Two-way consumer communication has evolved through the use of technology-but to maximize the benefits-it still must be tailor-made to meet customer needs and interests.

Author Patricia Sorce discusses the latest trends on custom communications techniques in her new book, Personalization: Data-Driven Print and Internet Communications, published by the Cary Graphic Arts Press at Rochester Institute of Technology.

"This is a follow-up to my first book, Data-Driven Print (2006), an updated perspective on using insights about the people you are communicating with to craft the message," says Sorce, who is administrative chair of the School of Print Media in RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences and co-director of the RIT Printing Industry Center. "It focuses on the one-to-one marketing strategy to create two-way communication with customers to make sure they receive information that is relevant and of interest to them.

"Most people think the Internet is the only medium where personalization can be done effectively," Sorce explains. "An example is when you log onto Amazon and it brings up a set of recommendations on your past purchase history; there's an algorithm that does that. Personalized print is also a very powerful medium but it does not have the immediacy of the Internet. However, printed marketing communications can generate a lot of attention particularly when the personalized messages are based on past buying behavior and predictive analytics. The book presents case studies that show how to utilize the best of both media-print and Internet-so that each can work with the other in a synergistic way to maximize marketing outcomes."

According to Lem Richards at Digital Marketing and Print Solutions based in Dallas. "As a printer trying to assess the strategy in the variable data market, this book was a superb reference in helping our group understand key concepts."

Sorce says Personalization is aimed at the practitioner-printing professionals, media planners, sales and corporate communicators-and identifies the best practices, best prospects and associated business models for delivering top value to printing clients. In addition, several case studies provide real-world examples of this evolving industry, the first of which is Gannett Co. Automates Multi-Channel Direct Marketing Program for Newspaper Renewals.

"With 90 newspapers around the U.S., Gannett is trying to make the most of their paid subscription base in the world of Internet-dominated news," Sorce explains. "Their solution was a program of personalized print and e-mail touches that ended up achieving a boost in their new customer retention rates."

Sorce earned her doctorate degree in cognitive psychology from the University of Massachusetts and teaches at RIT in the areas of marketing research, buyer behavior and database marketing. She previously served as associate dean at RIT's E. Philip Saunders College of Business from 1996 through 2001 and has published in refereed marketing, management, and psychology journals.

Personalization is the fourth volume in the Printing Industry Center Series and is available for purchase for $18 by calling RIT's Cary Graphic Arts Press at (585) 475-6766 or visiting http://carypress.rit.eduM.