h2>By Margie Dana

This is not an official recount of our Print & Media Conference by any means. I got home from Chicago at 1:30 am this morning (as I write this) and needed to share some of my reflections before another week passed.

The vast majority of our 100 attendees were print/media customers, not service providers. Our 15 sponsors were service providers who were encouraged to attend all sessions and participate in our daily Brainstorming sessions. I’m happy to report that they did.

It seems to me that much of the value of being a sponsor at this show is the opportunity to sit with a large group of print customers and…listen. Here’s what you’ll learn: What are their challenges? What’s changing in their world? What do they need from the printing industry? What are they looking for, in regards to their print providers? How do they choose providers? And on and on.

It all came out. By the second day, the group had loosened up and relaxed enough to engage in really great conversations about what it’s like to be a professional print “buyer” today and what they see happening in their careers tomorrow.

Some of the most important things I learned…

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• A first-time attendee from a supplier to printers bowled me over with her comments after the show. She said it was EXACTLY the type of education/information she needs and could never get. She always wanted to learn what print buyers thought, what their challenges were, what they were experiencing, etc., etc. She then said that she would probably not come alone next year.
• Education from their print providers was a top priority from our attendees. They pretty much all said it over and over again on both days. They are hungry for information about new technologies and ways to produce materials. (And that is why I started this organization.)
• Their roles are changing. It’s not universal in how they are changing, or what new responsibilities they’ve taken on, but they are definitely doing more now than ever before. (It’s not more print buying, by the way.)
• For these attendees, print is still their primary focus. Many are part of their Marketing departments, but not all. Some are in IT, Procurement, Creative,
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  Media, Technical Documentation, and Publications.

• Print buyers are still passionate about the medium of print. Many still prefer to work with local printers. They do press checks and also like meeting with their sales reps regularly.
• What I heard often: printers MUST do their homework before calling a new prospect. Find out about this prospect’s industry and company before contacting her or him. This includes samples. You’ll do more harm than good by sending irrelevant samples that are beautifully printed. And I quote: “I work for Dollar General. Don’t send me Louis Vuitton.”
• Try as I might, they were not interested in discussing “printers as MSPs.” This is a big issue on the print industry side, not the customer side.
• Print buyers are dying for facts, stats, content, information, etc., about why print is good, is the right choice, is sustainable, is often the perfect medium. Get it? If you’re on the supply side, be it paper or print, you’ve got more work to do to reach corporate buyers in all industries about the ROI of print. I am here to help.
• It’s a waste of time worrying about finding a better “title” for these professionals. They’ve always had different titles, so what makes us (me) think we can easily find a more relevant, more contemporary title that indicates they handle other media, other responsibilities? Ain’t gonna happen. Some are production managers. Some are brand police. Some are creative managers. Some are chief procurement specialists. They’re united by print and their expertise in working with commercial printers.

I have lots more to think about and document from our PBI show. It was an incredible experience. Hopefully, our attendees, sponsors and speakers will agree. If you are interested in participating next year, send me an email. A one-day show in Boston is shaping up for the Spring.

Our attendees, sponsors and speakers gave me new energy, new ideas, and literally new ways to address the professional development challenges of today’s print buyers.

I’m on it.

If you were there, thank you!

PS: Our speakers ROCKED THE HOUSE! I will be writing about the sessions later.

(C)2011 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. Your comments are encouraged. You’re free to forward this email to friends and colleagues. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author. Comments