So, how do we purveyors of the top-line get rich during this commercial equivalent of the sub-prime meltdown? Let’s pull the slot handle and see what lucky eight, progressive combinations for ’08 we can hit.
• Find the most underserved demanders. There are many print buying sectors not called upon, even during the good times. Now, with fewer salespeople and no marketing departments left to identify and qualify them, business is forfeited. The Printing Brokerage/Buyers Association’s (PB/BA) annual “HOT markets” forecast details winning combinations, including packaged foods and beverages (for point-of-sale) and proprietary higher education (for sheetfed and half-web inserts and direct mail). Meanwhile, the mechanics continue to pander to the most price-elastic, yet obvious, categories such as publishers and ad agencies. The pervasive volume-over-profit mentality lives, but it shouldn’t be at our expense.