R E S P E C T

I N S I D EMarketing Supply Chain

Ink Under Your Fingernails

Consumers Purchasing Behavior

War in the Boardroom

why marketers don’t get the respect they deserve from bean-counters

Think Possibilities.{ {

Give us a call at 800-368-1056 or visit us at www.classicgraphics.com

They say the sky is the limit but we’re not convinced. We believe the possibilities are endless when innovation, ingenuity and a passion for exceeding expectations converge.

Think Possibilities. Think Classic Graphics.

change • January 2011

3opening word

Publisher and EditorTim Holt

Art DirectionBrent Cashman • Creative DirectorLaura Martin • Graphic Designer

Special ThanksDan Rose • Contributing DesignerKatie Williams • Contributing Writerhixson design • Masthead

change is published bimonthly by Classic Graphics, copyright 2011. All rights reserved

For more information contact 800-368-1056 www.classicgraphics.com

Welcome to the premier issue of change magazine, dedicated to providing the insight and thought-leadership you re-

quire to remain competitive. In this and coming issues, we will explore relevant concepts, tools, resources and ideas that will help you understand the growing array of communication technologies and tactics available today.

As organizations and businesses reassess their strategies and their core strengths, connecting with customers in a more meaningful way has become increasingly critical to long-term prosperity. Our lead article, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” provides perspectives from some of the best known marketers in the country, discussing why marketing is critical to business suc-cess and why it needs to take its rightful place in leadership discussions.

We believe the graphics industry is the corner-stone of the marketing world. The transformation that the print community has undergone in recent years is extraordinary. Our article, “Ink Under the Fingernails,” delves into the evolution of the industry, specifically the digital transformation that is driving rapid delivery and cost-efficiencies that were a pipedream only a few years ago.

At Classic Graphics, we know that effective customer communication is your sustainable advantage. In serving large and small organizations for 27 years we have built a company that has evolved in response to our customers’ ever-changing marketing needs. In 2010 Classic Graphics created Continuum. With less people doing more work, this division is a response to a growing need for simpler, more effective execution of marketing communications. Please see

our back cover advertisement for Continuum. We will share success stories with you in coming issues about how this important division of Classic Graphics is changing our discussion with customers by offering a new range of supply chain services

As we enter 2011, we have more exciting news to share. In early January of this year Classic Graphics joined forces with one of the most respected names in the printing and graphic communications indus-try, Belk Printing Technologies, Inc., creating the largest privately owned commercial printing com-pany in the Carolinas. Combining our operations with this prominent and successful company will help us serve a growing number of organizations seeking innovation in marketing communications.

Through change we intend to provide you with inspiring and thought-provoking content, innovative ideas, and important industry research and developments. We invite your feedback and encourage you to learn more about our passionate approach to turning today’s possibilities into tomorrow’s realities.

Welcome and enjoy.David Pitts

As organizations and businesses reassess their strategies and their core strengths, connecting with customers in a more meaningful way has become increasingly critical to long-term prosperity.

03 Opening Word

04 Marketing Supply ChainOperational Effectiveness & Optimization

06 R-E-S-P-E-C-TWhy Marketers Frequently Don’t Get the Respect They Deserve

10 Ink Under Your FingernailsThe Evolution of Print

14 Consumers Purchasing Behavior

15 War in the BoardroomWhy Left-Brain Management and Right-Brain Marketing Don’t See Eye to Eye

COnTEnTS

January 2011 • change

4cmo council study

T here is an epidemic that threatens the op-timized Marketing Supply Chain. As mar-keters seek to provide the most timely, fresh

and of-the-moment content to customers and channel alike, old, over-ordered or un-utilized materials tend to be stored, de-stroyed or ignored, left to sit and occupy costly space in offices and warehouses. High levels of waste can generally be attributed to limited access to material uti-lization, a lack of visibility into the operational process, and a general lack of forecasting and operational rigor. All of these

factors combine to create an epidemic of waste that can be summed up most accurately as Obsolescence.

Marketing Supply Chain

Understanding the Critical Factors

to Achieving Marketing Supply Chain Operational Effectiveness & Optimization

Obsolescence is not a single excessive order or a single pile of un-used collateral. The pile is merely the visible symptom. In fact, it is what cannot be seen—what is behind the scenes and invisible—that makes an indelible impact on marketing effectiveness, derailing, detracting or damaging the customer experience.

The shelf-life of marketing consumables and promotional materials has never been shorter or more challenging to manage. Marketers are spend-ing billions of dollars producing, warehousing and shipping marketing literature, packaging, documen-tation, point-of-sale displays, premiums, giveaways, signage and hand outs for all channels of market contact and engagement. How well this portion of Marketing Operations is managed and controlled can materially impact go-to-market effectiveness, as well as the optimal use of marketing dollars in creat-ing business value and competitive advantage.

The Ramifications of Marketing Supply Chain InefficiencyThere are two key aspects to investigate while discussing impact of obsolescence: the impact on budget and the impact on experience. Even as marketers admit to the criticality of content, 51 percent also admit to having sent out old materials containing out of date content. Why you may ask? For a small few, warehousing error (2 percent) can be blamed. And an additional 61 percent can point to their printer/agency/creative for not having the materials ready in time for launch. It is the 23 per-cent of marketers who simply did not know that the old material was sent that is the concern. Are these marketers not interested in this point of the experience and engagement? Or could it be more likely that regardless of their desire to have this level of visibility, it is simply not available?

Waiting for a Priority ShiftThe question still remains that if content is king, and if content is constantly updating and chang-ing to deliver the most relevant and timely infor-mation to customers, why are marketers not ap-plying more rigor to managing the flow of these critical consumables within the supply chain?

However, there are still companies who are finding transformation to be a challenge. Most sim-

84% Print collateral

72% Presentations

66% Folders and hand-outs

57% Direct mail

55% Product documentation

54% Signage

39% Multimedia products

29% Premiums

26% P-O-S display

25% Packaging and inserts

25% Demo software

18% Samples

14% Print coupons

10% Other

What promotional materials and marketing consumables do you produce?

change • January 2011

5ply do not view the reduction of obsolescence as a key priority (50 percent). As one marketer stated, “Waste is just taboo and a can of worms. To open it holds little reward and no compensation, so there is little motivation to start down this road.”

Yet transformation is on the minds of savvy marketers dedicated to operational efficiency and effectiveness. Additionally, there are very real strategies and opportunities to engage that can work to streamline the Marketing Supply Chain.

Obliterating ObsolescenceThe opportunity lies with marketers to transform the Marketing Supply Chain operations and make significant strides to reduce obsolescence and in turn, redeploy budget that was once wasted on these out-of-date materials.

Leverage digital printing strategies – in-cluding Print On Demand (POD): Digital printing technology has come of age, enabling economic production of shorter print runs. Lower production quantities result in a lower total cost of ownership by reducing capital investment in inventory, storage charges, and waste. A POD strategy can further reduce costs by eliminating in-ventory, storage, and in-bound freight costs. POD also enables more current and customizable con-tent through the application of Web-to-Print and variable data printing, allowing marketers to send personalized messages with up-to-date content, without fear of wasted material and out-of-date or off-strategy messages being stockpiled in inventory.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Marketers are looking to work more closely with cross functional teams in finance, sales, procurement, warehousing and operations to better forecast and eliminate over ordering. Far too many marketers indicate that orders tend to revolve around “per piece or-ders” or on unknown utilization levels. Through collaboration across various functional areas, mar-keting will be able to better forecast, monitor and manage Marketing Supply Chain operations..Go-Green to Gain-Green: When it comes to the reduction of obsolescence, the more impact made on waste reduction, the greater the green-gains. Obsolescence creates a very real environmental impact that goes beyond paper. Excessive ordering and a lack of process, visibility and measurement in the Marketing Supply Chain often necessitates rush ordering, additional shipping, handling and logisti-

cal demands that all impact emissions, natural re-sources and carbon footprint. By applying a clear strategy that is focused on reducing obsolescence, marketers can transform the Marketing Supply Chain into a greener operation that optimizes spend and operates as a global green steward.

Bringing in the Big Marketing Supply Chain Brains: Marketers are sensing that to truly affect change, they must turn to experts and third party resources who are better equipped to identify key areas of needs and transformation. As noted in the Define Where to Streamline research, less than one quarter of marketers have undergone a compre-hensive audit of their Marketing Supply Chain. As customer experience and budget are on the line, and as more marketers are becoming attuned to the money being left on the table because of a poorly managed and constructed Marketing Sup-

ply Chain, experts who can apply leading practic-es and measures to help optimize operations have become essential to transformation.

Marketers must begin to look at these indi-vidual symptoms of inefficiency with the Market-ing Supply Chain in order to optimize budget al-location, operational management and even the delivery of customer experience. Obsolescence is one of the most serious challenges to Marketing Operations as it looks to undermine budget and operations. The good news is that a streamlined Marketing Supply Chain is possible. The chal-lenge is that in these critical times customer en-gagement is top of mind and budgets are restrict-ing how far and wide programs can potentially reach. Waste and unchecked obsolescence are no longer issues left to other departments or hidden in a marketing closet.

How much of your marketing budget is spent on marketing consumables, including packaging, literature, promotional items, signage, exhibits, or point-of-sale materials?

9% More than 60%

2% 50% - 60%

7% 40% - 50%

12% 30% - 40%

30% 20% - 30%

21% 10% - 20%

20% Less than 10%

How do you forecast the utilization of these items and materials?

33% We do not forecast or manage inventory of materials – we order what we need when we need it

30% Organization-wide forecasts based on current and anticipated usage

23% Material requests from field sales, marketing or channel groups

4% Orders to replenish made automatically based on inventory, not usage forecast

3% Don’t know

2% Monthly estimates from procurement and operating teams

6% Other

6Getting RESPECT

R E S P E C T

January 2011 • change

“All I’m

askin’ is for a little respect when you come home—just a little bit…”

change • January 2011

7

R-ROI (Return on Investment)ROI is a term often used to subdue marketers, says Jeffrey Hayzlett, hailed a “Celebrity CMO” by Forbes Magazine. “One of the reasons that market-ing seems to take a back seat to sales and finance is that people fail to see the value of marketing. They continually push for an ROI for market-ing and many elements associ-ated with mar-

k e t i n g , but they also miss the

other ROI—Return on Ignoring. Met-rics and numbers are extremely valuable but, it’s about hearts and minds.”

E-The EconomyCorporate America is in a financial crisis with no clear end in sight, and the effect of the crisis on the role of marketers can’t be ignored. Steve Jones, former CMO at The Coca Cola Company and principal at (r)evolution, says that as result of the

economy, most executive leadership teams have gone into a mode of extremely low tolerance for exploratory growth and high reliability controls.

“Most leadership teams are content to grow the bottom line with the

l o w -

risk approach—reducing costs and increasing efficiencies—not by in-

vesting in revenue growth drivers. The recent financial institution crisis and mortgage collapse has led to new SEC regulations, tougher report-ing rules, stricter banking policies and, for many companies, a loss of credit lines. The “cash is king” mentality fueled fears of investing in real revenue growth. Most organizations became so risk averse that they overtly communicated in-tolerance for any high-risk, unproven marketing initiatives. Unpredictable results scared most leaders. They stopped playing to win and started playing not to lose.”

In American culture there are feuds that have become legendary: Alexander Ham-

ilton versus Aaron Burr, the Hatfields versus the McCoys, Al Capone versus Bugs

Moran and….Marketers versus Management. Though no blood is spilled in board-

rooms, these opposing forces battle it out routinely, and far too frequently it’s the mar-

keters who are overruled, undervalued and disrespected. So, why don’t marketers get

the respect they deserve? Reasons range from complex physiology and sociology to

simple economics. Here are a few for your consideration:

– from Respect sung by Aretha Franklin, number five

on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

R E S P E C TWhy Marketers Frequently Don’t Get the Respect They Deserveby Lorrie Bryan

“All I’m

askin’ is for a little respect when you come home—just a little bit…”

January 2011 • change

8Getting RESPECT

S-Social MediaMarketing is stuck in second gear. Al Ries, marketing guru and best-selling author of The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, says that if marketing were an automobile, it would be making a lot of noise, but not getting anywhere.

“Second gear is social media. The entire marketing community, including the trade press, is fascinated by social media and spends endless hours discuss-ing its uses and functions. It’s as if the success or failure of a marketing program hinges on just one thing—the proper use of social media. There hasn’t been as much chatter about a single marketing concept since the rise of television in the 1950s, so perhaps the excitement is understandable—apparently a new medium appears only about once every 50 years or so.”

So, is social media important? Yes, but, as Ries points out, “It’s only a tactic. And tactics are never as important as strategies. A company can be suc-cessful with a good strategy and poor tactics, but almost never with good tactics and a poor strategy. The excitement about social media has blinded many marketing people to the importance of de-veloping a good strategy. They seem to think that executing an effective social media program is all that’s necessary to achieve success.”

P-Processing differences in the brainIn their recent book, War in the Boardroom, Al Ries and his daughter and business partner Laura Ries propose that fundamental differences in the way people process informa-tion—whether the left or right hemisphere of their brain is domi-nant—lead to conflicts within businesses. Management tends to be left-brained (verbal, logical, analytical) and marketing tends to be right-brained (visual, intuitive, holistic). Right-brainers tend to make the best marketing people, but they seldom become top management types.

“Marketing is considered by most management people as nothing but “common sense.” And who has more common sense than the CEO? This is why many chief executives don’t hesitate to overrule their marketing people when it comes to deciding on marketing strategies. It’s been our experience that the CEOs of most companies today are the ones who are conceiving and developing their companies’ marketing strategies. And they tend to treat their marketing departments as the people who execute the strategies developed by the top management team. And frankly, most corporate strategies today are weak, with the possible exception of companies like Apple, Oracle and a handful of other companies,” Laura Ries explains.

E-Expansion v. contractionIs marketing common sense? No; most of marketing’s most important prin-ciples are illogical. Laura Ries cites the expand-contract argument as an ex-ample. “The best way to build a brand is by narrowing its focus: Driving in the case of BMW, Prestige in the case of Mercedes-Benz, Safety in the case of Volvo. But management thinks otherwise—most management people want to expand what a brand stands for in order to attract more customers. That’s

why Hyundai, a low-price brand, is busy introducing high-priced cars. And the high-price brands are doing just the opposite—introducing low-price cars.”

“In all of the meetings we have ever had with management people, we almost never hear words like focus or eliminate or contract,” adds Al Ries. “What we hear over and over again are words like expand, leverage the brand, develop new markets or line extensions. Management needs to recognize the difference between the two ways of thinking. They need to make sure their marketing departments are staffed with right-brainers before they allow their marketing people to formulate strategies.”

C-Confusion about MarketingSo, just what is marketing? Dr. David W. Rosenthal, a professor of Marketing at Miami University, notes that the confusion about the definition of marketing is problematic. “I think that there are two very dif-ferent definitions of marketing. I’ll call them MAR-KETING and marketing. MARKETING is the ver-sion that we teach in our colleges and universities. It encompasses the 4Ps (product, price, promotion, and place) and much more. It includes segmenta-tion processes, customer behavior, competitive po-sitioning, environmental scanning and linkages to the rest of the organization. Overall, MARKET-ING represents a philosophy of putting customers

and their needs first; everything else flows from that.”However, the common definition of marketing is essentially

equivalent to promotion. “If one asks someone on the street what mar-keting involves, they will immediately launch into illustrations of ad-vertising and sales promotion. This narrower definition has become

so widespread that it dwarfs the broader meaning of MARKETING in the public’s perception.

“I fear that the confusion is so deeply established that we have lost ‘the rights’ to the term and need to find another ‘brand’ for our function,” Rosenthal adds.

T-TechnologyTechnology fueled the Information Age which has allowed rapid global communications and networking to shape our modern society, market-ing notwithstanding. Rosenthal contends that technology has eroded the prestige of professional marketers. “The proliferation and fragmentation of media and the advent of e-commerce have trivialized the perceived role of the marketer. With so many communication avenues and stories of teen-aged technical whizzes creating million dollar Web sites, the prestige of professional marketers has eroded. Ironically, the increased complexity calls for more professionalism, not less.”

“To be certain, the ability to communicate with customers in two-way dialogues and the application of technology to mass-customize efficiently will be critical,” says Rosenthal. “But the essential task of marketing won’t change. Find a need and fill it, efficiently.”

“The proliferation and fragmentation of

media and the advent of e-commerce have

trivialized the perceived role of the marketer.”

– Dr. David W. Rosenthal, professor of Marketing,

Miami University

change • January 2011

9

T - ToleranceMarketers need to advocate tolerance for explor-atory solutions.

We now know that we are not going back to any previous state of economic expansion and spending any time soon, and business leaders are also realizing that cost cutting and efficiencies are not enough to grow the bottom line. Marketers have an opportunity to be a respected player as analysts and investors start to exert pressure for

better results driven by top-line revenue growth. However, as Jones points out, it is essential that marketers develop within the C Suite a tolerance for exploratory and insightful solutions.

“They need to make the case for managed risk taking. They need to demonstrate that they understand the company agenda, can explore possibilities responsibly without betting the farm or burning unpredictable sums of cash. They need to make the case that the landscape has been shifting since we all put our heads down in September 2008. New players from India are providing better services; new producers from China are increasing quality products; new middle classes are emerging that we need to pen-etrate. Consumers have completely shifted their attitudes and values and need to be approached in a new way. And marketers need to act like business leaders, not flakey ad guys.”

C-CredibilityMarketers need to regain credibility by under-standing the new landscape and creating a new marketing model.

Jones contends that marketer’s credibility is questionable because they haven’t figured out the true value of new technology. “They haven’t fig-ured out how to use it in a way that new young consumers want to use it. They abdicated their responsibility to the ad agency whose only interest

is the preservation of their old financial model.

“To regain credibility and respect, marketers need to take back responsibility for under-standing how to use the digital and Web technology as a mean-ingful marketplace. They have to abandon the traditional TV advertising campaign mental model. They need to stop translating from ad-vertising into digital. If a marketer abandons all that is old and immerses themselves in new technology and new consumer attitudes and be-havior they will emerge with a whole new cred-ible marketing model that will generate more sales revenue and earn them a seat at the C Suite Table.”

Hayzlett suggests that marketers should be prepared for the landscape to constantly

change and welcome the challenges and op-portunities that it brings. “Marketing is such a dynamic field, and with technology evolv-ing rapidly, it is becoming ever more complex with even more creative outlets. I think the best marketers are those that embrace change while knowing their brand and what it means to customers. They should constantly be learn-ing about themselves, the market, customers, and new technology they can utilize.”

B-Big PictureMarketers need to maintain their focus on the big picture.

To be a valued player, Jones says you need to understand the current macro business context, “And figure out a valuable strate-

gic contribution to the CEO and total company game plan.”

As predominantly left-brain thinkers, law-yers, accountants and most management profes-sionals are more inclined to focus on the details—bean counters are good at counting beans. But as Al and Laura Ries purport, the traits that make a good lawyer or accountant are almost exactly the opposite of what makes a good marketing person. “Someone in the boardroom needs to focus on the big picture, and that is the role of the marketing specialist,” Al Ries affirms.

TCB : Take Care of Business “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take care…TCB.”

The last line of Respect is often misquoted as “Take out, TCP”, or something similar, and many published music sheets which include the lyrics are inaccurate. TCB is an abbreviation that was commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s, meaning Taking Care of Business. TCB later became Elvis Presley’s motto and signature, from his necklace to his band and private jet plane.

So how should marketers take care of business and earn respect? Here are some suggestions:

“Marketing is such a dynamic field, and with technology evolving rapidly, it is becoming ever more complex with even more creative outlets.”

– Jeffrey Hayzlett

10evolution of print

January 2011 • change

– Peter Muir, president of Bizucate

“They are not just providing a product; they are helping their clients comm

unicate more effectively and effi ciently with new capabilities.”

change • January 2011

11

But the truth is Nostradamus did not make predictions about the World Trade Center attack or, at least, none that could easily be understood from his writings. He did not men-tion “the new century,” or “nine months” and New York is not at 45 degrees.

Nor did he predict an apocalyptic end to the print in-dustry. And it’s probably safe to say that the Mayan Calendar Prophecy doesn’t point to the dramatic end of the print era—in 2012. Yet the epic demise of the print industry has been the source of much debate and has garnered merit with arguments ventured on either side.

With 20/20 hindsight, it’s probably safe to say that print did not die and is not going away, but the industry is experiencing a significant shift. In the last three decades, an industry that has had no significant technological changes

ThE

EvO

LUTI

On

O

F Pr

InT

It has been widely rumored that Nostradamus predicted 9/11: “In the year of the new century and

nine months, from the sky will come a great king of terror. The sky will burn at 45 degrees… fire approaches the great new city… there will be thunder… The third big war will begin when the city is burning…”

12since Gutenberg invented movable type in the 1400s has gone beyond adjusting to evolving. What was once a craft industry dependent upon the skill of the person driving the equipment is emerging as a manufacturing industry driven by technology. Further, businesses that once provided just print services are increasingly providing adjunct comprehensive marketing services. As the adage goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” And many would contend that this is the case with the print industry. Savvy printers are reinventing themselves, and increasingly be-coming marketing service providers, not just print providers. According to David Murphy, director of Marketing Americas, HP Graphics Solu-tions Business, the tipping point is yet to come, but there has been a shift in the last four years that is gaining momentum.

“There have been a successive series of points—technology, user be-havior, economics—that have made it necessary for printers to reinvent themselves. And many printers have reacted and responded with changes that will ensure their future success. No longer an ink-on-paper business, they are evolving, becoming holistic—differentiating their services with a scope of offerings that compliment print, arming themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills to become marketing service providers rather than remaining commodity providers,” Murphy says.

As Peter Muir, president of Bizucate points out, 20 years ago, fast turnaround on a quality prod-uct at a reasonable rate was all that printers needed to offer to survive. “However, 20 years ago, there were only four primary ways to communicate—radio, TV, print and phone. Now there are multi-ple communication channels and being seen or heard is harder than ever. Ads are everywhere and there are so many more messages. Few of

the companies that continue to do things the way they did them 20 years ago will survive in today’s competitive business climate.”

Fortunately for printers, the technology that led to communication competition was not the only innovation of the decade. Nearly 20 years ago, Benny Landa, inventor of the Indigo press and often considered the father of digital offset printing, predicted, “Everything that can become digital will be-come digital—and printing is no exception.” Just 15 years ago, printers could not print a one-off product. But with the development of digital print-ing, we now have Internet companies that have 100 digital presses print-ing photo books one-off.

Joe Truncale, NAPL president and CEO, remembers the early pre-dictions about the potential of digital technology to change the game. “I recall the NAPL (National Association of Printing Leadership) Top Management Conference in 1995. We had two keynote speakers who really set the tone for the future. First was Nicholas Negroponte, who at the time was the director of the Media Lab at MIT. The second was Don Tapscott, who, even in those early years, did extensive research on digital communications. Their message was clear. As communication technology moves from analog to digital, the possibilities are nearly end-less. Most of what they predicted has come to pass—though it took a bit longer than they initially thought.”

evolution of print

January 2011 • change

Print remains an essential

part of most multi-marketing

campaigns

change • January 2011

13With digital technology now in place, many industry firms have made

the leap and have become “digital printers.” Truncale says that these firms are now coming to terms with two undisputable truths. “First, it does not matter what your process is—in fact, when you describe your business by your process, you are in the process of going out of business. What matters most is what you can provide for your customers and how what you pro-vide helps them meet their objectives. Second, the promise of digital printing is not found in the box—no matter which digital press you chose—but it is found in the data. More to the point, the promise of digital printing lies in the ability to understand, store, manage, measure and analyze data.”

Muir says that printers will not just survive, but thrive by continuing to add additional ser-vices to leverage print services with other channels. “It’s been proven that multi-channel marketing produces the best results. Five years ago, innovative printers started offering mail-ing services, graphic design services and data-base analysis, and now they are adding Web design, PURLs and QR codes, and mobile and e-mail marketing programs. They are not just provid-ing a product; they are helping their clients communicate more effectively and efficiently with new capabilities.”

The transition from print providers to market-ing service or solution providers is not a tremendous challenge for many printers. As Murphy points out, many of the elements needed for printers to become marketing service providers are already in place. “They are inherently cre-ative, they have problem-solving skills and experience, and they are communicators at their core with more ways to reach buyers than ever before. They will have to constantly educate them-selves so that they can continue to add value to their services.”

Perhaps the single biggest obstacle for traditional print com-panies on the path to evolution is a lack of a comprehensive cus-

“Five

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print

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tomer-facing strategy. “In order to become a marketing ser-

vices provider, you must begin by know-ing and understanding the customer’s business

and what they are trying to accomplish. This sell-ing method is far different from how sales have been

generated in our industry for years,” affirms Truncale. “That means forgetting what worked in the past—for the

most part, that doesn’t work anymore. Or, more likely, it means the painful path of implementing a new business development process while hanging on to what we are doing—and getting—at least for the near term. Some sales professionals are capable of making the transition, most are not.”

Marketing service providers…marketing solution provid-ers…printers? As the industry works through the process of redefinition, what is the best name for this evolving print and marketing services provider? “There is a great deal of uncertainty over what exactly we should call ourselves,” acknowledges Truncale. “Clearly, we provide more than printing alone, and that is a good thing. But that naming

part has emerged as a significant challenge. I recently spoke with one NAPL member who told me that after struggling with this for some time, he finally hit on an idea. He asked a few of his best customers this question: ‘When you leave your place of business to come and see us, where do you say you are going?’ The majority of his customers responded, ‘To the printer’s.’ So he decided that if it was good enough for his best customers it was good enough for him and he kept printing in his name.”

Regardless of what you call this evolving industry, the fact is that print remains an essential part of most multi-marketing campaigns. “We can’t for-get that print is part of the equation. People are looking for solutions and print offers more options than ever before,” adds Murphy.

14

January 2011 • change

print in the mix

Methodology: Online survey commissioned by ATG, and de-ployed by independent online market research firm, MarketTools, during the fourth quarter of 2009. The survey has an error rate of +/- 3% for each 1,000 respondents.

Top-Line Results:Consumers are using multiple channels to re-search, shop and purchase.

Nearly one-third of consumers say they rely on three or more different channels (online, in-store, print catalogs, mobile devices, customer service reps) from the time they start research-ing products and services to when they complete their purchase; Eight out of 10 (78 percent) report using at least two or more channels to perform purchasing research.

Catalogs are a strong traffic driver to the Web. 78 percent of consumers said they use catalogs

to browse and discover new products and services. Catalogs remain an integral part of the mul-

tichannel shopping experience.

Consumers Purchasing Behavior

The 18-34 age group makes the greatest use of mobile devices for commerce – 23 percent say they make purchases on their mobile devices at least four times a year, 15 percent make purchases monthly, and 8 percent say they do so weekly.

Social media is another emerging mar-keting channel.

Like mobile, the use of social media and networks is currently being adopted more fre-quently by the 18-34 age group. When broken down by age group, 42 percent of 18-34 year olds, 23 percent of 35-54 year olds, and 8 per-cent of those aged 55+ say they incorporate online purchasing activities into their presence on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

22 percent of all consumers surveyed aren’t aware of social media as a purchasing channel.

Consumers often start browsing and re-searching online, yet ultimately make purchases in the store.

39 percent say they went to a store because they preferred to touch and feel the product.

36 percent said they visited a store to compare several brands of the same product.

22 percent said they opted for the store because they needed the product immediately.

Print in the Mix and ATG partnered to survey a pool of 1,054 respondents, age 18 and older, living in the

continental United States to explore the consumers purchasing behavior aligned with multiple channels of

Web sites, brick-and-mortar stores, catalogs, mobile devices, and customer service representatives.

In addition, the survey studied consumers’ reactions to the experiences found using different shopping channels.

Six out of 10 consumers surveyed say that they make purchases via catalogs four times a year or more.

Mobile commerce is playing a role in the cross-channel experience, particularly with younger consumers.

27 percent of consumers 18 and older are using their mobile devices to browse or research products and services at least periodically--this number jumps to 41percent for the 18-34 year-old age group.

13 percent of consumers are using mobile devices to make purchases at least four times a year.

Take-Away: “On average, more than three-quarters of consumers are using two or more channels to browse, research, and purchase products. Because consumers are coming to merchants through multiple channels, it’s necessary to link those experiences and create a continuous conversation to avoid gaps where the sale could be lost. Merchants don’t have to necessarily serve up the identical experience in each channel, but rather optimize and connect channel interactions to deliver consistent brand experiences.”

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

4-6 times per year

Never

How frequently do you browse/research products or serverices by looking at catalogs?

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

4-6 times per year

Never

How frequently do you purchase products or services by looking at catalogs?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

4%

17%

24%

34%

22%

0 10 20 30 40 50

41%

47%

9%

3%

1%

15

change • January 2011

book recommendation

Some people expect us to promote books that teach sales or printing techniques. And although we appreciate some of the printing and sales literature available, we believe it is critical for us to deeply understand what makes marketers tick. Therefore, diving into a book like “War in the Boardroom” has catapulted our perspectives to another level.

Al and Laura perfectly explain the dif-ference between management and market-ing through the use of well known brands like Coke, Starbucks, and GM. They eloquently point out that marketing and management are at war in today’s boardrooms. The reason for the war is that marketing and management don’t understand each other. The reason they don’t understand each other is that their brains are dif-ferent. Management people tend to be left-brain thinkers; they are verbal, logical and analytical. Marketing people tend to be right-brain thinkers; they are visual, intuitive and holistic.

This father and daughter combination explores the conflict between marketing and management and documents how it is bad for companies. The purpose of this book is to get marketing and management to better under-stand and appreciate each other’s roles in help-ing brands to succeed. However, it also provides a fantastic template for anyone working with or

within a corporation. In other words, it allows us to consider the thought process of others and explains how we may need to adapt our thinking to make progress.

Selling a marketing program to top man-agement can be extremely difficult. Left-brain management is not on the same wavelength as right-brain marketing. You will have a better understanding of marketing objectives when you realize that most right-brain marketers an-swer to management. Therefore, to gain the support that marketing deserves, you need to learn how to help them deal with left-brain thinkers who are highly verbal, logical, and analytical. Read “War in the Boardroom.” You won’t be disappointed!

You will have a better understanding of marketers’ objectives when you realize that most right-brain marketers answer to management.

Many people consider Al Ries’ “22 Immutable Laws of Mar-

keting” to be the Bible to marketing success. It has long

been considered to be a fantastic reference guide for mar-

keting minds and is easily digestible. So when Al and Laura Ries came

out with “War in the Boardroom,” we just had to pick up a copy. And we

were not disappointed.

War in the BoardroomWhy Left-Brain Management and Right-Brain Marketing Don’t See Eye to Eye – By Al & Laura Ries

Continuum delivers the innovative

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require to fully integrate and link

data, brand assets and logistics

to reduce time to market, drive

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your business.

Best of all, these resources

exist under one roof, providing

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Let’s put our heads together and

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