New methods of personalising magazine covers and content are driving up circulation and interest from advertisers
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rom Google’s sponsored ads t o Amazon’s r ecomme nded reading lists and Facebook’s suggested ‘like’ pages, we are accustomed to —
nay, expect — personalisation. And, after years of watching from
the sidelines, print media may have finally caught on to the potential of the personalisation play.
In the March 2012 issue of Harper’s Bazaar,
for example, a full-page flier — or ‘outsert’ — was personalised with the name of 300,000 of the magazine’s subscribers. The outsert encouraged readers to visit specific Neiman Marcus stores within 50 miles of their homes.
A result of a collaboration between
Harper’s Bazaar’s parent company, Hearst, and HP (Hewlett Packard), this print personalisation method, dubbed ‘Project Match’, was made possible through a newly developed printing technology that enables faster (and higher quality) personalised printing.
Harper’s Bazaar’s foray into
personalisation is seen as just the beginning of what’s expected to be a widespread print marketing shift based on customisation and personalisat ion. “The