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Bread Bike Bakery: A Personalized Email Campaign for Local Growth

Improved audience engagement through data-driven personalization and a fully mapped marketing workflow using variable data printing (VDP).

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Project Overview

Team: 4 students 

Role: Data Specialist & Marketing/VDP Designer

Tools: Figma, Mailchimp, Excel, Adobe InDesign, XMPie, Adobe Illustrator

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This campaign was developed for Bread Bike Bakery, a local San Luis Obispo business focused on community-oriented baking and sustainability. The challenge was to create a personalized, multi-channel marketing campaign that reached two new audience segments, students and seniors, using data-driven design and emerging print technology (VDP).

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Our team combined user segmentation, variable data printing, and a fully visualized campaign workflow to demonstrate how personalization could enhance community engagement and retention.

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The Problem: Reaching New Audiences with Local Roots

Bread Bike had strong local recognition but limited reach beyond existing loyal customers. They wanted to expand their audience to include younger and older demographics, two groups with very different media behaviors.

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Challenges identified:

  • No formal digital marketing strategy

  • One-size-fits-all messaging limiting engagement

  • Untapped opportunities for personalization and targeted outreach

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Our campaign aimed to prove that tailored communication, both digital and print, could increase brand engagement and conversion.

Research & Discovery

We started by gathering insights through primary surveys (120+ responses) and persona development.

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Key Findings:

  • Students were highly responsive to email and social channels, motivated by affordability and social experiences.

  • Seniors preferred direct mail and local events, emphasizing accessibility and family time.

  • Across both groups, 45% said they’d respond to an event-based promotion if it reflected their interests.

We developed two core personas to represent these audiences and mapped them through the entire marketing funnel.

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My Role

I led the data and workflow design process to ensure every communication point was informed by segmentation and personalization logic.

  • Campaign Workflow: Designed the entire multi-phase workflow in Figma, outlining each phase (Awareness → Consideration → Activation → Nurture → Expansion).

  • Data Specialist: Created and managed mock datasets in Excel, structuring fields for Mailchimp and XMPie integration.

  • Email Design: Designed branded email templates in Figma, then mocked variable content in InDesign and XMPie.

  • VDP Implementation: Developed a personalized bread graphic that dynamically displayed user names and event recommendations.

  • Testing & QA: Simulated data outputs across multiple segments to ensure variable logic rendered correctly.

Ideation & Iteration

Building the Campaign Flow

I mapped how data moved across digital and print touchpoints, from survey input to automated email triggers. Each phase included a primary CTA and personalization variable.

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Email Design & VDP Integration

In the Nurture Phase, I designed an email featuring three forms of variable data:

  1. A personalized header image (based on user segment)

  2. Custom text embedded in a bread graphic using XMPie

  3. Event suggestions aligned with persona interests (student pop-ups vs. senior coffee hours)

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Marketing Collateral

Our mix of dynamic visuals and text personalization created a seamless, human-centered experience across print and email.

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Impact & Results

Through research, mock data, and prototype testing, we demonstrated how personalization could elevate campaign effectiveness:

  • Clear cross-channel workflow for multi-audience targeting

  • Fully functional email + print integration using VDP logic

  • Proof of concept for segmented engagement, with personalized offers designed to fit user behavior

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Feedback from instructors highlighted the campaign’s strategic depth and strong connection between data logic and creative execution.

 

Reflection

This project taught me how to merge data analytics, design, and personalization into one cohesive storytelling system.

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I learned to:

  • Build scalable workflows that visualize complex marketing systems

  • Apply VDP technology for creative, human-centered personalization

  • Balance strategy, design, and data integrity within campaign execution

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If expanded, I would test engagement metrics in real-world conditions to measure the conversion impact of each personalization variable.

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