We all receive it. We all probably throw the bulk of it away. But every now and then one piece of “junk mail” catches your eye and suddenly you are sold on a product, brand or organization. Direct mail has been recognized as one of the most effective means of advertising for years. Hands down, it delivers some of the highest marketing response rates.

Add variable data printing to further personalize the piece, and your campaign goes from good, to better. But what if it could be great? What if potential customers were greeted with a bold piece of mail addressing them personally via variable data printing, and were then invited to visit a personalized Web page for additional information on the advertised product?

Variable Data Printing (VDP) is a revolutionary di gital printing process that allows you to customize the content of your documents, making them more relevant to your audience. Every document in a print run can be different. And the content that changes is not limited to text or black ink—full color graphics and text can be changed on the fly based on logic that you control.

Enter Personal URLs, or pURLs. Personal URLs are Web addresses that take invited guests to personalized landing pages called microsites for unique online experiences. A pURL is typically a variation of a person’s name plus a general domain address. Once recipients log on to the site, they are greeted by name and personalized text.

“Personal URLs are opening entirely new channels in marketing,” said Peggy Gordon, marketing and product development. “Forty-two percent of people want to respond to solicitations online. This is a huge demographic.”