The term "dynamic content" has a variety of definitions, depending on its use and to whom you speak. Simply put, dynamic content is the virtual opposite of static content. "On the web," says Greg Koski, CEO of site incubator WebLabs, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, "dynamic content versus static content is the difference between truly interactive content and a pdf. Dynamic content is based on database programming that creates response on the fly, based on demand or input."

Greg Brown, President of Seattle, Washington-based integrated marketing communications firm Kinetic Brands refers to dynamic content as "conditional content." "Essentially, you're serving content up to customers and prospects based on the specific conditions or parameters you set up," he explains. Like traditional direct marketing, dynamic content is database driven, but the results you obtain happen much more quickly, as the rules you create help target what prospects or customers want much more quickly, and electronic databases can compile and sort content from a number of different sources and serve it up immediately.

Dynamic Content Capabilities

Perhaps the key benefit of dynamic content for marketers is the ability to talk to customers and prospects intelligently. Based on the rules you create, the data you gather and the subsequent message you send, you're speaking directly to a person's preferences and generating content that's germane to them. "If you start on a playing field that takes your target's preferences into account immediately, you're building a bond as soon as they interact with you," adds Brown. "When trying to market one-to-one, developing the relationship is among the most difficult challenges, especially with traditional marketing. Dynamic content gives you the opportunity to create that relationship from the moment a prospect communicates with you. You can also talk to people on a mass basis, but you have the advantage of automatically tailoring your message to their profiles."

Dynamic content has a variety of uses, including the tailoring of messages, as described above; personalization, such as the customized opening page at Amazon.com and e-mails automatically about specials of interest to you; and the delivery of requested content. "You could have two dynamic-driven sites with nothing in common," says Koski. Personalization is only one aspect. For example, we're building a totally database-driven encyclopedia at a plastics site where every topic under the industry will have it's own area. Let's say someone asks for information on PVC plastics. Our dynamic programming will bring together several articles from the latest news, topics from discussion groups and other sources and cobble these together into a comprehensive answer to the query. No PVC page exists, but dynamic programming automatically creates it when the information is requested. We even have expiration dates on content to keep it fresh."

Clearly, dynamic content has a number of advantages, whether you're developing personalized content or you're looking to take maximum advantage of CRM initiatives, as "a good site will help you aggregate responses to further targeting and prospecting," says Koski. "If you have enough content, dynamic programming is without a doubt among the most effective marketing tools available for the web."

Jon Feld is a freelance writer based in Newton, MA. He can be reached at kjfeld@rcn.com.