By Michael Shepherd
With Easter right around the corner, it seems like a good time to write about great comebacks. The subject of this turnaround, however, may take longer than three days to pull off.
I’m talking about the resurrection of commercial printing.
If we’re to believe the narrative, the printing industry remains at the top of the endangered species list and is ticketed for extinction. It’s a dramatic storyline. Unfortunately, the premise has some major holes.
In full disclosure, I probably know more about Heidelberg beer (a Northwest brand that did perish) than a Heidelberg press. I’m a PR/comm guy. However, I’m also one who has been on more press checks than I care to count.
When I hear about the impending death of any industry, I immediately grow suspicious of the source. History teaches us that most rarely die. More often than not, they morph. It’s the business world’s cycle of life.
Remember the geniuses who once opined that FM radio would make AM go dark? They clearly never envisioned the power of talk radio.
And a few years ago, banking experts warned that branches were about to become obsolete. Tell that to Bank of America. They just announced plans to open hundreds of new brick-and-mortar locations nationwide.
And how about the automotive industry and its gas-guzzling cars and SUV’s that were supposed to die a not-so-natural death? Sales are sizzling, while sedans, including some of the most fuel-efficient models ever produced, sit silently on lots.
Innovators inside these industries stared down market threats posed by technology and figured out how to adapt, survive—and even thrive. Why not printing?
Re-invention is already underway. You can see numerous examples in the still nascent field of 3-D printing. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
We’re seeing innovative solutions and apps built around augmented reality (AR) as well as virtual-reality technologies. Marketers increasingly need ways to showcase their products and services in action, and these rich-media, dimensional print formats deliver in spectacular fashion.
There are even breakthroughs taking place in old-school disciplines, such as direct mail. New sophisticated database- and list- management techniques enable companies to achieve better targeting and ROI than ever before.
Fulfillment operations are another growth area. Marketers like the value proposition printers provide through their fully integrated packaging and fulfillment capabilities. Combined with offset, digital, large-format and variable printing, today’s printer can take a product from concept all the way to the customer’s door or mailbox.
The trap some printers have difficulty escaping is trying to compete exclusively through scale. That strategy often involves taking on too much debt, an approach that claimed a number of once vibrant, robust companies. Yet, as Amazon continues to demonstrate, it’s the ability to innovate at scale that produces the enduring wins in the often cold-hearted world of capitalism.
Who doesn’t love a great comeback? Printing might not be making one of biblical proportions, but, to steal the memorable line from George Bernard Shaw, the reports of its demise may be greatly exaggerated.
A Shepherd’s Journey
Mike Shepherd knows a thing or two about re-invention and adaptation (see above story on the printing industry). The award-winning PR practitioner, who launched his agency in Seattle some 20 years ago with brands like Embassy Suites Hotels, AT&T Wireless, Ben Bridge Jewelers and more—is back.
Since moving to southern California, the sports-obsessed UW grad has established his eponymous PR firm as one of the top shops in the Orange County/LA market. But, there’s no place like this place—and Mike knows it, opening his agency’s second office in the same U.S. Bank Centre building it operated from in the ’90s. You can reach him at michael@theshepherdgroup.com – or call (206)224-3550.
Welcome back, Mike!