S
ignage. Posters. Advertising content. Some electronic, but much of it
printed. Imagine an event such as the World Cup without print. How
would spectators know where to go? How would they find the venues?
Find out the train times or navigate the road network? How would they
know the identities of the players on the pitch? It is easy to overlook the fact that
print is all around us a lot of the time, an intrinsic part of the way we all live and
do business, especially when you’re feeling under pressure and have bills to pay
and deadlines to meet!
But, you don’t have to take my word for it. According to the latest Insight Report
published at FESPA Africa last month, 92 percent of your customers think so too.
Independent research carried out by RS Consulting, sponsored by Canon, asked
many pertinent questions of the professional print buying customer base here in
South Africa during April 2014. This latest in a series of reports published since
DRUPA 2008, the research concentrates on the local South African market,
interviewing buyers across a range of company sizes and markets in
Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
The research
Some of the headline figures make for interesting reading:
• 92 percent of those interviewed viewed print as CRITICAL to their business
• More than 90 percent consider it to be as, or more, effective than digital media
• Over the last two years 87 percent had seen an increase in their use of
printed materials
• And 84 percent of them expected that pattern to continue over the next
two years
‘We swear by it, we live by it, we dream about it, we fight about it, sometimes
we curse about it – that is how critical print is.’ – Retail
What has changed?
If you’re involved in the printing industry, as I am at home in the UK, figures and
comments like this make reassuring reading. We are all concerned with falling
volumes and how to reverse the decline. I try to view it as a market change –
undoubtedly print is changing, and therefore, we as print suppliers need to
change too. I definitely see that volume, for example, is changing and moving –
ten years ago or more we were printing huge volumes for customers like
the credit card industry and cigarette manufacturers – changing laws and
changing markets have put paid to much of this. But in many cases the volume
is simply switching to other areas – I’ve seen a lot of growth in products such
as personalised insurance and pension statements, huge growth in retail
membership and loyalty schemes, and also an increase in marketing material
produced in order to drive people online.
When asked which products they will print more of in the survey, buyers see
themselves increasing their use of products such as signage and banners,
packaging and labels, shelf edge and POS materials, flyers and leaflets. They also
foresee no change in the amount of business and greetings cards, photos and
graphics, technical drawings, reports, presentations and proposals, brochures,
newsletters, catalogues and prospectuses they print. Where they do see a
decline is fairly predictable
–
letters, policies, invoices and statements, manuals
and guides. Almost always these have already moved, or will soon be switching
to digital delivery methods such as e-mail.
However, it is always important to remember that digital marketing techniques
are complementary to print, and not necessarily competitive. There are figures
available which illustrate how print, used in combination with other channels,
can increase response, as opposed to instances when a digital channel is used
in isolation.
The research also asked the buyers about their use of alternative channels:
• 98 percent have seen an increase in their use of social networking
• 81 percent have used websites more to reach out to customers, and that
figure is expected to rise again over the next two years
• 44 percent are using mobile marketing more – although this was almost
exclusively seen as SMS and not the use of mobile websites
The local situation
However, it was recognised and commented on numerous occasions, that the
unequal distribution of wealth and education, added to the limited penetration
of the internet in many areas here in South Africa, means that print is essential
for reaching a large percentage of the population. It was also felt that with the
increase in literacy in the population, the importance of print will rise.
‘We cannot be oblivious to the number of illiterate masses out there. Print is
going to play a major role in this regard – bearing in mind that a large percentage
of the population still does not have access to electronic media.’ – Marketing
and advertising
What it means
It was no real surprise then that 90 percent of the buyers interviewed expect
print to either remain as important to their organisation or become more
important over the next two years. Print is seen as critical for reaching the wider
population – it is a physical document that can be carried from place to place and
from person to person. While technological advances ensure that digital media
cannot be ignored by media buyers, the diverse population and low penetration
of sophisticated digital media means that professional print is, and will likely
remain, a key means of communication for businesses in South Africa.
‘Two years is like next week. I don’t foresee things, or that status quo, changing
from what it is today.’ – Business and finance
About Jo Lloyd.
Jo Lloyd is a UK printer working here in South Africa. An integral part of Canon’s
Essential Business Builder Program (EBBP) she spends a lot of her time travelling
throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa helping Canon’s customers get to
grips with new technology. She is, however, less interested in the process of
putting ink (or toner!) on paper
–
and more in the
way in which the print company should promote
this process to their customers. In these days of
cross media alternatives and shrinking budgets,
printers have to shout ever louder to be heard.
Her background as a print company owner and
Sales Director in the UK means she is ideally
placed to understand the challenges faced by
today’s printing companies – and to find ways
of overcoming said challenges.
Jo Lloyd
Printed on supplied by
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