Business and Society 2.0

In a recent dicussion, Mark Ellis, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at DMI, Inc, posted the following comment: "Print is absolutely not dead. I've been on the sales side of the industry for more than 25 years. There’s been talk of “paperless society” all the way back to when I first got my start at a print for pay division of Xerox (the old Xerox Reproduction Centers AKA XRC) in the early 80's.The role and value of the printed document will only continue to be enhanced with the advent of new communication technologies such as Web 2.0. This is especially true in the area of direct marketing, direct mail, and in particular cross media variable data, or 1:1 marketing where variable data printing is incorporated. The economy has already slammed the print industry, and there will undoubtedly be another shake out which will probably be much worse then the post 9/11 recession. I’ve been with my company for 18 years and we are fortunate to have grown to the largest 100% all d...

We see a trend in printing technology to use also the electronic media support. For most of the conventional media, printing technology continues to be offset lithography. Digital printing was considered has having less quality then offset. This is not an issue anymore. From print buyer´s perception, only 25% consider it as unacceptable. In fact, most of the print jobs can be done with new digital technology equipment with an offset quality, except in a few cases. There are new tools like System Brunner´s Proof Check (1) that can measure color and adjust parameters quickly. What can increase quality perception of a printed job is more the finishing options available, like “UV coating, foil stamping, embossing or die cutting on the front or the cover”. (2) Actually the unit cost of digital printing is still higher then offset technology, but for short runs the digital printing is a better solution, mainly due to the high cost of make-ready for the offset. We can estimate the “breakeaven...

Well some people discover new ways and formulas to get printed products alive. In the case, Home Pages, in the market since 1997, are launching new Directories for small cities and communities. The business is growing, but still to be proven if this is sustainable for the long range. It is published in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin, with around 40.000 independent businesses. The strategy is to cover just a small community with very attractive prices. If the business is mostly done locally, then for the advertiser does´nt make sense to invest in a book with a large scope and circulation. If for the advertiser the target customers are within an wider scope they can invest in several books. Reference http://homepagesdirectories.com/

Susan Greenfield a british investigator, states that an excessive use of social networking, like Twiter, Bebo and Facebook can be dangerous to the brain. It can "accomodate" the brain functions to live just the moment and lack also the capacity of paying attention and concentration. Technology and environment are influencing the way brain works and performs. According to the Guardian, "social network sites risk infantilising the mid-21st century mind, leaving it characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity". "It might be helpful to investigate whether the near total submersion of our culture in screen technologies over the last decade might in some way be linked to the threefold increase over this period in prescriptions for methylphenidate, the drug prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder." She stated also "a much more marked preference for the here-and-now, where the imm...

To ilustrate this mobile marketing feature that integrates print to online publishing, Goss International introduced the technology called RSVP. According to Brian Lawler, " the product is a two-dimensional bar code in a small graphic (about 1 cm. square) with a small logo included. The bar code is printed into an advertisement, and can be read by a scanner or (and this is the differentiating part) a cell phone camera. The idea promoted by Goss is that the RSVP code will become a well-known symbol for market bargains, sales and discounts. Once the code is captured, the cell phone can send the customer to a web page, or alternatively, the RSVP code initiates an event that sends a digital coupon back to the cell phone. It can b e low-sophistication, or high-sophistication". Brian continues explaining "the idea is that you could be reading your newspaper, and could photograph an advert featuring an RSVP code with your cell phone. The cell phone would then receive a digital ...

In adition to the usage of barcodes to link print copies to a mobile browser, the mobile marketing can also use other applications to complement and create value to the traditional print media. As it is mentioned in the Seybold Report (1) some "specialty" sites like Bebo Europe and Videojug, "the first a social networking site, the second an online video site", both gave the opportunity to newspapers to add value to their print editions and "attract users from their traditional constituency". Print media should incorporate in their electronic versions, ways to interact with users. Generation Y (ages between 14 and 32) are heavy users of socialnetworking and tools like online video, blogging, microblogging and spaces. With these "new ways of reaching the audiences" (2) some measuring indicators are important to be established, namely Interaction with users Engagement of users with the content,enabling them o visit frequently Amplification of conte...

Generally speaking there is a believe that most people does not use the Yellow Pages printed books and otherwise prefer to use some sort of electronic information search. However a marketing research conducted by LinkDirect (1) and mentioned by Peter Rand that "only one every 1.000 UK consumers has opted out of home delivery of printed directories" (2). Rand cited the "results of a delivery conducted in Gloucestershire in 2008, after an opt-out campaign undertaken in the area by an environmental group" (2) showed that only 0,24% has opted for not receiving the directory. The study also demonstrates that of these 0,24% opt outs, 18% were older people and 17% younger people, more or less the same percentage, which is against our previous ideas that only older people wants the printed books and youngers only use Internet. Middle age people with high income rates 14% of opting out for receiving the printed book, gives an indication that age is not really a diferentiator...