Royal Mail and Sony DADC unite to fuse traditional post with digital media
Royal Mail is fighting back against increased competition in the advertising market by launching an innovative concept that fuses traditional post and digital media in partnership with Sony DADC.
The innovation enables companies to personalise content-rich and interactive CDs to an individual’s specific needs and interests by inscribing it with a unique code. This means that a company can include videos and information for a wide range of customers but program it so that content is tailored to individual recipients – making it entirely personal and relevant.
The solution, Personalised Integrated Media, enables customers to view the CD on their PC and deal direct with the business, for example by buying goods or services, at the click of the mouse. And for advertisers, the inscription enables them to monitor customer engagement with the CD and determine its impact.
Alex Batchelor, Royal Mail’s Marketing Director, said: “The strength of direct mail has always been that it is personal and delivered through the letterbox. Royal Mail’s collaboration with Sony DADC now means that advertisers can take personalisation one step further by combining traditional post with new technology.
“The advertising marketplace is increasingly competitive with the proliferation of TV channels and increases in online and e-mail activities and it is important that Royal Mail innovates the ways in which businesses can use the post to communicate to their customers,”
He added: “This revolutionary approach now means advertising through the post isn’t just great for driving sales and generating responses, but has greater scope for building brands.”
The Sony DADC technology, Postscribed ID_x0019_, enables companies to add depth and media richness to the brand experience at the same cost of a traditional mailing pack; from 360 degree tours of the product to promotional videos or TV advertisements. The inscription enables precise measurability at all stages of the campaign, monitoring which customers have viewed the Disc, when they engaged (date and time), how often, whether they completed the customer journey or at what stage they fell out.
Christian Dankl, responsible for Business Development at Sony DADC: “Our unique and patented Postscribed ID_x0019_ technology, which is readable by all PCs and Macs, delivers rich, sophisticated interactivity with a clearly defined return path. This makes direct mail more accountable and measurable than ever before meaning the opportunity for marketers is enormous.”
