For a long time I was conflicted about posting this because I didn't want to offend a friend of mine who works in this industry (you know who you are), but I really want to throw this thing away, so I'm going to blog it just for the sake of closure.
You may not be aware of this: Because of advances in digital printing, companies can now send out direct-mail marketing materials (that's pronounced "junk mail") that are tailored to you, for about the same price as they could have printed a generic flyer:
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This is the first one of these that I have ever seen, so I'm afraid I can't help but have my impressions of the technology shaped by this one example. A few things jump out at me:
- It's very high quality: The paper is heavy and glossy, like a photo print. The colors are rich and the design on the back is professional.
- It's sophisticated: A personalized name and address appear in 4 places in the design, on both sides, including my street name, scaled and skewed to fit nicely into the centerpiece of the campaign on the front.
- It's wrong: Personalized though it may be, it was sent to someone that hasn't lived at this address for 2 years. I just have to laugh, because the paper alone had to be somewhat expensive... and yet, it goes instantly into the trash as soon as it touches my property.
If the mailer was REALLY personalized, then I wouldn't have gotten it at all because Earthlink would have been able to tell that I already have DSL, I don't use land-lines, and that I need a fixed IP address anyway and wouldn't be elligible for their crappy service in the first place.
Sigh. Maybe my friend who works in this industry can help make it better for all of us.
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