According to data from the North American Publishing Company's Who's Mailing What! Archive, it's clear that the trend toward personalization and VDP (variable data printing) is not going away. While 28% of mail pieces were personalized in 2009, this share jumped to 34% in 2010. Meanwhile, statistics from 2011 indicated that this increase was only the beginning-7 out of the 10 months recorded even higher VDP usage. Between 2009 and 2011, personalization rates experienced a stunning 46% growth rate.

Marketers are seeking techniques to maintain brand loyalty and drive consumer demand. The traditional one-size-fits-all approach to direct marketing has lost its effectiveness. New techniques are required to stand out in consumers' crowded mailboxes and receive the desired level of consideration. Even e-mail marketing, which has exploded in volume, has been met with a significant decrease in response rates. Marketers want solutions that leverage the data that they have about their customers to create highly targeted direct marketing communications that drive significant increases in response rates.

The value of color variable print volumes will achieve a CAGR of 7.6% between 2011 and 2016.

Direct marketing campaigns have migrated from being product-centric to customer-centric. Clearly not all consumers are alike. They have different demographic profiles, income levels, and lifestyle/travel choices. These factors drive buying behaviors. Marketers understand that they cannot ignore these differences, and they want to create direct-to-consumer communications that cater to individual preferences and characteristics.