The Lettershop Group predicts strong DM performance in 2012

The Lettershop Group (TLG) has said its anticipates a strong 2012 following what it described as a "tough" period for the direct mail sector towards the end of last year.

The £25m-turnover Leeds-based company said it was in a positive dialogue with a range of clients, which is expected to result in new DM campaigns for mail order, retail and utilities clients.

According to TLG commercial director Dave McGolpin customers are increasingly focusing on highly personalised campaigns in a bid to both drive traffic and increase sales.

This market shift has long influenced the group's strategy, which culminated with the unveiling of its hybrid litho-four-colour inkjet personalisation system last year.

The machine, which uses Kodak’s Stream S10 colour inkjet heads with a 108mm (4.25in) width and up to 188m/min print speed, represented two years of development and a £1.5m investment.

"Effective personalisation requires a lot more than just merging a database of names onto a stack of envelopes or catalogues," McGolpin said.

"Today’s direct marketing technologies make it possible to design and implement highly effective campaigns by using a combination of colour and variable imagery, text, graphics and textures to create personalised direct mail that is read, not dead."

Despite high levels of interest in its ability to produce direct mail pieces with hybrid personalisation, McGolpin said the group's ability to produce personalised campaigns is only one part of its service offering.

He said: "We believe we can do work no one else can do in the UK. While our Stream technology is housed on the left side of the factory, the Océ lasers producing content for mail packs takes up the right.

"However, there is still very much a place for conventional mailings with inserts and the value that they offer customers."

The group takes printed reels off its Heidelberg M110 web, which are then wrapped around pre-printed inserts using a converted CMC paper wrapping machine.

According to McGolpin, the ability to print on all elements of the mailer allows marketeers to provide as much content as possible on each mailing piece.

"By being able to offer a variety of marketing options coupled with the maturing Stream technology, we're anticipating that the coming months will be strong for the group," he added.