The Future of Digital IS Print. Say WHAT?
Drew Davis
Our 7th Annual Print & Media Conference kickoff demands a dynamite speaker. Enter Andrew Davis. He’ll be delivering the opening keynote on Tuesday, October 9th. This will mark the 3rdtime that Drew has presented for PBI. He’s not your average presenter, trust me. We welcome him back with open arms and wildly clapping hands.
Drew is a bleeding-edge marketing futurist and author for the publishing, entertainment, and consumer packaged-goods industries. His 20-year career has taken him from local television to The Today Show. He’s worked for The Muppets in New York and marketed for tiny start-ups as well as Fortune 500 brands. Today, as the Chief Strategy Officer at Tippingpoint Labs, Drew rallies his team in leading the charge to change the way publishers think and how brands market their products. Drew’s concepts help reshape the way you think, enabling you to navigate the overwhelming and sometimes confusing digital landscape.
His keynote will address this interesting statement: The Future of Digital IS Print. To dig a little deeper into this intriguing topic, we asked Drew a few questions. Have a look.
Without giving away too much, Drew, how did you come to the conclusion that the future of digital is print?
The future of digital IS print is just one of the new media paradoxes I’ve started to investigate as digital media evolves. My theory relies on a simple premise: the more digital content created, the shorter it lasts and the deeper the desire for longer form, higher quality printed content. Ironically, publishers and printers only have a short time (years) in order to take advantage of this paradox to drive value for their print products. I’ve watched digital publications and even e-commerce brands invest in higher quality print products because it differentiates their brand in a digitally driven world.
Explain why the “digital-first strategy” has been a successful initiative.
In the digital world you can learn rapidly what works and what doesn’t. You can create content at a lower cost, distribute it rapidly and measure its impact with great efficiency. With this simple idea as the cornerstone of publishing or printing strategy, your printed materials will be more successful and deliver deeper results. Leverage a digital world to drive insight into what will work offline.
I understand you have a brand new book called Brandscaping. Briefly define the idea of “brandscaping” for us.
Brandscaping is a process that brings like-minded brands and their respective audiences together to create content that increases demand and drives revenue. In today’s digital world, everyone has an audience, which means marketers can partner in new and inventive ways that leverage content to drive relationships with new audiences.
What can attendees of your session expect to learn?
At this year’s Print & Media Conference, attendees will walk away invigorated and inspired to think differently about the value of print in a digital age. Instead of believing that print is dead, I hope to challenge the audience to defend print by elevating and satiating the deep desire for content in an information-overloaded world. My presentation isn’t a how-to presentation; it’s a how-to-think presentation.
Drew, many thanks. I’ll be in the first row! To hear Drew’s keynote on October 9th in Chicago, visit http://printbuyersinternational.com/2012-print-and-media-conference/ and register today.
PS: I happen to know that everyone in Drew’s audience will get a complimentary copy of his new book, Brandscaping, thanks to PBI sponsor Trend Offset.
© 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.