A more advanced form of personalised marketing (or variable data publishing), dynamic content marketing combines data, insight, messaging and creative to create carefully targeted and highly personalised and relevant marketing campaigns, which can be delivered via any channel, print, email, mobile and online.
This combination produces powerfully engaging one-to-one communications, which are ultimately more responsive and more impactful than the traditional 'one-to-many' or 'one size suits all' approach.
And the improved results are obvious really – dynamic content marketing is more successful because it is driven by data, intelligence and relevance. This allows direct marketers and businesses to finally communicate with their customers and prospects as the individuals that they are.
The main benefits of creating dynamic content marketing campaigns are:
Dynamic content marketing can be used for all marketing communications – retention, loyalty and acquisition.
Data is ultimately the driving force which determines to what extent you can personalise and customise your communications. So, if you have the data, the insight and the content to support your product/service offering then dynamic content marketing is your best bet to get a response regardless of campaign type.
No, absolutely not. Print is just one of several channels that dynamic content marketing can be applied to.
Infact, at Lorien Unique, we believe the most effective use of dynamic content marketing is as part of an integrated campaign that applies it across direct mail, email, SMS and personalised URLs (also known as PURLS).
Personalised URLs are two things.
Firstly, they are URLs which are personalised. In most cases, this is with the recipient's first name and last name e.g. www.mylorienunique.com/chris.mott
And, secondly, it also refers to the website that they link to, which, like its counterparts in direct mail, email and SMS, also features dynamic content marketing.
The benefit of using them as part of an integrated campaign is that:
Plus, if you combine this with personalised emails and/or personalised direct mail, then you have a compelling, powerful and highly responsive campaign.
It’s not expensive when you take in to account the uplift in response rates and the fact that with the right planning you can 'do less' for 'more'.
Using direct mail as an example, traditional direct mail campaigns have an average response rate of 3-4% (or a failure rate of 96-97%). Whereas, dynamic content marketing campaigns are much more responsive with, in some instances, response rates as high as 70%.
So, the cost saving benefits is clear to see and particularly in terms of enabling you to reduce your print and postage expenses.
If you think it sounds complicated and complex, then it is…but not for you, the client or agency.
We like to think of it like Google. Google is very simple to use but everybody knows that behind the scenes there is something very clever and complicated going on. Dynamic content marketing works in much the same way.
However, for you, the client or agency, it isn't. We take the complexity away. We work with you to design and develop your campaigns. Our team of specialists test it then put it in to action and our technology and software drives it and our client services team manages it.
Not yet but it is only a matter of time. The technology has been around for a number of years but the application of it to solve real business issues has only really started to take off and is still in the 'early adoption' stage.
However, it is starting to receive greater coverage. More and more businesses (directly or via agencies) are experimenting with the technology and the business benefits it provides.
Plus, with the economy as it is there has been also been a greater marketing focus on the importance of data and customer insight and intelligence.
Dynamic content marketing brings together all of these focus points enabling marketers (and their agencies) to create more impactful, relevant and responsive campaigns.
Not anymore. Well not if you are doing it properly that is. The really early adopters of variable data publishing (as it was then known) certainly got carried away with this approach. Many of the examples were (and still can be) found in calendars with names written in the sand, as clouds in the sky, using flowers and on football shirts.
However, this is not dynamic content marketing. Dynamic content marketing is all about relevancy. The personalisation using name and contact details is useful in terms of initial impact but the meat is in the content and in solving a business issue.
Infact, it could be argued that the best examples of dynamic content marketing are where the reader doesn't infact realise that the communication has been tailored to them. And as dynamic content marketing and personalisation becomes mainstream, this is where the most creative and well planned campaigns will win.
Our advice is to only use dynamic content marketing if:
And, if this is the case, then you should ideally look to integrate your campaigns by using direct mail, email and personalised URLs (PURLs).
Like traditional direct marketing campaigns, data is the driving force behind all dynamic content marketing projects.
However, because dynamic content marketing campaigns are highly targeted, highly personalised and highly relevant, they are subject to far greater scrutiny by the recipient than the 'one-to-many' campaigns you often see and experience.
So, your data has to be clean, up-to-date and accurate. And at Lorien Unique, in-conjunction with our strategic partners, we can help you to achieve this.
Like anything new there is an element of learning involved (though it isn't actually that different to a standard direct marketing campaign).
For more information about how Lorien Unique can help you to improve your response rates, please contact
Chris James, Director at:
Tel: +44 (0)1753 768466
Mobile: +44 (0)7717 423285
Email: chris.james@lorienunique.com
Alternatively, click here and complete our 'Find out for yourself' enquiry form and we will contact you.