do a better job to educate clients, especially those within the marketing and sales departments. "These are the people who really have to understand the technology, so they can develop the marketing programs that will incorporate the technology within it."

DiGiacinto firmly believes that if you sit down with marketing people, and show them what the technology is capable of, they are often ready to give it a try. "We often organize an informal lunch, during which we show a number of pieces we've had success with and that really show off the capabilities of variable-data technology," he reveals. "If, at the end of an hour, I can get one person to say, 'So you mean I can do...,' then I know they understand just what the technology can do for them."

Yet, the move to variable data also requires a shift in thinking on the clients' part, he explains. Marketers can no longer think in terms of pieces that will elicit a broad range of response. Variable data requires them to think one-to-one, and that can be difficult for some marketers to grasp without understanding the technology.

Once DiGiacinto has sold his customers on the capabilities of variable data and digital printing, the next step is helping to guide them through the data-mining process. Often, clients don't utilize the power of their databases, he notes. "We need to sit down and help them understand how they can use their data." He adds that several clients have never looked closely at their data because there was not much they could do with it.

"Now, they have a method to take that information and really get to know who their customers are. Often, they just don't realize that they have an opportunity to use the information, and develop a one-to-one relationship with their customers," he describes.

In the near future, DiGiacinto predicts that the printing industry will only continue to see growth in variable-data printing, especially with the explosion of e-commerce.