Marketing Edge Research Summit Data & Marketing Association (DMA) New Orleans, LA October 7-8, Panel Position Paper

Transcription

1 Marketing Edge Research Summit Data & Marketing Association (DMA) New Orleans, LA October 7-8, 2017 Panel Position Paper What is Old Is New Again - The Convergence of Communication & Commerce, Now Powered by Data Moderator: Dr. Haroon Abbu, Senior Director, Data Analytics and Digital Transformation Bell & Howell Panelists: Ramesh Ratan, CEO, Bell & Howell; and Vice-chair, Universal Postal Union Don McKenzie, President & Chief Growth Officer, Innovairre Communications June,

2 What is Old Is New Again - The Convergence of Communication & Commerce, Now Powered by Data A Panel Position Paper The new technologies powered by data has enabled the convergence of communication and commerce. It is transforming the way businesses think of their business models, business processes, and business infrastructures to engage with their customers to drive profitable relationships. The online-offline, physical-digital convergence has touched various facets of consumers interaction with businesses as they seamlessly cross channels through various devices and mediums in search of value, speed, and convenience. Case in point, the print and mail service industry is experiencing an unprecedented transition from physical to digital communication. Although direct Mail marketing spend is seeing an uptick, spending on the physical direct mail itself has declined. That means, the physical direct mail-piece is being complemented with other digital efforts. A recent Bell and Howell research study led by Dr Haroon Abbu that created DM 200, the first-of-its-kind ranking of the top 200 direct mail service providers by estimated sales revenue specifically focused on direct mail marketing service providers to understand key players, their opportunities, challenges, and their transformation into the digital realm. The dynamic shift has made it necessary for these providers to play a larger role in the marketing value chain by offering a broad range of marketing services and enhance their value proposition surrounding direct mail by offering personalization, mobile, online/offline integration, and end-to-end multi-channel solutions that can effectively engage and measure customer experience. 2

3 As Industry veteran, Dr Ramesh Ratan puts it, When I think of our industry, I think of what a challenging and exciting time it is. At the heart of what s happening in our industry is the convergence of the physical and the digital in the area of communication. It s the convergence of these physical and digital technologies that s enabling the convergence of communications and commerce. For years, commerce was distinct from communications. People went to a store or picked up the phone, or used a catalog to order a product. The commercial transaction of buying something, paying for it, and getting a product in return was distinct from the communications involved around it. Over time these communications went from being purely paper-based to paper and digital and more recently, all of this has come together with actual commerce. For the consumer it s anywhere, anytime, any medium for the ability to shop, consume and pay. No longer is placing a product into a box, adding messaging and then delivering it a one-way interaction with the consumer. The industry is moving beyond producing printed content and broadcasting it, to seamlessly integrating ink on paper with digital content, to ecommerce fulfillment. We re moving from producing content and broadcasting it to understanding that ink on paper can join with digital content to become part of the communications space between the seller and the consumer. Parcels and packaging are part of that placing a good into a box, adding messaging and delivering the good to the consumer is part of this whole continuum. What was once a one-way broadcast is now a convergence enabling commerce. Savvy print and mail providers are now discovering digital technologies that allow them to move far beyond ink on paper and into the realization of ecommerce fulfillment. So, the challenging news for the print and mail world is simple: if you are just in print and mail you will become a commodity that will get priced out, become obsolete and outsourced. 3

4 Another noteworthy trend is that mail is going dimensional. Promotional inserts and coupons are changing to promotional items and hence changing the fulfillment process. This trend is not new - long time ago, to get a hands on feel, the 1905 Sears catalog featured full color and texture wallpaper samples, and a swatch of material used in men s suits, and then in the following years, paint samples to customers. Fundraising industry has been using promotional and premium items in mail to raise money for decades. Case in point, Innovairre one of the leading sources for nonprofit fundraisers offers the widest array of proven, response-generating premiums along with the insights from thousands of direct mail tests done with premiums such as notepads, tote bags, blankets, calculators, holiday cards, labels, key chains, necklaces and lapel pins. More recently, companies have taken the idea of free product sampling to the next level thanks to advanced data technologies. For example, Unilever is trying to take the idea of free product sampling normally seen in store aisles and apply it to ecommerce. For Dove Hair, Clear Dove's Men and Dove's Men, the company is placing samples for those hair care brands in shipments going out to customers for Coastal.com and Beyond The Rack, among other e- commerce players. It has partnered with marketing firm ExactMedia and online retailers to put its brands in boxes going out to North American homes in a targeted manner. ExactMedia targets active online purchasers based on their actual purchases and other clearly defined criteria, enabling high conversion to purchase. The ExactMedia technology also invites e-commerce customers to request particular Unilever samples during checkout. Data is forcing the convergence of communication (documents) with goods. The dramatic convergence of communication and commerce, marketing and merchandising will significantly change the way companies engage with their customers. This convergence offers tremendous opportunity to use data to personalize and deliver superior customer experience and to reap profits. 4

5 Dr Ratan adds, the exciting news is that if you become part of a relationship between seller and the consumer, and can add value in a multi-channel communication chain, whether it s via things like augmented reality or personalized data points, you can gain access to the marketing arm of your customers. And that s where the money is. Grow that relationship, add value, connect the physical and the digital, and the future is yours. What print and mailers can do right now to prepare for this convergence is invest in end-to-end digital technology before you put ink on paper. After the ink is put on paper, think deeply about how what you have produced will connect to the digital world. Then connect the pieces with data to help your customers make sense of their customers consumer data, item data, and computational intelligence connects all of this together. Panel Moderator: Dr. Haroon R Abbu, Sr Director of Analytics and Digital Transformation at Bell and Howell Dr Haroon Abbu is Head of Global Sales Operations, Data and Analytics at Bell and Howell, a leading global provider of multi-channel communications and commerce solutions. Haroon is an accomplished leader with 20 years experience in strategy, data analytics, and deployment of digital technologies that transform business processes and core competencies. He recently earned executive doctoral degree from Lubin School of Business, Pace University, NY with a dissertation focused on the role of market orientation in effectively managing physical to digital convergence and transformation within firms. Panelists: Dr Ramesh Ratan, CEO Bell and Howell and Vice-chair Universal Postal Union. Formerly EVP and COO of DMA Ramesh Ratan is CEO and member of the board of directors of Bell and Howell, a leading global provider of multi-channel communications and commerce solutions. He has a successful career improving sales and profit performance for leading public and private, technology-driven companies including AT&T, Lucent, and Pitney Bowes. A recognized high-tech pioneer with strong global strategy, product innovation, data-driven digital marketing, and team building skills, he is known for his exceptional ability to revitalize core products and services and create major new businesses through the successful development, commercial application, and marketing of advanced technologies. 5

6 Don McKenzie, President & Chief Growth Officer at Innovairre Communications. Also served as Vice Chairman, Board of Directors at DMA Phone Innovairre Communications is the worldwide leader in fundraising. The company serves more than 500 agencies, nonprofit organizations and commercial clients, with employees, working across five continents and 28 countries. Innovairre helps nonprofits around the world raise more than $5 billion annually. Innovairre leverages a scientific approach to marketing and fundraising, leveraging advanced data analytics and insights; progressive digital marketing; state-of-the-art CRM software; a proven creative and testing methodology; and leading capabilities in direct mail development, digital printing, premium production and donation processing. 6