In September this year, the IPIA announced its pivotal national print research and advocacy project with world-leading research agency, Madano, utilising groundbreaking digital data acquisition and analysis technology.
The IPIA has now finalised the white paper accompanying the research to explore why print remains an essential part of the marketing communications mix, its role alongside digital channels and the application of print across our thriving design, fashion and textile sectors.
Capturing the research results, gathered over a 12-month period covering over 12,000 data points, has provided an accurate, detailed picture of how the print industry is truly perceived by consumers and key print buying markets across a range of critical metrics: from effectiveness, trust and sustainability, through to the role of print within multi-channel marketing campaigns.
The white paper distils the key findings of the research – an important example being how trust in print as a communications and marketing medium is very high among consumers and results in high-engagement rates and positive sentiment towards the medium.
Examining user-generated social media content alongside news, forums, blogs and a range of digital media, the unique picture formed from the research has equipped the IPIA and its partners with clear points of knowledge that tell the story of print’s efficacy, how the industry can approach sustainability, together with the beneficial impact on culture, society and the arts.
Part of a long-term transformative project for the industry, the aim of the initiative is to permanently shift the perception of print across an end-user and consumer audience. The IPIA is working in partnership with its members Citipost Mail, Imprint MIS, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, Epson and The Printing Charity to drive this important project forward.
Exploring the perception and trust in print, the detailed research revealed dominant narratives surrounding print, which included cost and complexity balanced with an understanding of how printed elements in the campaign mix could be effective. Taking the strategic use of direct mail to generate higher response rates – when compared to digital only campaigns – as an example, the white paper discusses the role of print to stimulate engagement and trigger action across target audiences.
Print Made This
By digging deep into the conversations outside the immediate print industry, the white paper challenges the increasing absence of print in the marketing and communications decision-making process of potential print-buying markets. To address this finding, the IPIA is also launching a social media campaign, pointing to the role of print in our lives and its role to embed messages in memory, establish long-term connection and enable consumer engagement.
Print has an intrinsic role to play in communication - but the research has shown the IPIA that there is a lack of recognition among consumers about the role print plays in their everyday lives and that it needs to be ‘rediscovered’ and celebrated. The expression 'Print Made This' harnesses simple, timeless human truths to get to the emotion, relevance and action that print inspires.
The 'Print Made This' campaign is a further step in strengthening the positive perception of our sector – it is designed to stimulate the conversation the print industry needs to have with print buying markets and consumers. Aimed at highlighting the often ‘hidden’ role of print in everyday communication, the campaign's first move is to change the way we speak about print and get to the ‘why’ print matters; clearly and succinctly.
Harnessing potential
Armed with greater comprehension about how end-user audiences feel about print, the white paper addresses head on the areas where the industry can step up and employ a new direction to serve those sectors, which can discover the immense potential and possibilities of print as a marketing and communications medium.
The paper also addresses a range of areas impacting and affecting outcomes in the industry, supported by the IPIA’s research:
- The role of buyer perception and consumer trust
- How the industry resonates across other sectors
- Challenging the perceptions of print and profitability
- Where opportunities for market growth can be found
- Addressing sustainability myths
- How the IPIA are going to influence perceptions of print
The next strategic step for the IPIA is to engage with the range of stakeholders identified, who are directly generating and influencing conversations and content in their respective sectors.
Fifty individuals have been identified across marketing, advertising, design, fashion, textiles and photography. With an objective to engage and build relationships, the IPIA’s aim is to drive new conversations about the place, purpose and role of print across these important sectors. Driving a change in print perception, especially for an established medium, is a long-term plan for the future of the industry and its commercial growth.
Print Champions
The project’s partners provided their views on the strategy of A New Narrative for Print to strengthen the industry for the long-term:
Lesley Yeomans, Deputy Managing Director at Citipost Mail, explained the importance of what the industry knows and the perception in the marketplace: “Citipost are excited to be part of creating a new narrative for print, and how we might be able to engage with those individuals the research has identified to effect change in the understanding of print.
“Data is key – what drives better performance for our clients and better experience for the consumers themselves is when they're marketed products and services that they want to receive and things that would be suitable to them at that stage in their life cycle as an example.
“The perception of printed matter makes it difficult to get everybody else on board; other consumers, other professionals – to understand how print can benefit their business. Driving a communications and engagement strategy that resets the narrative around print in the UK is why we are involved. We're partnering with the IPIA because we're passionate about driving change, so that more consumers and more customers can benefit in the same way that our current customers do from the power of print. With this research data and the influencers identified we can make positive steps to shift the narrative.”
Phil McMullin, Head of Sales (Commercial and Industrial) at Epson UK, stressed the importance of shaking up the view of print: “Print is an innovative and sustainable business with a great future; important to the UK manufacturing industry both in terms of profit and the number of people employed. It's clear to us at Epson that the future of the print industry relies on us being able to attract young people into the industry.
“We need to get the message about print across through education – getting the right information cascaded down to the right people, who make the decisions. If we can change how end-users perceive print as creative, innovative and sustainable, that’s going to be a good thing for everybody.”
Tim Carter, Commercial Print Director at Ricoh, stressed the journey it is on with its customers: “It’s about acting in true partnership and collaboration and showing where print can create a positive impact. We are really proud to be part of this exciting project and it’s forming part of our commitment and focus. We believe print delivers a different, emotive outcome; it makes things happen, it enables decisions to be made. Print still remains unique in terms of its resilience, its permanence and trust.
“Personally, having spent most of my career in print, I am passionate about the future of the industry, and I want us to work harder at making print appealing to every generation, so they understand the value of print: rewarding, tactile, with the ability to stimulate the senses like no other method of communication. It's for those reasons Ricoh continues to advocate, innovate and invest in print as we believe it will remain an important part of the communication mix in the future.”
Malcolm Smith, Category Manager for Professional Print at Konica Minolta, noted how important co-operative working in the industry has been: “We are working with our industry partners to push the message on print that something does change when print happens; we can support the industry long-term by working with the IPIA and partners to change opinions. Working with the IPIA to change minds out there will make more customer availability; expands print as a market and that's why Konica Minolta are very committed to this project.
“The research shows print is very high value, but we can also see the negative perceptions around sustainability; we can start addressing this with more understanding. The next stage is to work with sector influencers to change opinions, however subtly, that boosts the print market, will help us as a company and helps us all as an industry.”
Pete Horwood, Commercial Director at Imprint MIS, discussed the echo-chamber the industry has found itself in: “The data produced by Madano (research agency) showed the narrative inside the industry and the wider perception of print as a whole. For a company like ours, we were quick to realise these tools would show our communities strengths and how it would benefit all our customers across different print areas.
“We realised a lot of public perception about print is outdated and, in some cases, print is irrelevant. Our industry can produce results, an excellent piece of packaging, or interesting graphics you walk past every day – that is print. People trust printed material, they feel a personal connection. We want to arm our customers with a strategy for how they can put their message out there, if our customers are succeeding, we’re succeeding.”
Neil Lovell, Chief Executive at The Printing Charity, told us why it was so important to be involved in this project: “For a long time, our sectors have talked about needing to understand more around print’s perception in the wider marketplace, both from consumers and from people who are buying products, and how best to promote the sector as a result, including how to position print to young people as a career space to grow.
“This research has put work into understanding that perception, and looked at some of the gaps, whether that’s in demonstrating the effectiveness of the medium for brands or organisations that ought to be using print more broadly, or for younger people choosing the industry as a career opportunity.
“At the Printing Charity, we want a thriving sector as that means good places for people to work; it means print has a future. And the charity will be here to support the people working in that future sector. The intent of this research clearly aligns with the Printing Charity’s aims, and it has been a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to get involved.”
Alasdair Browne, IPIA Vice Chair and Chair of its research subcommittee, is focussed on the need to build the print industry for the long-term. The instigator of the project, Browne concludes: “By obtaining an accurate picture of how the print industry and its products are perceived – and by identifying the most influential individuals and organisations driving these perceptions – the IPIA and its partners can develop a long-term strategy to strengthen the print market in the UK.”
