Print industry thrives through disruption

Print industry thrives through disruption

Source: PrintNZ

PrintNZ's annual Industry Forum, recently hosted in Christchurch, was again a success and continues to deliver uniquely insightful presentations on various topics affecting our industry now and in the future.

Ruth Cobb, general manager of PrintNZ welcomed delegates to the Industry Forum 2017 and expressed much delight in hosting the event back in Christchurch. "It's great to be back in such a great city, the first time our Industry Forum has been held here since the earthquakes in 2011."

Ms Cobb briefly outlined the role of PrintNZ and the continuing work carried out to support their members to ensure the future success of the print and related industries."

"Since the government changed the health and safety legislation in April last year our team have worked diligently on producing comprehensive resources for our members to easily implement in their business and meet their obligations. These include a H&S Process Manual, implementation guide, consultancy services and audits. Additionally, we also offer members employment and legal support services including consultation and customisable documents such as employments agreements to help members meet their managerial obligations."

Across the day presenters spoke about how to get your business to stand out, nanography – a new printing technology soon to reach New Zealand, strategies to combat cyber crime and protect vital business information, and the client benefits of incorporating print into marketing and communication campaigns.

Disruption was the common theme throughout the day. Every business and every industry is being disrupted by ongoing market changes, technology developments and pioneering business models changing business operations. Prevalent industry disruption is taking place and our industries - print, packaging, sign writing, design, and advertising are not immune.

MAKING YOUR BRAND STAND OUT

Peter Biggs, Chief Executive of advertising agency Assignment Group New Zealand, focused his presentation on how brands and organisations can position themselves to stand out and win despite changing market trends and disruptions impacting businesses in all industries.

"The old models that everyone worked to, both in terms of external communications but also internal culture, are no longer relevant. Every organisation is having to grapple with this extraordinary opportunity, as well as challenge."

Mr Biggs explained that research shows that the average attention span in the year 2000 was 12 seconds. In 2016, it is 8 seconds. He then posed the question 'so what messages make it through to your audience?'.

Gaining market attention requires a unique message, and culture shift from traditional sales styled messaging. The clients' rationale behind a purchase is more important than advertising the product’s functionality.

"The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action"

Mr Biggs continued this notion by saying "organisations often get preoccupied with selling the what, but people buy the why."

Referring to recent businesses who, grasping this concept, have created powerful, engaging and attention-capturing content. Mr Biggs played adverts for Chrysler, Dove, Westpac, and the Sydney Opera House to reiterate his point.

"Businesses in disruptive climates should focus on the value they offer to clients, and the emotive purpose behind the business."

Outside our industry, many others are too facing disruption. "Print - along with other industries including accommodation, automotive, transport and technology - is being disrupted." say Mr Biggs.

"The world's largest accommodation company (Air BnB) doesn't own a single hotel. The world's largest taxi company (Uber) doesn't own a single vehicle. Disruption isn't restricted within an industry - it's borderless."

Mr Biggs suggests that adapting marketing messaging now isn't enough to influence clients. Change must occur on all levels of the business and fundamentally alter its culture.

"Culture is a thousand little things done well every day."

"Culture and brands are made more on what you do, than what you say. It's built on behaviours."

Mr Biggs aptly summarised his presentation by saying "if you're not disrupting, you're being disrupted."

NANOGRAPHY

Since the beginning of Landa Technology in 1977, founder Benny Landa has been developing technology to make digital printing profitable for varying print volumes. Landa Digital Printing Asia Pacific and Japan sales director Michael Mogridge enlightened delegates on how nanographic printing presses use the unprecedented capabilities of nanaotechnology to turn digital into profitable mainstream.

Print is a thriving global industry and Mr Mogridge explained that in 2016, 1 trillion pages were printed and global print sales reached $900 billion - larger than the automotive industry.

Digital print makes up a marginal 2.5% of that global print market and, there's a profitability gap between low and high volume print runs.

"For the first time, printers don't have to choose between the versatility of the short-run economics of digital printing and the low cost-per-page and high productivity of offset printing."

"Allowing an entirely new paradigm for efficient digital printing, nanography enables printers to migrate mainstream applications to digital production" he says.

"Nanography creates new business opportunities for providers of any type of printing in the commercial, packaging and publishing markets."

Mr Mogride shared privileged information around the intricate details of machine functionalities. At the time of the Forum, 10 machines were undergoing rigorous testing before being released to market.

Benefits for using nanographic digital printing included no plates for a pure digital process, off the shelf substrates, low-cost inks, efficient use of ink, minimal waste and less inventory at a lower cost than traditional digital solutions.

CYBER SECURITY: IS YOUR BUSINESS AT RISK?

In 2016, the Australian Communications Security Authority (ACSA) reported almost 15,000 online incidents, which is a 50% increase on the previous year. These reported incidents cover a range of business sectors and for the first time in history the finance sector was only the second most targeted at 17%, with energy companies ranking number one at 18%.

Mark Micklefield, Security Consultant with Kaon Security, explained that the most common attacks are ransomware, credential harvesting, malware and DDOS extortion.

Globally, 88% of all online attacks are opportunity based while only 12% are targeted. This means a vast majority of attackers don't consider the size of a business, or the industry they operate within. Every business connected to the internet is at risk.

"The biggest challenge businesses face with mitigating risk is user awareness and implementation."

Mr Micklefield posed questions to the audience regarding their online security and only one person, out of a filled room, already had security policies and processes implemented.

"Attackers are becoming increasingly convincing with their approach, so businesses need to ensure they have regular and accurate backups, along with policies to increase protection and processes for action in case a computer or device becomes damaged or corrupt." says Mr Micklefield.

"In my experience many businesses believe basic systems such as anti-virus and malware security software will protect them from attacks. This software does help though does not ensure complete security and some systems could become compromised. The best protection is having comprehensive, accurate, and regular backups along with policies in place to train staff."

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRINT

Marketing has never been more challenging for not only marketing departments but also company executives who are analyzing marketing spend across a range of media channels. Print is one of our longest serving media channels, however as a traditional media it is facing an identity crisis in a digital frenzied media environment.

Kellie Northwood, Executive Director of TSA Limited, discussed how print plays an important and powerful role within the marketing mix and should be incorporated into client's campaigns because of the many merits print offers to marketers.

"Marketing is a complicated journey. Traditional marketing used to incorporate three main channels; TV, radio and print. Today, we now have 12 primary possible communications channels so people are more connected" says Ms Northwood.

"Although digital media grows in consumption, research reveals that print media continues to remain a core channel alongside other traditional media."

Ms Northwood addressed media consumption research from millennials, the 'always on' generation. Findings revealed they have higher digital consumption than other generations however they are more likely to source news from multiple sources including print as it's seen as credible and trustworthy.

"Print remains one of the most trusted channels. The average time reading digital advertising is 2 - 3 seconds, while magazines receive 26 minutes. That's a significant difference in media engagement rates and it's encouraging to see print collateral is still widely used".

"Digital brands including Apple, Facebook and Google love print and include it in their own marketing campaigns and internal communications. Retailers use print as a revenue stream as they still find that these channels provide excellent return on investment.

Ms Northwood provided various examples of how creatively incorporating print into a campaign can prove to add powerful strength to the campaign. She used examples that are posted on the TSA website and include campaigns such as 'It's in our blood', 'Share a Coke'.

"Print is not dead, it's tired. It needs creativity to showcase ability and value. Our job as print and creative professionals is to educate why they should chose print as a part of their campaign and marketing mix and display value through creative and novel solutions." says Ms Northwood.

"We operate in a specialty and bespoke industry. Print is an emotive, tangible product that consumers enjoy. We need to assist clients understand the value and power print brings to a campaign, and provide creative solutions to their briefs."

A recording of Kellie Northwood's presentation is available to order by contacting PrintNZ's office on info@printnz.co.nz or calling 0800 654 445.

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