PERSONAL bests

Magic 8-Ball Says 'Ask Again'

THE POLICE officer who has a car stolen. The fireman with dead batteries in a smoke detector. The magazine editor who sends an e-mail out with typos in it. There's a special kind of embarrassment that comes with screwing up at something related to one's own profession.

Yet, one of the regrettable truths of the printing--aka graphic arts, marketing services, communications--industry is that many member companies have a poor track record when it comes to sending out self-promotion campaigns to their own customers and prospects. Adoption of digital printing has been a game changer because of the need to educate the market on the printing process and the use of variable data, personalized URLs (PURLs), etc. That twist has also put a premium on coming up with creative applications of the technology and flawlessly executing the campaign.