Drupa: Product Marketing —Sherburne
ARE YOU going to Drupa 2008? In its 14th edition (the first Drupa was in 1951, 57 years ago!), it will be the largest ever, with more than 1,800 exhibitors from 50 countries and more than 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space. More than 400,000 visitors are expected during its two-week run, beginning May 29th.
Why do I bring that up in a column about marketing? Classic marketing texts talk about the “4Ps” of marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
• Product: This is the physical product or service offered to the customer. It also refers to any services or conveniences that are part of the offering. So while the actual, physical end product may be a printed piece, the ancillary services wrapped around the delivery of that printed piece are equally—if not more—important.
• Price: Pricing decisions need to take into account profit margins and probable competitive responses. Pricing needs to incorporate not just the printing, but the value-added and professional services accompanying the job. In many cases, pricing these new services on a cost-plus basis is missing the boat because the market value is often higher than cost-plus.
• Promotion: Promotion decisions are those related to communicating and selling to potential consumers. These decisions involve advertising, public relations, direct mail, the Websites, etc. In other words, marketing your services.
• Place: Place simply refers to how you will sell your products to your customers. What you are selling will directly influence your distribution model. Do you have a walk-up retail storefront? Are you using print brokers and other third parties? What does your direct sales force look like? And how does your Web storefront play into the mix?
First on this list is Product, as it should be. After all, without specific product offerings, there is nothing to market. While all of the 4Ps of marketing are important, Drupa provides a wonderful opportunity, perhaps more than any other show, to learn about emerging technologies that will have a significant future effect on our industry, both near- and long-term. Since the focus of Drupa is new product offerings, this column will focus on the first P: Product marketing.
In January, I joined 150 media colleagues from around the world at the Drupa International Media Conference in Düsseldorf, Germany, to hear a selection of vendors talk about their Drupa plans. Many of the developments that will be announced and shown at Drupa are likely to have a wide-ranging impact on the industry and how we deliver our services. As you look at future investment plans, you should take these developments into consideration.
Here are some examples:
Kodak will be showing a brand-new ink-jet technology that it calls Stream. Kodak has been talking about this for some time, and will be showing a concept product for the first time at Drupa. The company indicates, though, that it will be 2009 before a family of Stream-based products is fully launched. The Stream Concept Press that will be shown at Drupa promises to offer a cost model, quality and speed that will challenge offset.
Likewise, Screen’s announcement of a major strategic shift was, in my opinion, one of the most important news items that came out of the pre-Drupa media conference. Today, about 90 percent of Screen’s revenues come from computer-to-plate (CTP). The company has announced that, while certainly not abandoning its CTP offerings, it is beginning to accumulate and leverage an extensive ink-jet portfolio to transform itself.
By 2011, the company projects more than one-third of its revenues will come from print-on-demand (POD). For Screen, this model does not include toner. Its POD ink-jet offerings are in three major categories with new products being shown in each.
Industrial: The Truepress Jet650UV is designed for manufacturing applications.
Production: The Truepress Jet520, which is also marketed as the InfoPrint 5000 by InfoPrint Solutions, will be shown. This product is being targeted at the new TransPromo category (using statements as marketing vehicles) and also at newspaper printing, especially for the local production of foreign papers.
Grand Format: Screen’s Truepress Jet2500UV can be operated as either a flatbed device, for printing on rigid substrates, or roll-to-roll printer for flexible substrates.
Others placing significant focus on ink-jet include Océ, EFI (both grand format and industrial, through its VUTEk and Jetrion brands), Fujifilm, HP and Agfa. Domino will also be there in force with a range of new industrial products. Look, too, for a number of relatively unknown companies to jump on the ink-jet bandwagon.
Hands-Off Approach
Workflow has continued to gain importance as our market further consolidates and grows increasingly competitive. Whether you are looking for a unified offset/digital workflow, MIS solution or other ways to automate your job-to-invoice workflow, there will be numerous options to explore at Drupa. And don’t forget Web-to-print—it is just as important to optimize your customer-facing solutions as it is your production and business workflow.
The pace of change in our industry continues to accelerate. To achieve a successful and profitable future for your business, it is critical to stay on top of industry trends and constantly seek ways to enhance your portfolio of products and services by leveraging new technologies for new revenue streams and new customer opportunities.
I hope to see you around the Drupa fairgrounds! PI
—Cary Sherburne
About the Author
Cary Sherburne is a well-known journalist, author and strategic marketing consultant working primarily with the printing and publishing industry. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, a regular contributor to printing industry publications and has written three books, which are available for purchase through the Bookstore section on Printing Impressions’ Website (www.piworld.com). Sherburne can be contacted at Cary@SherburneAssociates.com.
