Like a bride too busy to enjoy her own wedding day, I’m just now looking back on our recent Print & Media Conference to digest the experience and articulate the take-aways. Feedback I collected from a follow-up survey helped, and certainly, phone calls and emails from folks who were there also contributed to the sum-and-substance of our event.
Still, when it comes down to identifying the show’s highs and lows, and what the overarching ‘buzz’ was, I tend to rely on my own hunches. With over a decade of event production in my repertoire, I can critique a conference to within an inch of its life.
At all of our shows, I focus on attendee mood. Attendees, if you recall from earlier posts, are primarily professionals in charge of their company’s printing. They’re in print production as well as marketing and creative roles. Some are in procurement.
Our daily Brainstorming sessions give me a ton of insight about our audience. I also pay close attention to comments they make during show sessions, and questions they have for our speakers. It’s during these particular times when I am lucky to be a fly on the wall of a print buyer happening. I ignore the trees and focus on the forest.
By far the biggest challenge faced by professional print buyers today is how and where to expand their knowledge and expertise beyond print. Print materials for corporate marketing campaigns have been in decline for several years, and it seems highly unlikely there will be a rebound. Predictably, the roles of professional print buyers have been affected and will continue to change over the next few years. Some have been moved out of print buying all together. Sad doesn’t begin to describe it. Others have been given new responsibilities, which may or may not be related to print and the graphic arts.
The Big Question is fairly obvious: what do these professionals do in light of their changing roles? Whether they’re still “majoring” in print on the job and have experienced little or no change in their responsibilities, or they’re in the midst of a significant change in their position, I believe they’re all asking the rhetorical “What’s next?” and “How do I prepare for a new role?”
I wish I had an easy answer.
Depending on their whereabouts in their organizational chart (Marketing? Purchasing? Communications? Creative?), as well as their level of influence in their organization, they have some big decisions to make.
Luckily, they have options. There are several paths they could take, and it all comes down to their talents, expertise, natural inclinations, self-motivation skills, and opportunity for professional development.
They could move into a number of new specialties and still take all the print production knowledge and expertise they have with them, to fortify their value as they expand their careers.
The specialties that immediately come to my mind are marketing, media (emerging and otherwise), mass communications, advertising, brand management, content management – and others on the verge of being defined.
There are a lot of doors through which print buyers can walk as they take a proactive role in their careers. I’d start by crafting a list of my professional skills, successes, talents, and accomplishments. Then I’d focus on my company and industry to identify the natural media choices for marketing and corporate communications. Hopefully, a picture will emerge that will highlight my options to advance within my current organization.
A big part of this career soul-searching is professional networking. Keep in touch with peers, with industry people who are influencers, and with acknowledged leaders who have an eye on the shifting focus of business communications and information consumption. Follow the trend watchers and find your new path.
Wherever you go, take your print expertise along with you. Think of it as your Swiss Army knife on your journey into new territory. It will absolutely come in handy.
© 2012 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You’re free to forward this email. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.
Carol is the Marketing Director for 
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