Profile - Andy Blundell: Personal touch is the holy grail of getting results from junk mail

That may sound an odd ambition for a company whose very existence depends on direct marketing, but Blundell isn't planning the demise of the mailshot – he just wants to remove the "junk" aspect.

Blundell describes it as targeting the unsolicited mail to "an audience of one".

In essence these are mailshots we want to open because they offer us money off or a good deal.

Think of when you get a restaurant voucher pinged to your email. You happily fill it in as you know you'll pay much less. Or the letter that contains money-off vouchers for supermarket goods that you would have bought anyway.

Welcome to the brave new world of Leeds-based Communisis's approach to direct marketing.

"Most consumers complain about the amount of unwanted mail," says Blundell. "What we are doing is saying, 'Dear so and so, here is something targeted at you and only you'. That's the marketer's holy grail. They are putting a lot of time and effort into it."

Marketers seem to like Communisis's approach and it has helped the company to move away from the beleaguered financial services sector into more lucrative markets.

Over the past year the group has signed up a number of new customers outside of the financial sector, including big names such as Tesco, T-Mobile, William Hill, Ogilvy and Wolseley.

Blundell says the group was hit hard by the collapse in the financial sector as it accounted for about 60 per cent of the group's business when the recession caught up with the sector in 2009.

"HBOS was doing a lot of acquisition mailing in 2008, but that tap was turned off completely," he says, referring to the bank's bail-out by the Government and rival banking group Lloyds. "We were about 60 per cent financial services, but it's probably heading towards 50 per cent now," he says.

That said, the group has no intention of giving up on its big banking clients which include Barclays, HSBC, parts of Lloyds and Santander.

Once the economy drags itself out of recession these are likely to become lucrative areas once again.

Blundell has a nice turn of phrase and an ability to turn such a dry area as direct marketing into something that is actually quite interesting.

Earlier this year he blamed a "perfect storm" of recession, meltdown in the financial sector and a sharp fall in bank marketing for a plunge in 2009 profits.

In spite of the economic difficulties, all parts of the group stayed profitable in 2009.

The group, which has diversified from traditional printing to specialise in marketing campaigns, targeted mailouts and email marketing, made operating profits of 7.2m in 2009, down from 15m in 2008.

Revenues fell from 257.7m to 190.2m.

But the Leeds Direct Mail business, which employs about 500 people, was particularly hard hit with around 50 job cuts.

"The Leeds Direct Mail business was the largest factor in the reduction of group profits, but it remains a critical part of our business and we will invest in it," says Blundell.

He believes the division will see an improvement this year.

Following the redundancies in Leeds, Blundell is keen to take the business forward.

"This is a Leeds-based business and we'll keep a big presence in Leeds. We are reshaping the business as for our long-term survival we have to shift it," he says.

Blundell has only been in the chief executive's job for eight months, but he has been working on the company's new strategy since the start of 2008 when he joined Communisis as group sales director.

Last August, former Communisis chief executive Steve Vaughan announced he was standing down in a shock departure – the same day as the group announced that profits had tumbled 78 per cent in a "disappointing" six months for the company.

While Vaughan was the "strategic brain" behind the group's turnaround, Blundell worked closely with him on the strategy.

At the time Vaughan said: "It's time to give somebody else a go with the train set. This was absolutely my decision and one I have been thinking about for some time. It was always a three-year plan to turn around the fortunes of Communisis. I have done most of the things that I set out to do."

When asked if he has a three- year plan, Blundell says he is wary of making a definite prediction. "Maybe that caught up with Steve towards the end," he says wryly.

One area that he is keen to tackle is the shift towards email marketing.

"A question I'm often asked is: If customers are going online where does that leave Communisis? It doesn't matter if the message is sent physically or electronically. We're agnostic. We're now into email marketing and e-billing," he says.

By revenue, e-output is relatively small, less than 10 per cent at the moment, but Blundell believes it could grow to 30 per cent of the

group's output.

"The challenge is to move away from print into e-commerce. We need to embrace that trend," he says.

Once the market does pick up, one avenue that Blundell is keen to pursue is getting on the acquisition trail.

"Being listed gives the advantage of access to capital, so acquisitions are definitely on the agenda," he says.

In the meantime, the main focus is to get the business back on track and making the sort of money it was in 2008.

Analysts expect the business to show a significant improvement next year.

In the meantime, chances are that next time you read a mailshot that actually appeals to you, Communisis is behind it.

Blundell's goal is to lead the world of direct marketing away from junk mail to something you actually value.

ANDY BLUNDELL - THE CV

Title: Chief executive Communisis plc

Date of birth: February 6, 1960

Education: Oxford University, Sandbach Grammar School

Favourite album: Blue, Joni Mitchell

Car driven: Volvo XC90 Jeep

Favourite film: Local Hero

Favourite holiday destination: Hebrides, Isle of Mull

Last book read: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Paul Torday

Marital status: Married with two children

Interests: Fly fishing for salmon and trout, environmental protection, art, photography, reading.