What’s the value of digitally-printed labels and packaging to you and your consumers in 2019?
Printing kingpins HP delved into the subject in a webinar last month, with EMEA brand owner at HP, Jose ‘Pepe’ Gorbea, sharing HP’s research on the topic of print personalization and its benefits to the future of branding.
In an advertising and marketing playground saturated by automation and information overload, Gorbea, with a decorated 20-year background in marketing, digital printing, and sales, believes the personalization printing can offer is a way to create stories that better connect with customers.
Personalization spearheads HP’s latest methodology in marketing, making a tectonic shift from a tech-centric approach to a brand-based model.
“We’re looking into how HP can help create unique brand stories to touch customers individually,” Gorbea told Label & Narrow Web. “What we really want to understand is the why and the how. What are the core human motivations and needs? And we’re beginning to innovate with personalization and customization. We want our technology to translate into growth for your brands.”
The Need for Digital Printing
HP is employing digital printing to drive its newfangled initiatives; digital printing currently accounts for 10% of the printing market.
“Our strategy is to drive personalized storytelling at scale by supporting brands across their consumer journey to accelerate growth,” he says. “This can happen with labels and packaging, all the way to billboards.”
The ease of personalization that comes along with variable data printing helps navigate the hurdles in 2019’s market landscape. The combination of media distrust and intrusion into social media platforms are just a couple of obstacles personalized printing can breach and get a message across.
Personalized Printing, By the Numbers
According to HP’s findings:
- 1/10 millennials purchase a product as a result of online advertising
- Past experiences accounts for 42% of consumers’ motivation to buy; product research is at 16%; and word of mouth comes in at 11%
- 30% of consumers actively use ad blocking programs
- Finally, each person experiences over 200 interactions with digital content daily
These numbers all equal one thing: Making your brand relevant and influencing consumer behaviour is an uphill battle if you’re employing generic, digitally-based messaging.
“There is clear evidence to show that the desire for personalization is shared by all consumer generations, with millennials and GenZ leading the charge,” said Gorbea.
As consumers become attached to stories created through personalization, they’ll be more willing to engage with your brand, and equally important, share their experiences with others.
How to Drive Personalization in Printing
Millennials and Generation Z are the now, and the future – these are emerging trends HP identifies for personalized items:
- Fingerprinting – the product is seen as an extension of the consumers
- Flying your flag – showing off hidden identities with the consumer
- Letting it all hang out – be yourself!
- Permission to indulge – indulge away, consumers
- Bringing bonds to life – making a real, visceral connection
- Mindful materialism – secondary causes that are important to consumers, like reducing carbon footprints or supporting sustainability
This is all something for you and your brand to consider as we continue through 2019; the cost effectiveness of digital printing, and its ability to create stories and personalized experiences that’ll buoy you above a sea of competitors.
That’s HP’s plan anyway.
“We’re trying to get past the image that HP only does names on a Coca-Cola bottle,” explained Gorbrea. “We want you to have your own unique strategic solution, and this is how we add value. This pinwheel is to help develop strategic decisions through digital print.”
To learn more about the benefits of digital and personalized printing, or to get started with your personalized printing materials, get in touch with the print experts at a Print Three location near you.