Print Buyer Panels Never Get Old

Because every panel I produce is made up of different people, each one has its own flavor and delivers new ideas. Last week's buyer panel at the Web Offset & Beyond Conference in Chicago, for an audience of 500+, was no exception.

I selected four panelists based on their experience in purchasing web and sheetfed printing, and also because each was seriously experienced. From the advertising world, we had Melissa Clemente of DRAFT FCB (24 years' experience overall), Jeff Dickerson of State Farm Insurance Corporation (20 years), Colleen Donahugh of Williams Lea (27 years), and Mark Montgomery of Armstrong World Industries (20 years). Not too shabby.

If you're a manufacturer, or even a fellow buyer (none holds this title, by the way), you'd have been impressed as I was by the knowledge and insights of these four.

Oh, how I wish they all lived closer to me. I could have tossed them question after question for hours without fatigue, but we only had 45 minutes together. This required a serious paring down of my original 17 questions.

What's in It for Them?
Asking someone to voluntarily give up a Sunday morning is not the easiest thing, but these folks jumped at the chance. One of them spent most of Saturday in an airport, watching his flight to O'Hare get cancelled four times. I gave him an out and suggested he go home, but he refused. With no sign of weariness in his voice, he told me, "I'll be there unless they tell me this flight is absolutely not happening."

Asking print buyers to share their opinions with an audience that's primarily print manufacturers is still pretty uncommon. But seasoned buyers will jump at the chance, especially if they know they're not going to be ambushed by me. They appreciate being asked to share what they think and what issues they're facing in these tough times.

What They Taught Us
Dealing with print/printers is the biggest part of their responsibilities. Three out of four said that focusing on print accounts for 80% or more of their time; for the fourth, it was 60%.

Some great sound bites came out of that session. When describing the combination of old and new media available to her clients, Donahugh said that "more often than not, print always makes sense." Great promotional campaign right there!

Melissa of DRAFT FCB said "the three dirtiest words in the industry are 'acceptable industry standards,'" because they suggest a drop in quality that her clients are not willing to accept.

All four panelists rely on printers' equipment lists. One of them said that a list is the only thing she keeps. Three out of four had experience in print manufacturing before "jumping over to the other side," so it's not surprising they know the equipment. New buyers do not.

I asked them what their biggest challenges are. "Time and resources," answered Montgomery. Staffing and budget cuts don't help. For Dickerson of State Farm, it's internal clients that are the biggest challenge. Why? They have no clue how printing is done - that it takes time. (As Frank Romano wrote recently, printers make it look too easy.)

Green is a hot topic with these panelists. "The greener, the better" said Clemente. Montgomery went farther: "Everything we touch has to be extra green," he said.

Do they represent the majority of US print buyers today? I would say that they represent the elite buyers: those whose careers are 20 years or more and who have risen to the most senior positions in their firms. In each of their firms, these four are the printing experts. Everything they said rang true to my ears. Nothing shocked me. They reminded me of many other high-level buyers I know. And, like them, they pointed out to me that they welcomed the chance to talk shop with peers. Making new connections, even just 3 at a time, was worth giving up their Sunday morning.

Comments? Talk to me at mdana@bostonprintbuyers.com.

©2008 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You're free to forward this email to friends and colleagues: please do! However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.

Print Buyer Conference Update

September 11th - 12th, 2008

Introducing the 3rd Annual Print Buyers Conference speakers and session topics. You will be as delighted as we are:

Keynote Breakfast #1
Defining the Present: Dr. Joe and Dr. No Are At It Again
Frank Romano and Dr. Joe Webb

Keynote Breakfast #2
Creativity for the Rest of Us
Alan Rosenspan (Alan Rosenspan & Associates)

The Digital Dilemma - Frank Romano

It's 2018....Did Printing Survive? - Dr. Joe Webb

Shades of Green - Roy Grossman and Chip Stine (Sandy Alexander, Inc.)

Life with Print - Daniel Dejan, Sappi Fine Paper/North America

Optimizing Your Color Management Workflow - Daniel Dejan, Sappi Fine Paper/North America

Print Buyer Panel - Margie Dana, Print Buyers International

The Anatomy of a Cross-Media Campaign - Scott Dubois, Reynolds DeWalt

Who Owns What? Legal Guidelines on Trademark and Copyright Issues
Roberta Fitzsimmons, Esq.

All About the Address Quality of Your Mailings: Deal or No Deal?
Christine Erna, Vermillion, Inc.

Ready, Set, Go Green! - Aaris Serin, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, St. John's University

The Hard Stuff: Negotiating Effectively with Printers
Robert McClements, Grange Consulting (UK)

19 Surefire Ways to Cut Costs on Paper - Sabine Lenz, PaperSpecs

A Hot-Topic Panel Discussion about Paper - Sabine Lenz, Moderator

Power Tips and Tricks: Adobe Acrobat - Speaker to be announced

Extend your Creativity: Adobe Creative Suite - Speaker to be announced

Sessions to come:
Peter Muir, Bizucate, Inc.
Steve Suffoletto, RIT
Another digital printing session

PLUS
Roundtable Discussions on Several Red-Hot Topics- Individual facilitators

For more details, here are more detailed descriptions. You won't find a more content-rich conference for print-buying professionals anywhere. Please join us.

Questions? Contact info@printbuyersinternational.com.

Registration will begin later this month.

Questions on exhibiting? Please contact Barbara Graham at exhibitorinfo@printbuyersinternational.com.

Upcoming May Event: Print Buyer Roundtable Discussions

Wednesday, May 14th, 6 to 8:30 pm, Doubletree Guest Suites, Waltham, MA

Boston Print Buyers' first-ever Roundtable Discussion Group - and everyone is invited this time.

The 5 hot topics and their facilitators:

1. The Role of the Print Buyer - Jill Connolly, Analog Devices

2. How to Measure the Caliber of Print Vendors - Arlene Ouellette, Brookstone

3. Innovative Ways to Save $ with Your Printing - Paul Carroll, American Printing

4. Buying Print in China: One Buyer's Experience - Amy Feiner, Millipore

5. How Print Production Pros Deal with the Green Movement - Tom Pixton, MIT Publishing Services Bureau

BPB Members pay $35; others pay $55. Add $10 for walk-ins. Dinner, cash bar, and discussion groups all included at this low price. Free parking.

Printers, brokers, and all other service providers may join us, but you must register a print buyer at the time you register.

For more details and to register, visit www.bostonprintbuyers.com/events/.

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