Insights

Print+Promo repeatedly touts the importance of strong supply-chain partnerships. Last month, we concentrated on top revenue-generating trade printers—those companies that work hard to help distributors turn a profit, whether it be through idea-sharing, sales support or new technology offerings. Their performance turned heads, with total annual sales for the last completed fiscal year reaching numbers that haven’t been reported since 2009. Would the other half of this partnership share the same fate?

According to “Industry Briefing: Competing in Print’s Dynamic Marketplace in 2015,” a report prepared by Davis and his Center for Print Economics and Market Research, there was “a negative first quarter followed by strong growth in the second quarter and more modest growth in the third.” Davis explained that for the full year, growth should total around 2 percent, which he referred to as “weak” for a normal recovery phase. So, how did the industry’s leading suppliers fare in light of this finding? The answer might surprise you.

From Tiffany & Co. to Coca-Cola, hosts of memorable brands have become synonymous with iconic packaging. They know that a package contains more than a product; it’s the prelude to the product’s story. With more and more companies fighting for control of retail shelves, and prime positioning in general, it’s easy to lose sight of what drives purchase intent. And an uninformed vision can lead to multiple variables (e.g., color, shapes, symbols and text) working against each other.

Hungry conglomerates. Tightening budgets. Online print purchasing. The traditional reseller channel has taken its fair share of hits over the years. With competition at an all-time high, how do you, the distributor, win over accounts and attract long-term business? The answer is simple. You leverage the capabilities of your supply-chain partner. Together, you can match the unique needs of each client or prospect, turning the impossible task into business as usual.

When the deal-making environment is good, it's quite good. According to J.P. Morgan, a growing number of transformational deals of $10 billion-plus in value and an increase in cross-border transactions drove a 27 percent year-over-year increase in global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity last year. So far, that momentum has carried over into 2015—and into our industry.

The idea that 2015 is "The Year of Mobile" is starting to get real. (Cue the sound of marketers' frustrated groans.) After years of being oversold on the next big thing (with underwhelming results), why should anyone continue to buy into hyped-up declarations? The answer can be found in the latest figures.

Ask a business owner the biggest factors in determining a business's success, and he or she will likely tell you the following: happy employees, healthy company culture, great product, good marketing. No wrong answers there—each is an essential component of a healthy business.

Move over, synergy, there's a new buzzword in town: big data. Okay, so maybe the idea of "big data" isn't new, per se (its roots date back decades), but marketers have taken renewed interest in recent years. A Google search of "big data" produces thousands of results and varying definitions. So, what exactly is it?

The struggle is real for small and mid-size printers facing hungry conglomerates and shifting consumer habits. They've put up a good fight so far, striking quickly with multichannel strategies and service-based models, but there's one battle where they always fall short-and not surprisingly so. How do you go up against a faceless adversary that doesn't follow the rules? In other words, how do you defeat—or even coexist with—the economy?

It's an exciting time to be part of the print and promo industry. No longer bound to traditional ink-on-paper models, companies are embracing new technologies and service-based approaches. A dynamic group of young men and women are responsible for driving many of these changes, and this month Print+Promo is showcasing just a few of them.