2008 Hot Markets — Charting Your Course

Greeting cards ($0.8B to print, -20 percent) will slide with reduced consumer discretionary spending and the challenge of e-cards. American Greetings’ foray into online photo sharing (Webshots.com) is indicative of where social expression is headed.

Number 2 banking/insurance ($3.24T, +7 percent; with $13.4B to print, -15 percent) will make a major withdrawal from our medium despite a 10 to 12 percent increase in commercial loan activity. Completed mergers in commercial banking ($9.9B to print, -14 percent) and the collapse of sub-prime lending portfolios signal substantially less signage, stationery and direct mail.