Something Old, Something New – Looking Forward to 2012
By Christine Winter, PR/marketing programs manager, XMPie, A Xerox Company
Here we are…almost through the second week of 2012 already! And while I feel like 2011 went by way too fast, I’m extremely excited about the year ahead.
This is going to be a big year for me for a number of reasons – both personally and professionally. First of all, I am getting married! Nothing beats that. If only I could get Robin Nelson at Trialogue Direct to put together a wedding campaign for me…hmm…
Another reason? I am going to be traveling to Europe for the first time! No, I’m not referring to my honeymoon (we haven’t decided on a destination yet). I’m referring to the world’s number one trade fair for the printing and media industry. That’s right; it’s time to start thinking about drupa 2012. It’s going to be an amazing show with some exciting announcements and new opportunities! I hope you’ll get to join us in Düsseldorf.
And since I don’t think I need to list any other reasons to prove why it’s going to be a good year for me, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading the XMPie Blog. It is my goal to bring you more customer success stories, event highlights, and 1:1 tips and trends every month this year.
Now tell us: Why is 2012 going to be a big year for you or your business? What other topics are you interested in reading about this year?
Five Good Reasons to Attend DMA2011
Filed under: Cross Media, Events, General, Marketing, One-to-one
By Christine Winter, PR/marketing programs manager, XMPie, A Xerox Company
Unless you’re a N.Y. Yankees fan, why wouldn’t you (the real-time marketer) want an excuse to visit Boston for “the global event for real-time marketers?” Exactly. GRAPH EXPO has come and gone, and now it’s time to shift focus towards DMA2011. Here are five reasons to register today:
- We’ll be there! Visit booth #620 to see first hand how XMPie can help you reel in more business and profit with 1:1 multi-channel marketing communications. And, of course, we’ll be showcasing the new solution that got lots of buzz and won a Must See ‘em award at GRAPH EXPO — XMPie uVideo. In fact, hear Xerox CMO Christa Carone talk about why she’s excited about new video technologies here! That leads me to #2…
- Xerox CMO Christa Carone is the Sunday morning keynote speaker. She’ll discuss how to break through information overload with customized marketing and personalized cross-media communications. Her speech, entitled “Are You Talking to Me? Mastering Relevant Messaging through Mass Customization,” will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 2. Click here for a sneak peak!
- Boston is a very cool, fun place. Lots of things to see and do. Did you know it’s one of America’s oldest cities? Check out this list of some sights to check out while you’re in Boston for DMA2011.
- It’s the perfect opportunity to check out the coolest, new cutting-edge marketing tools and techniques, of course! Acquisition and lead generation. Creative and production. Real-time and trigger marketing. Mobile strategies. Direct and digital marketing fundamentals. Cross-channel strategy. Data, measurement and attribution. Retention and loyalty. Brand, social and content marketing. These are the hot topics this year, and over 400 technology partners and solution providers (like XMPie) — and many more marketing experts — will be there to help guide you in the right direction for your business.
- Did I mention XMPie is an exhibitor? Sorry; I couldn’t resist.
Hope to see you there!
It’s Time for GRAPH EXPO Again?!
By Christine Winter, PR/marketing programs manager, XMPie, A Xerox Company
I can’t believe I’ll be packing my bags tonight and heading to Chicago in the morning to attend the largest graphic communications exhibition and conference of the year. It seems like just yesterday (so cliché, I know) that I was shipping everything back to the office from GRAPH EXPO 2010 – the first tradeshow I had ever attended. But, it’s true; here we are again, and I must say I feel a little more prepared and a little less nervous this time around.
Just barely entering my second year at XMPie, I’ll be at the front desk in the XMPie section of Xerox booth #400 – ready to welcome you (with a big smile on my face if I’ve had enough coffee) and point you in the direction of live product demonstrations on all the latest versions of our state-of-the-art software solutions for variable data printing (VDP), integrated cross-media communications, and personalized Web-to-print. And if you’re interested in attending a presentation by one of our XMPie experts, partners or customers in the “Advantage Theater,” I’ll sign you right up and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a great prize at the close of the “show.”
Or, if you’re more interested in learning about the vision of XMPie and real customer success stories, I’ll show you to the QR code-driven Individualized Communications Management (ICM) wall where you can watch a slideshow and browse and obtain XMPie case studies in a wide variety of markets.
Plus, if you haven’t done so already, we’ll even have a self-serve kiosk inside the XMPie booth where you are invited to create your very own personalized Chicago 1:1 Dining Guide – brought to you by The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and GRAPH EXPO 2011, and powered by XMPie. Based on your cuisine preferences, your guide will include some superb restaurant recommendations and fun facts about The Windy City! It’s fun, easy, FREE, and will only take you a few seconds.
But what I’m excited about most of all is a brand new solution we’ll be introducing and demonstrating – XMPie uVideo™! It’s the first-ever cinematic-quality video personalization solution that is fully-integrated within a complete 1:1 multi-channel platform, PersonalEffect®, and leverages Adobe® After Effects®. We’re talking personalized video with personalized text…personalized images…even personalized video inside personalized video! Don’t miss this opportunity to see it live for the first time in our booth (or if you can’t make it to the show, get a sneak peak here).
See you in Chicago!
My Avatar is Ready … Is Yours?
Filed under: Cross Media, Events, Marketing, One-to-one
How to Make the Most of a Virtual Conference
By Peggy Hatch, Group President, Target Marketing Group
Foreword by Larry Zusman, Worldwide Marketing Manager, XMPie, A Xerox Company
When I heard about the show that Peggy talks about below, I was extremely excited for two reasons: (1) I can attend and staff our booth from the comfort of my own office (and return to my own home, and my own bed, when it’s all over), and (2) I am going to have the chance to talk to many more of you at one time than what’s possible at a live trade show about all the cool things our customers are doing (that you should be doing if you’re not doing them already). I’m talking 1:1 cross-media communications. The kind that will also make it possible for you to talk to many more existing and potential customers at one time than is possible with traditional marketing.
If you are a direct marketer, copywriter, designer or printer, and you want to learn how to succeed in today’s challenging multichannel marketing environment, attend this show next week and visit the Xerox-XMPie booth. We’ll show you examples, we’ll share some tips and tricks, we’ll open up the floor for all of your questions and comments, and we’ll chat about personalization, customer data, PURLs, QR codes…you name it! Most importantly, we’ll teach you how to open a prolonged, interactive dialogue with your customers using the best solutions out there, and turn pennies into dollars.
Peggy Hatch took the time to help you prepare for this stellar new event. Read on to learn how to take advantage of all there is to discover at the show!
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If you’ve never attended a Virtual Conference – now is your chance! Direct Marketing Day @ Your Desk is on March 15th and it’s free! Simply go to http://bit.ly/fY1eXt to check out the agenda, the speakers, the sponsors and register.
Here are some quick tips on how to make the most of the conference. First of all, the conference is live on March 15th, but will remain on-demand for 90 days. This lets you pick and choose what you want to do on the 15th, and then come back later – at your leisure – to attend more sessions, download more resources, or check out something you might have missed from the live day.
On the live day of the Virtual Conference, you want to make sure you:
- Login and set up your profile. If you’re serious about professional networking, your profile is a great tool to introduce yourself. At “My Profile” is where you can set your avatar, privacy options and change your password.
- Ask Questions! On March 15th, the speakers will be taking your questions – not only during the sessions, but many will be continuing the discussion in the networking lounge.
- Visit the Exhibit Hall to learn about the latest technologies. The booths will be staffed during the live day for you to pop in and find out about the products and services that will help you grow your business.
- Earn points and be eligible to win a FREE iPad! The more engaged you are by attending sessions, chatting with attendees, downloading resources, the better your chances to win.
Virtual Conferences are rich with resources – both through the sessions held in the Auditorium and through the many whitepapers, webcasts and other materials in the Resource Center. You can download these resources and place them in your Virtual Briefcase along with any V-cards you might exchange with other attendees during the event.
Kick back, grab a cup of coffee and join me on March 15th. I’ll “see” you there!
Reflections: Hunkeler Innovationdays 2011
By Oliver Langer, sales channel manager, Central Europe, and Viktor Schimanovich, Customer Solutions Specialist, XMPie, A Xerox Company
Viktor Schimanovich, left, and Oliver Langer, right.
The world of paper processing met for four days last week in Lucerne, Switzerland for the Hunkeler Innovationdays 2011. We had the privilege of joining Xerox Europe’s booth to showcase XMPie’s software solutions for high speed variable data printing (VDP), integrated cross-media publishing, high volume image personalization, personalized Web-to-print and marketing portals, and campaign tracking and analytics (and we got to use a cool touch screen to do so).
The week kicked off with the Xerox-co-sponsored DOXNET event on Monday night. This was an afternoon dedicated to interesting presentations about the newest trends and information around digital printing. Since DOXNET is a cross-sector professional association with more than 590 members from 180 companies and organizations, the turnout was great and so was the networking!
This was actually the first time that XMPie has had a presence at the Hunkeler event, which is more targeted for continuous feed and transpromo, but we believe it was a very successful event for us. We had great traffic at our stand and interest from many visitors, which shows their belief in our play in that market.
We gave a daily XMPie presentation at the Xerox Theater (in English and German), plus several other presentations from Xerox regarding direct mail with XMPie also helped to keep our stand busy with visitors wanting to see demos on our station. If you missed the show or the presentations, check out the Xerox Virtual Hunkeler Innovationdays at www.xerox.com/virtualhunkeler. And be sure to check out the Xerox Real Business magazine when you get there for great customer stories highlighting cross-media and high volume VDP applications.
If we get the opportunity, we hope to see you all at the next show. Not only did it bring in the best in solutions and innovations in the areas of paper processing and digital high-performance printing, but there was also great, free food!