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:

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.