The New Era of “Template Personalization”

Author: Matt

1 Mar

This past holiday season I conducted a pseudo study of all the holiday or Christmas cards I received. Much to my sjogren, I discovered that almost 75% of the cards received hadn’t one bit of personalization on them except for the handwritten address. And probably half of those that weren’t personalized at all didn’t even have a handwritten address…but a printed lable.

Are we turning into robots?!?

Please don’t get me wrong, we had a nice family photo card made via Shutterfly this year, last and probably the year prior. But my wife and I usually sit down and sign each card typically writing a little personalized note on each. Besides, for many, this may be our only interaction with them all year!

Unfortunately, I believe we’re in a new era of “Template Personalization.” The dichotomy of the phrase is on purpose as ”template” and “personalization” are as opposite as “night” and “day.” Yet we see examples of this being used across all mediums of communication today. Here are 3 additional examples of “Template Personalization”:

Blast Emails – We see this one all too much within the business world and in particular within public relations as many PR firms and professionals see a need to blast a pitch and worse yet, a release to hundreds of journalists…hoping for something to stick.
Evite – I’ve used Evite’s many times and will continue to do so as they’re a great way of managing a party or event. But when you have a small group of friends, family or even coworkers your inviting for an event…why not use print invitations and write a personal invite on each?
Automatic Direct Messages on Twitter - When you start following someone on Twitter (kind of like your “friends” on Facebook for those of you not using Twitter) there are many services out there that allow for you to send a template response or direct message to those that started following you. I’ve recently started calling attention to these via my Twitter account (here is a link to these tweets).

What are some good (or bad in this situation) examples of “Template Personalization” that you’ve seen? I look forward to adding to this list as I definitely plan on tweeting & posting on this subject often…consider it a pet peeve of mine:)

Filed under: Business Ethics, PR, Relationships, Social Media

3 Responses for "The New Era of “Template Personalization”"

amymengel March 2nd, 2009 at 5:56 am 1
One of the most common examples I see is resumes and cover letters. So often, people create one version and blast it out, only changing the name of the company they’re applying to. I think cover letters and resumes are most effective when they’re tailored to the company/position for which you’re applying. It shows you’ve put some extra work in and taken the time to learn about the company and how you might best fit.

I think junk mail/direct mail is getting very good at “template personalization.” With variable data printing now, sometimes I get pieces that look like they’re meant just for me and I have to do a double take before I realize that it’s not actually a custom coupon/inviatation/letter.

I’m with ya Matt – I hand-write a message on all my Christmas cards. Even if it’s just the family’s names and then signing our name – it really bugs me when I get a card with nothing written on it that came in an envelope with a mailing label. I want to feel like I’m more than an entry on a holiday card database!
Matt March 2nd, 2009 at 9:46 pm 2
Amy – You always take a great deal of time and thought with your comments…& I really appreciate that! Resumes, cover letters and direct mail are such great examples of “template personalization.” We now have an personal standard at our agency where we each have to send out at least 3 hand-written notes each week. To clients, media, partners, strangers, etc. – we are all focused on providing that unique experience. Not to stand out per se, but to express our sincere appreciation for the people we do business with on a regular basis. For once, I wish folks would think about how much of an impact it would have to spend an extra 5 minutes & $.42:) Have a wonderful week!
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