Spectra Integration (Columbia, SC) is a full-service incentives, marketing, print, and fulfillment company that is focused on integrating strategies and technologies to help its clients grow their businesses. The company’s mantra is Outsource to the OneSource. Spectra Integration provides clients with a comprehensive offering of integrated services, including the ability to tailor campaigns, increase response rates, and provide a true 1:1 experience.

President Walter Kohn notes, “I’ve been in the printing industry for more than thirty years. Initially, I was part of a family-held traditional printing company with 40″ offset presses. I realized that the market was changing and that I wanted to be part of an organization that was focused and nimble. Spectra Integration became that company.”

Spectra, which offers an array of digital printing equipment, produces full variable data content in monochrome as well as color. The Océ VarioPrint® 6000 has proven to be a real “workhorse” for digital monochrome applications. According to Kohn, “We have naturally evolved our business. We started out doing short run digital print applications. Our next major initiative was web portals for online print ordering.”

Spectra Integration has created a unique, secure, online e-business for clients and their authorized users to process pricing requests, order print, transfer files, review status updates, and more via web-to-print portals created with PTI’s FusionPro. “These capabilities are available 24/7 through standard Internet browsers. It makes the entire print buying process easier, reduces response time, and accelerates production,” Kohn explains.

Spectra Integration combines its web-based tool set with its fulfillment programs to provide clients with a highly efficient and cost-effective method to design, manufacture, store, manage, and distribute all of their marketing kit materials on demand.

The company’s web-oriented fulfillment capabilities ultimately led it into the loyalty incentive business. Kohn notes that the move into this market began with an existing client. He recalls, “We responded to an Ariba bid process for the printing and fulfillment work of a large automotive distributor. We won the deal and began printing and fulfilling the auto distributor’s marketing materials, point-of-purchase communications, and signage. When this client told us that they were unhappy with their existing rewards and incentives program for their dealer network, we saw a new opportunity and took action.”

Spectra has since formed Spectra Incentives, LLC. It has become a one-stop shop for creation, online management, and marketing of incentive and reward programs for dealer and distributor networks. While a key element of all these programs is print and fulfillment, Spectra Incentives also created a network of partners to provide IT infrastructure, as well as a rewards program that features over 15 million products in its online catalog. These include dealer incentives for everything from trips to Tahiti to television sets.

Kohn is passionate about his business. He concludes, “It has been a journey and an evolution. Five years ago, 95% of our business was print-related and 5% was fulfillment. We have totally transformed the company since that time, and our revenue distribution is now 50% print, 25% mailing and fulfillment, and 25% incentives and loyalty programs. We have clearly become a marketing services provider.”

You can read more customer highlight stories by downloading the monthly WOW at Work newsletters here!

I recently had the opportunity to listen in on a discussion about printing QR and other 2d codes on mugs and cups. It was fascinating to hear about the technological challenges (and solutions) and to be a fly on the wall regarding some of the opportunities that presents.

Let the fly share a little of what she heard.

The question was posed: “Does the curvature of the mug present a problem for imaging?” As with everything, the answer is, “It depends.”

• Smaller codes work better since there is less distortion at the edges. One rule of thumb is to ensure that the code doesn’t take up more than one-third of the visual space (on a coffee mug maybe 1″ square). If you make a 3″ square on a 3.5″ diameter mug, you will have trouble.
• If you want to print the code larger, you can use software that elongates the codes at the edges. This allows the imaging device to see the code as “normal.”
• Use a URL shortener to make the code simpler and easier to recognize by the scanner.
• Higher end cameras have technology that automatically compensates for curvature, but don’t count on all (or even most) viewers having them.

Make sure you do a lot of testing. Don’t just test different readers and different phones. Test different sizes of codes, as well. You might find that changing the size of the code just a little bit reduces the distortion enough to make it readable by a much wider range of phones. To do this, you can use an inexpensive solution like razzle.com, or you could just print the 2d codes and tape them to a cup.

Keep in mind that, if you are producing coffee cups (as opposed to paper cups), you may run into trouble with the glaze. High gloss can interfere with the scanning, so if glare is created off the shinny surface of the cup, it may not scan correctly. Environment will play into it here, so do your testing under different environmental conditions, too.

Pepsi and Coke are both putting QR codes on their cups. Give you any ideas?

See Coca-Cola’s polar bear cups.

See Pepsi’s promotional cups.

I have also just updated “QR and Other 2D Barcodes: The Data Speaks” (again), so for those looking for data on the adoption and use of QR and other 2D codes, you can get more information on the report here. Or if you are looking for  a more in-depth report on applications, best practices, and case studies, you can find it here.

The other day, as I was renting the latest blockbuster hit from the bright red video kiosk beside my pharmacy, my wife called from her vehicle to me about how she wished there was a candy machine beside the video rental device. I related to her that this is the basis of transpromotional marketing! She was unimpressed. This instance got me thinking, “why don’t more businesses take advantage of the captive audience at their hands?”

For example, with data and research, a snack and soda machine attached to this video rental station could use my selection to provide pertinent recommendations based on my film choice. If I rented “The Fast and the Furious,” the machine may suggest an energy drink and some pork rinds; for “The Artist” it might recommend truffles and Perrier; “Toy Story 3″ would come packaged with a case of juice boxes and some Skittles. You get the idea.

The point I am getting to is with the consumer data that companies already have at their fingertips, very sophisticated cross-promotional opportunities exist. Utility companies can analyze usage and print energy saving tips or a coupon for fluorescent light bulbs directly on the side-panel of a monthly statement. A bank might be able to advertise upcoming offerings for overdraft protection based on customers that have bounced a check, or a referral program routed through social media (and gather more data in the meantime). Every industry that sends printed statements or business mailings has the opportunity to maximize every inch of their mailing with modern print technology and a provider than can handle the data.

Perhaps we are not too far away from days where my copy of “Animal House” comes complete with a six-pack and a bag of marshmallows (if you’ve seen the movie, you get the reference), but until then, businesses take note! The technology is available, the data is there, the audience is already identified, so take advantage of it!

This post was provided by Matt Haskell who writes for the SourceLink blog. Check it out!

The last drupa international print fair and the upcoming one have both been characterized as the “inkjet drupa.” This seems appropriate especially given how inkjet technology has steadily advanced and become buzz-worthy in recent years. This year, high-speed inkjet manufacturers will be out in full force to display their newest and greatest inkjet solutions at drupa 2012.

Pat Henry of WhatTheyThink recently spoke with Roland Stasiczek, Director of Marketing, Continuous Feed Printers, Océ Printing Systems to discuss the Océ briefing presented in Munich. Roland also previews what to expect from Océ at drupa 2012 including the newest addition of the ColorStream 3700 inkjet press.

Sticking with the inkjet trend, Océ predicts that digital printing will account for %14 of global printing revenues by 2014. Roland sites three main factors driving this growth including:

1. Increasing media fragmentation.
2. Information supply and demand which drives on-demand printing.
3. Increase of personalized and targeted communications.

For more detail, check out the interview video.

With the growing trend of printer’s desire to have “one-stop-shop” printing systems, one wonders if we will also see an increase in finishing solutions and options at this year’s drupa. It seems logical given the shift to providing complete and customizable end-to-end solutions. Printers are looking for finishing systems that will fit seamlessly into their digital technology production lines that will further automate the printing process.

So what will we see at drupa 2012??? Stay tuned for a post-conference recap webinar coming in June 2012!

The Encyclopedia Britannica made headlines earlier this week when it announced that it was “stopping the presses” and ceasing publication of its print edition after a strong 244-year run. From a business standpoint, one can understand why this inevitably needed to happen: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. has sold just 8,000 sets of its latest 32-volume, $1,395 print edition released in 2010, with another 4,000 sitting in a warehouse waiting to be ordered. When the last set is shipped, that will be that. Sales of Britannica’s print edition peaked around 1990 at 120,000 sets, with significant decreases in volume through the 1990′s and into the 2000′s. For the company itself, the print edition represented only a small portion of revenue, with the majority derived from selling curriculum products to schools, as well as online subscriptions and other digital versions of its content.

In my view, this move is not revolutionary, but it is certainly evolutionary. It serves as a reflection point on multiple fronts, including the transformation occurring in the publishing industry and in education; it also highlights the true impact that the Internet and digital media continue to have in the way we learn, work, and play.

Is the sunsetting of Encyclopedia Britannica’s printed set just another death knell for the demise of the printed book or other printed publications? No… BUT… it does serve as a reminder that it is imperative for publishers to have a digital media strategy. Luckily for Encyclopedia Britannica, the company has been working to publish its vast repository of the world’s facts and figures to digital channels since the 1980′s. It released the first CD-ROM (remember those?) of Britannica in 1989. It put its collection online in 1994, which was seven years before Jimmy Wales launched Wikipedia in 2001.

Encyclopedia Britannica was actually ahead of its time in its digital publishing efforts, and ensured that it built up a strong digital business before deciding to end its print edition. The company reports having 500,000 subscribers to its $69.95/year premium Britannica Online service, which users can access via the Web and also through its iPad application. Think about that: what was once a 129-pound set of books now fits on a device of just over 1 pound… and it’s searchable, browsable, interactive, and constantly updated.

Some are of the opinion that more searchable and hyperlinked content, while efficient, takes away some of the serendipitous nature of perusing through a printed encyclopedia or other printed publications. Apparently those people have never gone on a Wikipedia bender, letting the hours melt away while clicking through dozens (or hundreds) of interconnected articles. Of course, there is definitely something about looking through a tome like Encyclopedia Britannica that is hard to replicate in the digital world, but the reality is that in today’s world, efficiency is paramount. Furthermore, I believe that information is power, and limiting that type of high-quality, trusted reference information to the confines of a fixed-length format is, in the end, inhibitive.

Another thing this news made me really reflect on is the impact of technology on education. While print is going to continue to play an important role in education well into the future, digital media can be used in conjunction or even on its own to more effectively help students learn new concepts and expand their knowledge. A lighthouse example of how digital media can be used as an effective teaching tool is Khan Academy, whose mission is “to provide a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.” Now that is revolutionary.

Through short, instructive video lessons often taught by the site’s founder, Sal Khan, students can work their way from the basics of a particular subject all the way through to the most complex applications. While the information is freely available online, the not-for-profit is piloting programs in 23 schools with its math curriculum, where the video lessons are their primary instructor and teachers are used in more of a support role. Students’ progress is tied back to analytics that help pinpoint where they are having problems and in what subject. Sal Khan and his team may have cracked the code for how to effectively use the Web and digital media to enhance learning.

In the 60 Minutes piece on Khan Academy from this past weekend, Sal Khan was asked how he approaches learning about a topic he is going to create a video for. His answer? Textbooks. “If I’m doing something that I haven’t visited for a long time, you know, since high school I’ll go buy five textbooks in it. And I’ll try to read every textbook,” says Khan. He, of course, also uses the Internet. Clearly there is still value in trustworthy, authoritative reference information, and print is a symbol of that trust. Digital media, however, is becoming just as trustworthy, and its use along with other technology can help optimize the learning experience like never before.

What do you think? Are you lamenting the loss of Encyclopedia Britannica’s print edition or is it inconsequential?

Over the next few weeks, I’d like to share articles in a series that is  focused on one major theme: How companies in the printing industry can use inbound marketing to grow their business. Here is Part 1!

Every business dreams of those “easy” sales. The sales where customers virtually fall into your lap. Don’t we all want to find that customer who nods at everything we say, knowing that we are the experts and the best solution to their needs? The reality is you likely work hard for every customer you get to that point of the sale. But what if that hard work really involved laying the ground work so that over time, those customers really do fall into your lap?

With inbound marketing, you can lay that groundwork to establish your business as a resource, as a wealth of information and the right solution to your target market’s needs. And while it takes some work, it does not require the outlay of cash that many other marketing strategies take, such as massive ad campaigns.

In traditional marketing, you send your message out to the masses. And hopefully, it gets to your target market and that target market responds. With inbound marketing, you are still sending a message out, but it’s less intrusive and much more authentic. Think about it: when you go to a party, do you want to seek out all the cool kids and chat them up, hoping they will like you? Or would you like to be the cool kid and have everyone come to you?

Attracting Leads to Your Business

By providing relevant and interesting content, you become the cool kid. Your target market wants to get to know you. They want to read your articles. They want to download your audio tips. They want to watch your video clips. As you develop your content and make it accessible in various formats, you get your name and expertise in front of your target market in various ways.

Or course, you do have to make sure your content is optimized for the search engines. You want your informational pieces to be found via free searches. This doesn’t mean you stuff your content with fluff and keywords over and over again. In fact, doing so will turn a potential customer off. You have to find the right balance between using those keywords while providing relevant and readable information.

How Social Media Fits In

Inbound marketing also embraces the use of social media to get noticed. You should be sharing your information across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so on. Your target market isn’t going to be hanging out in one place. They’re laughing at the latest tweet. Checking out the most recent status update. Sharing that video clip. By establishing your business identity via several social media platforms, you get the chance to seize the interest of many more potential customers, and continue to establish your business as a resource. Another benefit is the ability to interact with those in your target market on a more personal level. Social media invites dialogue and interaction. By being responsive as well as proactive with your information dissemination, you are becoming the friendly resource that your target market wants to work with.

Inbound marketing isn’t for the lazy business. It takes time. It takes knowledge. It takes dedication. You need to provide good, quality content. You need to be search engine friendly and keyword wise. And you need to establish your business identity across multiple social media platforms. But in the long run, inbound marketing can take your business sales to a whole other level.

Do you know which stock is the top performer of the past 25 years? Guess again. (You said Apple, didn’t you?) After you’ve exhausted your list of high-tech guesses, I will point you in the opposite direction. Think nuts and bolts. Fastenal, a hardware supplier founded in 1967, is up a staggering 38,565 percent since the market crash of 1987. Lagging far behind at 9,906% and 5,542% respectively, are Microsoft and Apple.

So why, in The Digital Nirvana, am I talking about a hardware company? Like the printing companies and mailers of all sizes striving to become “marketing services providers”, Fastenal’s products are not in the least bit exciting, but are necessary, just as printing and mailing are still important components of marketing communications strategies. Unlike many of those printers and mailers, Fastenal, with its low-tech products, is consistently growing revenue and is consistently, respectably, profitable – the stock market does not respond with such enthusiasm to “just okay” companies.

For printers and mailers challenged to transition to being marketing services providers, presumably requiring less big hardware, (and square footage), and more robust software technology and new skills, here is a very successful company to examine and compare to.

If you are unfamiliar with Fastenal, as I was, much of what we believe we know about successful businesses today would compel us to make some assumptions. Surely it is internet-based with strategically placed warehouses and sophisticated inventory and distribution management software and systems, right? The reality is the opposite, at least the “internet-based” part; we’re talking serious brick and mortar – stores in all 50 states and internationally, and several manufacturing sites around the country. The company focuses on the customer, and being close to them. Its innovations, quality, and process improvement efforts are customer-centric. It has enjoyed consistent revenue and profit growth and is as efficient as it’s ever been. The robust continuous improvement culture even includes providing process mapping and process improvement support to customers, as well as being a key part of internal operations.

So, do printers and mailers have to completely abandon their roots in favor of new marketing communication channels in order to be relevant in this age of declining paper-based communications? It would seem not – nuts and bolts are not sexy. But this example would suggest that there must be a continuous commitment to understanding what the customer needs, a vision of solutions to meet those needs, investment in appropriate technology, and a structured ongoing process improvement effort to achieve the necessary efficiencies to be cost competitive and profitable over the long haul.

There are certainly no big surprises here, but it’s good to be reminded that there is no silver bullet, and a successful company is the sum of many parts. Being a process person myself, I was very happy to see how important and integral process improvement appears to be for this company. Process improvement drives efficiency, eliminates waste, streamlines operations, and supports effective integration of new systems and technology, resulting in lower costs. It can be an integral component of greater success for the companies that embrace and commit to it.

The CMO Council reports that marketers want an agency partner who can “do it all” — mobile, social, multi-channel, web, search, CRM. Ouch!

Is this demand reasonable? It may not matter, since 58 percent of marketers say they aren’t happy — and disgruntled marketers lead to shaky vendor relationships. It happened suddenly last summer when quite a few big guys switched agencies. United Airlines.  Monsanto.  S.C. Johnson. Sprint.

Industry observers are taking note of the shake-ups. Some say the shift is away from traditional “advertising” to a marketing platform that emphasizes talking with — not at — customers . . . like Facebook, for example.

On Leap Day 2012, Facebook evolved from an advertising to a marketing platform. Central to the switch was Facebook’s determination to ramp up engagement with current fans and back-off the push for new fans. Facebook is betting that a deeper focus on “storytelling” can turn content into a word-of-mouth recommendation. They call this switch to storytelling a “sponsored story.”

Marketing Prof’s February 29 “Marketing Smarts” podcast featuring Mike Levy explains the essential component of this storytelling. Levy says “thought leadership” naturally emerges from the unique experiences, insights, and abilities that set one company apart from another. ”The stuff that fascinates you and that you found helpful and the stuff that helps you live your life…there is a population out there that will find the same things fascinating and the same things helpful.”

A personal story brought this concept home to me: ifixit.com.

Because I work on a Mac, I discovered this company years ago and fell in love with their dedication to helping me “fix it myself.” They posted videos and detailed instructions on how to get inside the Mac to add memory and do other self-maintenance. Ifixit paved this road to repair because the founder believed in it profoundly. A few years ago, they took the concept even bigger, stretching their beliefs to self-repair of anything and everything. Not only is ifixit’s philosophy eco-friendly, it’s empowering to those of us who are frustrated that simple repairs evoke migraine headaches. I really love ifixit and the people who founded and run it. That’s how they’ve built their business: by being who they are and letting the marketplace “find them” … in short, by exercising “thought leadership.”

Erika Napoletano  agrees. “Popular is the last thing smart business people should want to be … By pursuing an unpopular path, you are actually narrowing down and refining your notion of the audience with whom you truly want to be popular after all.”

Reflection, authenticity, storytelling, outreach: Shaken by the poisonous atmosphere of political advertising, will 2012 move our marketing toward thought leadership? I believe it will.

I recently ran across a company that produces personalized newsletters for healthcare providers. The solution, called PENS, marries patient data from hospitals and other care providers with targeted content. Based on the services and treatment in the patient’s health history, the healthcare provider can send out targeted newsletters that are relevant to each individual recipient’s health history.  Pretty neat!

The results are impressive.

For example, in a reader survey conducted for ProHealth Care, a two-hospital system in Waukesha, WI, 73% of recipients said they read the newsletters cover to cover and 95% became aware of services that they didn’t realize the healthcare provider had.

It’s no wonder that, at Aspirus (Wausau, WI), among current patients, newsletter recipients were 500% more likely to continue to use the healthcare systems’ services than those who did not receive the newsletter. Among prospects, PENS newsletter recipients were 300% more likely to ultimately use the healthcare provider’s services than those who were not.

Those are some powerful numbers!

Because the PENS solution automatically tracks the relationship between which articles the recipient receives and utilization of services, PENS customer can calculate detailed ROI.

At Prohealth Care, articles on incontinence received only 50:1 ROI. But those on cardiac screening received 226:1 and 444:1 ROI, respectively, depending on the year.

Not every marketer can create newsletters to this level of detail, of course, but the point is that relevance really works. There is another point, too. You’ll only know that if you track it!

It’s true! The Digital Nirvana now has it’s very own Twitter account! Follow us at TDN_Blog and stay up to date on the latest and greatest posts. You may even find occasional links to informative webinars and industry-related white papers.

This week’s fold comes from SPC, Specialty Print Communications in Niles, IL. This Mystifying High Speed Inline Pop-up Mailer is a self-mailing piece printed on 100 lb. sterling matte text. Amazingly, these mailers were finished 100% inline from end to end. This is a great example of an exiting mailer than can be printed in high quantities and can apply to a variety of clients and marketing campaigns. Watch the video for more!

The high volume of catalogs I receive has always irritated me, but after doing a series of interviews with printers who have installed the new generation of high-speed inkjet presses (those capable of producing commercial quality color), they irritate me even more. It’s time to stop sending bulk catalogs — period.

I’m one of those people who only shops in catalogs once per year. I shop catalogs at Christmas when I’m looking for something different for family or friends. I sit down at the end of November and early December, place my orders, and then throw away every catalog I receive from that point on until the following November.

I am very consistent. I do it every year.

I’m also consistent in something else. I don’t buy luggage from catalogs. I don’t buy men’s shoes. I don’t buy tools. But I do buy jewelry, children’s educational toys, and electronic gadgets. Why are these companies wasting paper sending me information on hundreds of items I have never bought through catalogs and never will?

If it’s because it’s been most cost-effective to send undifferentiated catalogs than to print targeted ones, those days are over. It’s time to improve ROI through more effective use of their lists and stop hogging up the landfills while they are at it.

Maybe it wasn’t cost-effective to create slimmer, targeted catalogs even a few years ago, or perhaps the quality wasn’t there, but it is today. It’s time somebody told them so.

As someone that primarily works with companies in the print, mail, and fulfillment industries, I spend a lot of time at trade shows and conferences that target those groups. Those events provide me with opportunities to network with customers and prospects, but they also help me to stay informed of trends that effect companies in those industries.

However, when it comes to growth, I truly think that it’s very important for all of us to take the time to attend and participate in events that may be outside our normal comfort range. Doing this can open our minds to new ideas and provide inspiration for business growth.

In that vein, I recently sent a couple of our employees to attend the Online Marketing Summit.

I asked them to come back with a few points that could help folks in the print, mail, and fulfillment industries. Whether it was trends that they thought were important, or sales ideas for selling marketing solutions, I asked them to keep their ears and eyes open. Here is what they found:

Marketers Are Starting To Become Overwhelmed With Data

Yes, it is a multi-channel world. As new channels have emerged, many marketers have dove right in!

This might include social media. Personalized URLs. QR Codes. Web Registration forms. Mobile websites. Email. And more…

However, this has put some marketers in a situation where they now have their data in multiple silos. They have varying records for their customers and prospects in multiple systems and databases that have conflicting data. They are losing time and sales opportunities as they struggle trying to analyze, merge, and streamline the data that’s available to them.

At the conference, many presenters pointed to the fact that marketers need to find ways to take an “integrated marketing” approach to their efforts.

I believe that this presents a tremendous opportunity to service providers. In many cases, printers and mailers have years of experience working with a customer’s data. Also, technology has made it possible for service providers to offer solutions that touch multiple channels in just one solution.

Because of that, I think that service providers can develop new business by demonstrating how they can help to solve their customer’s challenges in regards to silos, multiple databases, and a lack of integration.

Mobile is Red-Hot

There is no doubt that mobile is one of the hottest items in the world of marketing today.

Marketers know that they need to use that channel to communicate with their target audience, but it was quite clear at the Online Marketing Summit that many of them are unsure of how to do that.

Thus, I believe that the opportunity to present integrated solutions that incorporate mobile is a great one for service providers. This may include projects that integrate print and mobile with QR Codes. It could mean mobile website creation and hosting. It also could even mean tasks such as setting up SMS/Text-message alerts for a client.

Mobile is hot, and it is moving fast. Because of that, there is money to be made!

Relevance and ROI Still Make Them Happy

Yes, many of the attendees at the Online Marketing Summit became quite excited when they talked about “new” things. This included the latest social networks — Google+ and Pinterest, anyone? —, smartphones and tablets, and terms such as content marketing.

But in the end, they all recognize one thing — in order to truly be a successful marketer, they need to develop and deliver relevant messaging, and they need to provide and prove that their efforts are producing a good Return on Investment.

Those two marketing fundamentals will never get old and they will never go out of style.

So, if you are a service provider that is looking to sell marketing solutions to your clients, do not shy away from what you can do for them to reach those two goals!

The solution that you provide might include traditional channels that are not as sexy as what’s new. But if it can help a marketer to achieve their overall business objectives, then you are in a great position to help them succeed.

Two years later – have you gotten up to speed?

Almost two years ago American Printer published an article titled “Get up to Speed”, written by Kenneth Rizzo at PIA.  This article contained some information that really challenged the status quo within our industry.  What have we learned over the last two years, and where are we today?  I’d like to share some thoughts upon re-reading the article.

Technology and productive innovation have continued to accelerate and are often still perceived or presented as the solution. Operations are still too often treated as process siloes, with metrics based on faulty assumptions or poor data collection and analysis.   In some cases, there are no actionable metrics at all.   The most knowledgeable staff members have dwindled with attempts at cost reduction through downsizing or attrition, and the ones remaining are fighting more fires than ever.  The staff is still often the focus for problem resolution “we’ve gotten more aggressive on writing people up”, is a phrase we heard recently from a manager at the end of his rope.

Mr. Rizzo puts forth several valuable recommendations on skills that printing management must learn to employ to optimize their business performance, which can be found in the article.  My take away from these is that as members of the print industry, we need to optimize the whole process and all the steps involved, from content creation to format to production through delivery in order to have the most efficient and effective offering, versus optimizing the around and for the most expensive technology or an individual function or activity.  The key principles of Business Process Improvement provide a way for each enterprise to analyze, prioritize, and implement process and organizational change, to “Get up to Speed” and be competitive within the industry delivering customer-focused solutions.  When you read this article, what are your thoughts about what has happened in the last two years, your own company’s progress, and where do you need help?  The following link will take you to the original article.

Richard J Losch
Partner, R3D2 Consulting LLC

For the past few years, many companies have attempted to find opportunities for the print publishing of social online content. Content-rich social networks like Twitter and Facebook have Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that enable third-parties to, with user approval through social sign-in, flow information and graphics from your account to their service. As more consumers centralize their photos around a handful of online services, particularly in the social media realm, it becomes increasingly important for photo publishers to offer integration with these sites. How much does social matter? According to an InfoTrends study from 2010, close to 60% of consumers that upload photos to the Internet reported using Facebook most often to accomplish this task (up from just 30% in 2009, and continuing on a growth trajectory).

While networks like Facebook are critically important due to their sheer size of user base (i.e., potential opportunity), niche social networks that revolve around photo sharing are making a big splash. Specifically, photo sharing network Instagram has garnered a lot of attention recently. If you’re not familiar with Instagram, it is an iOS app that lets users take photos, apply different filters to those photos, and share them with other Instagram friends or with other networks like Facebook and Twitter. Social sign-on is tenet of Instagram’s popularity: users connect their existing social network accounts to Instagram to find friends, share photos, and build a following.

Instagram has experienced incredible growth over the past year-plus. At the end of 2010, the network had around 100,000 users; at the end of 2012, it surpassed 15 million users… not bad for a start-up with 10 employees. Social integration, filter types, and the quality of iOS cameras (ranging from 5 megapixels to 8 megapixels, depending on the version) are all success factors for Instagram. That quality level is also important for photo publishers looking to tap into the Instagram opportunity.

Around this time last year, Instagram launched an API for developers looking for new and interesting ways to tap into the photo sharing network’s content. One result of this launch was the proliferation of a number of tools and services that enable Instagram users to print their photos in a variety of different formats. All users have to do to use most of these services is login with their Instagram account (again, the power of social sign-on); depending on service, different methods will be provided for selecting and printing your photos. A number of existing services include:

• Postagram: This service, which is available through iOS and Android mobile apps, lets users send personalized print postcards with a photo of their choice to friends and family. While there are many similar services available (including Apple’s own “Cards” app), what’s unique is that the photo area is die-cut, enabling photos to be popped out of the postcard and posted elsewhere. While Postagram takes its namesake from Instagram, the app also lets users send postcards including their Facebook photos, as well as photos residing on their mobile device.
• Blurb: As many of you may know, Blurb is a prominent photo publisher, primarily with its photo book offerings. To complement its existing services, Blurb launched its Instagram integration in July last year, providing templates that easily let people turn their Instagram albums into long-lasting physical keepsakes.
• CanvasPop: CanvasPop specializes in providing online services for canvas printing, and its Instagram integration was activated just before Christmas last year, enabling people to order 12″ x 12″ or 20″ x 20″ canvas prints of their Instagram photos.
• Stickygram: A project birthed from digital ad agency MintDigital, Stickygram provides an interface for people to order a pack of 9 magnets that include different Instagram photos on it for just $14.99, and also lets users buy them as gifts for people. This company markets its product particularly well, with lots of different promotions and a strong social media presence.
• Other Instagram-inspired printing services include Instagoodies (1″ stickers), Instamaker (photo merchandise), Printstagr.am (various photo products), and Casetagram (iPhone cases).

It is important to note that integrating with the API is just the first step; in other words, if you build it, they will not necessarily come. The aforementioned companies all do a fair amount of marketing, especially on social networks and through daily deal sites like Groupon. Additionally, these sites are dealing with user-generated content, and even though most people use Instagram to take and share their own photos, they can also post third-party, non-original content, which could run afoul of copyright laws. These types of factors need to be considered before embarking on your quest to capture print volume from Instagram.

Clearly, there is a lot of interest and potential opportunity by leveraging Instagram (and other online social content) to drive photo publishing services. That opportunity will likely increase dramatically, as Instagram plans to release an Android version of its app at some point this year (date still TBA); this move will bring millions more users to the photo sharing network, especially considering Android’s market share dominance in the smartphone space.

The ultimate point is that today, Internet start-ups can gain user traction extremely rapidly (just look at Pinterest… that topic is for another blog, though). Additionally, to promote growth, these services inevitably offer sharing and integration capabilities, providing opportunities for third-parties to utilize content in new and interesting ways. Building useful services around these new platforms, especially around photo publishing and on-demand printing, can open the door to new customers and more volume.