Margie Dana

Two weeks ago, someone new to print sourcing asked me if it’s possible to track and measure print campaigns – the way marketers measure TV and radio spots.

The easy answer, of course, was, Sure! The two techniques that came right to mind were QR Codes and PURLs.

QR Codes are ubiquitous (though I still think they’re funny looking little things) and date back to 1994. You see these squares of code everywhere today. They’re usually B/W but can be colorful and beautiful. Look for them on brochures, in magazines, on business cards, signs, menus, hats, T-shirts…you get the picture. I’ve seen them on cakes. I’ve seen them as tattoos. I’ve seen them on event invitations.

They’re 2D mobile barcodes that are predicated on smartphone technology. You download a free QR code reader app onto your smartphone and activate it to “read” the code. Doing so takes you online – where you should enjoy “magically delivered content” (said expert Daniel Dejan of Sappi Fine Paper NA), including text, video, coupons, orders and such. One way to track QR code data is via Google Analytics (they have a URL Builder). It lets you track how many people scanned your QR code, what phones they used to scan your code, how long they lingered on your site, and so on.

PURLs are Personalized URLs. A PURL is a unique landing page on the web that a marketer creates for a specific person. The marketer uses a PURL in either a print or an email campaign, typically, to motivate an individual to click on that link and learn more or activate an offer. Once someone clicks on the PURL, you can track their activity and also capture a ton of data (contact information is often sought, so that the marketer can then get in touch with you and start promoting additional products and services to you). It can help marketers target future communications with you, based on your personal and demographic information.

It gets better. I’ve been learning about software solutions that offer marketers powerful analytic tools, such as XMPie’s PersonalEffect Analytics and DirectSmile. I have contacted experts in both and am working on a column about the power of these applications. It’s all about the data, of course. Stay tuned…

Rick Rys

February 18, 2013 at 12:20 pm

I like this conversation.

These software packages are expensive and I don’t see a printer investing in this because they can not charge this back to the client.

All corporate marketing departments now have Digital Marketing managers. The DMM already have very robust analytics software that monitors EVERYTHING. You wouldn’t believe the data that is tracked. Everything is tracked to a penny. That’s why the web is so awesome.

This is why print is a bad idea in their minds. It’s throwing money out the window to them when they can simply create an Adwords campaign and watch conversions.

If I were a print rep, I would buddy up with DMM and integrate my print work with their analytics software.

This is done through Multi-Funnel Channels.

By creating a unique directory (www.sample.com/multi), associated to each print piece, a cookie will be placed with the visitor when they arrive on this landing page. The visitor will be tracked until a conversion (sale) occurs. Visitor history data will analyze path length, time lag and top conversion paths. Now we have true data to analyze and see the value of print.

This is known as Assisted Conversions.

As far as QR codes, they are an ‘extra step’ and it’s hard to get people to load an app and then scan. There are too many variables such as poor wifi service that can create a poor user experience. I just visited a printer last week that printed 100k cards with a QR code that didn’t work. They didn’t maintain the 4:1 pixel ratio for border when the code was placed in a solid black background. Guess who paid for the reprint????

Cheers!