2010 Xerox Best-of-the-Best Contest

MBA creates 100% variable magazine - and boosts leads by 256%

THE CHALLENGE

Innovation often requires risk, and the greater the innovation, the greater the risk. When poor economic times and changes in subscriber reading habits impacted London-based Print Media Management (PMM) magazine, they decided to take action. With advertising budgets down, they were facing declines in revenue for the publication. Instead of falling victim to this downward trend, PMM decided to address the problem head-on by building greater awareness and loyalty from readers and advertisers. They felt they could achieve this by making the magazine more relevant and targeted to its various audiences. To do this, PMM made the bold decision to create the world’s first 100-percent variable content publication.

PMM brought in MBA Group to make this unique project possible. This was a perfect opportunity for MBA to showcase their variable capabilities as well as printing efficiencies to both print buyers and marketing executives.

THE SOLUTION

Variable content was first developed for each of the four primary audiences, including custom editorials, targeted advertising and widespread personalisation using the recipient’s name and information specific to the recipient and their segment.

Once the layouts were complete, MBA Group turned their attention to the massive challenge of producing the project. The deliverable required high-quality printing on lightweight sheets as well as concise colour consistency. Fortunately, the company had recently invested in a Xerox® 980 Colour Continuous Feed Printer, which they knew would be up to the task.

By utilising XMPie® to control the vast array of variable elements, and Xerox® FreeFlow® Process Manager to streamline the PDFs for a touchless workflow, each of the 12,400 readers received personalised content across the 60 pages of the magazine.

THE BENEFITS

PPM and MBA Group were ecstatic with the results. The targeted advertising, made possible through digital printing, generated 256 percent more leads compared to generic ads from the same advertiser. As an added benefit, MBA Group was able to reduce PPM’s environmental footprint by producing smaller, more relevant issues, which reduced paper consumption, and by using easy-to-recycle laser printing.

Producing the world’s first 100 percent variable content magazine was quite a coup for MBA Group, and the accomplishment has generated a great deal of interest. The company now uses it as an invaluable piece of sales collateral to showcase their print quality, variable capabilities and the extensive possibilities 1:1 publications open up for customers. What’s more, this success was just the first in a series of projects that validated their investment in the Xerox® 980 Colour Continuous Feed Printer—especially as it generated over £1 million in revenue within the first year of ownership.