Ithaca’s Digital Shift - In-plant Impressions

Communicating Effectively with Alumni

With traditional marketing methods no longer delivering the desired results, Ithaca College used digital technology to help it understand which methods of communication are most effective for different age groups within its alumni population. The Center for Print Production partnered with Xerox Global Services (XGS) to create an effective cross-media campaign.

Using Xerox XMPie technology, campaign elements were personalized with strategic data such as name, age, Ithaca College school attended, donation history and a personal URL. Elements included direct-mail postcards, an e-mail blast, and a personal landing page with a survey to capture information for future campaigns and ultimately help drive donations.

XMPie technology generated personalized e-mail and print-ready PDFs for the postcards, so XGS could execute the e-mail blast while Ithaca’s print shop produced the printed pieces.

The campaign directed alumni to their own personal landing pages—where they could fill out the survey, read college news, join an online alumni community or make a donation. This one-to-one, personalized communication helped generate a much higher overall campaign response rate (7 percent) than the college had been getting from recent alumni campaigns.

WAYNE FRENCH didn't need a crystal ball to see what was coming. With two Shinohara presses, his in-plant at Ithaca College was proficient at churning out long runs of materials for the 119-year-old private school. The trouble was, these pieces were largely being warehoused, where many became outdated before they could be used.

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