MORE THAN JUST DOTS… THE FINISH LINE EMPOWERING MARKETING SERVICE PROVIDERS
OCTOBER 2019
Why thinking differently is better than trying to be different
BEYOND THE BUZZ
SMART CHANGE STARTS HERE.
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OCTOBER VOLUME 13 • ISSUE 5
26 CANVAS P1
Inside this issue
BOILERPLATE
34
ALSO INSIDE
30
MORE THAN JUST DOTS... How Fort Orange Press is helping expand the print game
04
Publisher’s Note
Decide
STAT PACK
06
Beyond the buzz How to create authentic thought leadership
IGNITE BRILLIANCE
12
5 quick tips for managing the next generation
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
14
Industry news & awards
STRATEGY CORNER OFFICE
08 10 P2
Live in the leading Four strategies to help you manage self-doubt
CANVAS OCTOBER 2019
38
16
A peek behind the curtain...
SOCIALLY SPEAKING
18
myths that hold 4 print salespeople back — and what to do about them
CANVAS Buyer’s Guide
20 21 22 23
Conduit Inc. Custom Content Spotlight A new breed of fast Speed merchant LeadingPRINT Spotlight
CREATIVE CORNER
24
regg Bauer, G CEO, BauerHaus Creative
Inside this issue| Publisher’s Note
BOILERPLATE
CONTRIBUTORS Dr. David Chinsky, Founder, Institute for Leadership Fitness,
Decide
D
ecisions are part of our every day. We decide to make a hire, invest in new assets, or embark on new strategies. And yet, most of our business choices do not emanate from our true selves. There are other motivations or distractions that always seem to impact our ability to decide on something. Although you may think that people instinctively want to make the best possible decision, there is a stronger force that animates business decision-making: the desire not to get blamed or fired. Most people within the walls of your business will use conventional logic or data in every decision. They inherently believe that this is the best insurance against blame. The desire to make good decisions and the urge not to get fired or blamed may at first seem to be similar motivations, but they are not. They can, in fact, be complete opposites. The irony is that addiction to logic or data-based decisions is flawed. If we only made decisions based on history, some of the greatest companies and innovations would have never existed. Making decisions from a position of fear is wrong. Business is riddled with risk and being able to make mistakes is at the heart of success. We live in a world that not only encourages riskaverse behavior, but also allows for a great deal of blame and finger pointing if things go awry. I’m not sure how you ever get an organization to a place where people feel comfortable making mistakes and therefore, decisions that are about progress and not security. I do know that we make decisions in our personal life based on lifestyle and livelihood in business. Maybe if leaders made people realize that they are one in the same, we could begin to start to take some chances and make some magic happen. The Latin root of the word “decision” literally means “to cut off.” Making a decision is about “cutting off” all other choices. Now that may sound a little severe and limiting, but it’s not. It’s liberating. You see, if we’re going to get to where we want to go, and if we’re going to attain what we want to attain, then we need to make some decisions. And those decisions should come from a place of courage and not fear. Enjoy this issue of CANVAS. We decided a long time ago to do the kind of content that matters and we still do.
Making a decision is about “cutting off” all other choices. Now that may sound a little severe and limiting, but it’s not. It’s liberating.
Warmest regards,
Mark Potter, Publisher @MarkRicePotter
AmyK Hutchens, Founder, AmyK Inc. @AmyKHutchens
Stefan Mumaw, Director of Creative Strategy, Hint @stefanmumaw
GET IN TOUCH WITH US @THECANVASMAG
2009 Mackenzie Way, Suite 100 Cranberry Township, PA 16066 WWW.THECANVASMAG.COM
THE CANVAS TEAM MANAGING EDITOR michael j. pallerino ART DIRECTOR brent cashman SALES/MARKETING mark potter
EDITORIAL BOARD tom moe Daily Printing gina danner NextPage david bennett Bennett Graphics scott hudson Worth Higgins
PUBLISHED BY CANVAS, Volume 13, Issue 5 copyright 2019 CANVAS, All rights reserved. CANVAS is published bi-monthly for $39.00 per year by Conduit, Inc., 2009 Machenzie Way, Suite 100, Cranberry Township, PA 16066. Periodicals postage pending at Duluth, GA and additional mailings offices. Periodical Publication 25493. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CANVAS, 2009 Machenzie Way, Suite 100, Cranberry Township, PA 16066. Please note: The acceptance of advertising or products mentioned by contributing authors does not constitute endorsement by the publisher. Publisher cannot accept responsibility for the correctness of an opinion expressed by contributing authors. CANVAS magazine is dedicated to environmentally and socially responsible operations. We are proud to print this magazine on Opus® Dull Cover 80lb/216gsm and Opus Dull Text 80lb/118gsm, an industry-leading, environmentally responsible paper. Opus contains 10% recycled fiber and SFI and FSC chain of custody certification.
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FIND THAT MISSING PIECE THROUGH CONTENT
channeling content & connections conduit-inc.com
STAT PACK
MORE MONEY, MORE MONEY Give a marketer an additional budget allotment for their content efforts and how would the money be spent? It is an interesting question, right? According to "The 2019 Content Fitness Report" by PAN Communications and Heinz Marketing, 30% say they would spend additional content marketing budget on improving their channel diversity by adding
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content such as videos, podcasts and webinars. Next, 28% leaned toward boosting their creative development by adding more staff/resources; 28% would invest in marketing tools to track content gaps, engagement, leads and ROI; and 12% would buy more paid media/ syndication to promote content. The report was based on data from 100 marketing leaders at various levels of experience.
Insights
Generation nation Report shows how marketers are turning leads into sales In the world of lead generation, B2B marketers nurture leads in a variety of ways, with the central factor involving creating or distributing content. To help compare the effectiveness of each tactic for generating leads versus nurturing them, LeadCrunch and Ascend2 set out to find what works, and what does not. According their “B2B Perspective on Generating and Nurturing Leads to Create Demand” report, nearly 60% say email marketing is the most effective strategy for demand creation, followed by content/video, SEO, events, then social. Here is a breakdown of the top five strategies:
Email marketing Lead generation: 56% Lead nurturing: 59%
Content/video marketing Lead generation: 45% Lead nurturing: 57%
Search engine optimization (SEO) Lead generation: 39% Lead nurturing: 29%
Event/demo registrations Lead generation: 38% Lead nurturing: 38%
Social media marketing Lead generation: 38% Lead nurturing: 38%
THE NUMBERS GAME...
85 49 43 The percent of B2B buyers who are more likely to reject a vendor if their first interaction isn't personalized ("The State of Enterprise Sales Enablement, 2019" by Seismic and Forrester Consulting)
The percent of consumers who rely on influencer recommendations in their purchasing decisions (“How to Build a B2B Influencer Marketing Strategy in 2020” by TopRank Marketing)
The average tenure of a CMO in 2018, with more women landing the C-suite position than ever before, but fewer minorities. In addition, CMO turnover among the broader marketing industry is still a concern and may be driven by lack of skills, poor alignment with the CEO and high expectations to drive growth. (“CMO Tenure Study” by Spencer Stuart)
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Perspective | Leadership | Insights
CORNER OFFICE
BY STEFAN MUMAW
Live in the leading “Normal is an illusion. What is normal to the spider is chaos for the fly.” — CHARLES ADAMS
Editor’s Note: This is the final installment in a three-part series by design thought leader Stefan Mumaw from his HOW Design presentation, “Think Like a Villain: A Creative’s Guide to Winning Through Villainy.” There was a time before computers, even before typewriters, when the printed word was set by hand. Meticulous typesetters would lay out lines of metal letters to spell words, sentences, and paragraphs, and then those letters would be inked and pressed to paper. To create space between the lines of type, typesetters would lay lead strips of varying widths. This became known as the leading, the space between lines of type. Leading is never shown on the paper. The thickness of the strips were less than the thickness of the type, so when ink ran across the letters, it would not touch the inset leading. It was hidden to everyone but the mastermind, the typesetter who knew the importance of the space in between. As creatives, we tend to focus on the letters and forget about the leading because it’s unseen. But villains, they study the entire space. They are looking for the things other people forget, discard, or fail to see. Villains have learned to live in the leading. To them, it is the shadows. But to us as creatives, it represents an opportunity to see the things others don’t see. When everyone else is focusing on the poster, the devious creative is studying where the poster will be hung, what it is made of, the potential size and shape, and most importantly, who will look at it. Villains understand that the great variable in any endeavor is not the facts, it is the people. Facts are iron-clad; they do not change. If they intend to rob a bank, the bank never moves. The walls are made of the same material today as they will be tomorrow. The location of the vault is in the same place every day. People, on the other hand, are the great variable. The guard moves randomly. The tellers are on shifts, or call in sick, or go to the bathroom. The number of customers changes perpetually. People are unpredictable and emotional, but they are also malleable, habitual, and behavioral. As creatives, the facts
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of the things we make are the same, but understanding what moves people can be the difference between success and failure and present the clearest opportunity to operate in the leading. In our industry, personas are created to provide a shorthand for audience understanding. We group people into audiences to help us develop creative most-likely-to-motivate behavioral change in that group. But our typical segregation is demographic rather than any other sociology. We group people by age, gender, and economic standing and then make assumptions about how those groups collectively see the world. It is a wide brush but one we need because we have to create a singular solution that is relevant to everyone in the group. To help make that brush a little more pointed, and dive deeper into the motivations of an audience, try segregating audiences by loves and fears. Take your typical demographic audience breakdowns and add two more categories: loves and fears. Then go through the exercise of listing what these audiences love and fear as humans, not just consumers of your brand, product,
or service. When you do, you will find some similarities between audiences but better yet, you will find opportunities to impact areas of their lives that they weren’t expecting. Maybe a consistent fear across your audiences is relevancy, that as the audience ages, they fear staying relevant in the eyes of the people to whom they give authority. That becomes a need. How does your brand, product, or service help them stay relevant? Or maybe a thread you notice between your audiences is a shared love for control. How does your brand, product, or service help them feel in control? Using loves and fears as a way to associate people rather than blind demographics allows you to work in the leading, to notice patterns, and use those patterns to develop creative that changes behaviors. So? One thing villains know is that people are the key to achieving their goals. They understand their motivations, mostly to exploit them. As creatives, we should look to understand our audiences, not to exploit but to move, not to manipulate but to empower. While others are focused on the thing they are making, we should be focused on the people we are moving. Throughout this series, we have explored how villains think, and how we might be able to learn from their process to improve creatively. In the quote above, Charles Adams theorizes that normal is an illusion, because what is normal to one person might be abnormal to another. And he’s right. It is up to us, as creators, to know the difference so that we can create work that is truly… villainous.
Stefan Mumaw is a designer, author, thought leader and creative thinker extraordinaire. As director of creative strategy for Hint, Mumaw is helping lead the firm in new directions. The author of six books, including “Creative Boot Camp,” a 30-day crash course on creativity, Mumaw also is a highly sought after national speaker on creativity and the creative process.
Perspective | Leadership | Insights
CORNER OFFICE
BY DAVID CHINSKY
Four strategies to help you manage self-doubt When Akio Morita, then chairman of Sony, proposed manufacturing a tape player that did not record, he was met with a tremendous amount of resistance. His critics questioned why someone would purchase a recorder that did not record. Sony was known for tape recorders that recorded and played. Despite the heavy criticism, Morita pushed ahead. The result was the Sony Walkman, a product that met with universal acclaim, and became a precursor to the iPod and other mp3 players that came later. Had it not been for Morita’s persistence in the face of opposition, who knows if we would have seen the iPod as early as we did. Even when leaders are clear about where they want to take their teams, pushback from colleagues, combined with self-doubts, can cause them to become paralyzed at the point of action. Clarity without confidence is an ineffective formula for success. All leaders are subject to resisters and critics—some external and some internal. Take FedEX founder Fred Smith. When he was selling his idea of delivering packages “absolutely, positively overnight,” critics were quick to point out that major airlines would already be doing this if there was a market for this service. We all know the phenomenal success of FedEx and the several competitors that emerged later. FedEx's success is due largely to the willingness of Smith to go against the mainstream thinking of the time that this was not likely to be a profitable venture. At times, leaders must take leaps of faith, particularly when they have thought through their ideas and believe passionately in what they are pursuing. There will always be naysayers, and when we invest too much authority in their claims, we risk missing out on the tangible benefits that result when decisive actions are pursued despite the strong pushback that pioneers often confront. While external pushback can be powerful, it is often your own selfdoubt that prevents you from moving forward. You may have noticed that the bolder your vision is, and the bigger your plans are, the louder these inner critics often become. In reality, the presence of these saboteurs often serves as confirmation that you are not playing small.
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distinct from your true intent. Recognize these voices as “normal” for successful people taking on big projects. 2. Consider alternative perspectives or different ways of looking at the same situation. Acknowledge and act on your power to choose how you will think. If you are thinking, “I will fail at this,” consider how the alternative “I will succeed at this” might cause you to choose a different path. Often, we can’t know whether we will succeed or fail before trying. Henry Ford was correct when he said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t— you’re right.” 3. Ignore your self-doubts once they have been exposed for the imposters they are. 4. Don’t panic, and know that everything can look like a failure in the middle.
Some of the common “inner voices” we hear, if we are honest with ourselves, include: >> “You don’t know what you’re doing” >> “You’re not up to this” >> “You won’t succeed” >> “You’ll look like a fool” >> “No one will support you” These self-doubts are normal and come with the territory of leading others into the future. Instead of focusing on eliminating these doubts, a better approach is to simply manage them. Here are four strategies that you will find helpful in managing self-doubt: 1. Be aware of negative self-talk, and get good at recognizing it as
Keeping our doubts in check will naturally contribute to greater confidence. A way to reinforce that confidence is to construct a Confidence Net comprising a repertoire of positive habits that buffer you from the onslaught of both external and internal pushbacks. When performed consistently, these habits feed our confidence and provide us with the ability to remain focused on our plans, despite the noise all around us. When asked what personal habits contribute to greater confidence, many leaders point to regular exercise, daily prayer or meditation, positive affirmations and even a power outfit. Like safety nets designed as insurance to help people through life’s shocks and stresses, such as those created by illness, unemployment or job displacement, a Confidence Net is your very own personal structure to mitigate the effect and lower the volume of your inner voices or self-doubts.
Dr. David Chinsky is founder of the Institute for Leadership Fitness, a sought-after speaker, and author of “The Fit Leader’s Companion: A Down-to-Earth Guide for Sustainable Leadership Success.” After spending nearly 20 years in executive leadership positions at the Ford Motor Company, Nestlé and Thomson Reuters, he now focuses on preparing leaders to achieve their highest level of professional effectiveness and leadership fitness. For more information, visit FitLeadersAcademy.com.
Perspective | Leadership | Insights
CORNER OFFICE
Understanding content’s play Survey shows relevance of use Heading into the next stage of content development, B2B marketers are still refining the scope and effectiveness of its usage. According to “The New Marketing Standard” report by Uberflip and Heinz Marketing, 82% say content is an important strategy, while 48% cite their content is either just “somewhat effective” or “ineffective.” The report, which surveyed 300 senior B2B marketing leaders, examined the value and effectiveness of content in B2B across industries— as well as priorities, strategies and challenges. Here is a look at the role content plays in the sales process:
Brand awareness
76%
Lead generation
71.7%
Customer education
58.7%
Sales enablement
57.2%
Buyer education
53%
Product releases
52.3%
Event follow-up
50.2%
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IGNITE BRILLIANCE
Profitable Conversations BY AMYK HUTCHENS
5 quick tips for managing the next generation
Which scenario best describes your current management frustrations with the 20-somethings entering your organization? 1. You just explained appropriate corporate protocol only to then discover their questionable comments and postings on Instagram and Snapchat. 2. You are perplexed by their informal communication style, both written and verbal, with seemingly cryptic acronyms and expressive emojis. You find yourself Googling “Urban Dictionary” terms on a weekly basis. 3. You spent thousands of dollars on new technology for them; trained and accommodated them, but they ended up leaving for the seemingly cooler company with a younger culture. They’re only 23. Where is this cooler, younger culture? 4. You keep seeing ear-buds when they are hanging out in the office—actually, why does it look like they are hanging out as opposed to working? If any of these scenarios resonate, you understand the shift taking place
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inside organizations, as 75 million millennials move over to make room for incoming Generation Z (individuals born after 1995). While many of today's leaders are frustrated with each new generation's demands, the introduction of a radically changing work dynamic is not new. Ted Hammond, born in 1935, raised to honor duty before self, respecting rules and authority, was shocked when Tim Hitchings was hired as a project manager in 1978. At 25, Tim was sharing his fresh perspective on stakeholders and short-term objectives, while showing a marginal respect for titles and a voracious appetite for success. Tim also avoided conflict. Tim, born in 1953, raised to see the big picture and work 18 hours a day, seven days a week, was proud of the vision and values he had created. He was shocked when a woman named Toni Howe was hired as a project manager in 1997. At 24 years of age, Toni was a self-reliant upstart, rather impatient, focused
on achieving measurable goals and a bit cynical. Born in 1973, Toni, a latch-key kid programmed to "just do it," to be opportunistic, and to think globally and act locally was shocked when Taj Huri was hired as a project manager in 2011. At 23, Taj was confident, tenacious and very tech savvy. He ran circles around Toni when it came to the latest IT innovations. He wanted to be respected as a peer, get constant feedback and chart his career track. Taj, born in 1985, shuttled in a car with “Baby on Board” warnings, grew up in a home full of participation trophies celebrating his 19th place in Field Day events. At 23, he was shocked when Toni went all day without talking or texting him. She expected him to start researching their next initiative alone. Taj requested time off to go to a music festival with his friends. Toni's refusal of, “You just started here,” surprised him. Three months ago Taj made his first Gen Z hire. Born in 1996, Alaina received her first phone at age 9. Taj appreciated Alaina’s entrepreneurial spirit in the interview. But as time progresses, he is getting more uncertain
about how easily stressed she gets. He is also surprised that as much as she cares about his causes, Alaina has an unwillingness to do anything without an in-depth discussion of how it might harm the planet. He recently mentioned possibly purchasing a new fleet of cars and her response was, “What about our carbon footprint?” The behaviors and expectations of each new generation seemingly [and now virtually] transform every aspect of business. Companies that resist the influencers transform slowly and pay dearly. Companies who embrace, adapt and leverage the strengths of what the new generation brings to the table, or cloud, increase their competitive advantage and their profitability. What must leaders know to leverage a younger generation's strengths?
1. Integrate Your Workforce
The next generation has much to offer and gain from integrating with their predecessors. The Training Associates organization identified 10 critical soft skills Gen Z will need in order to be successful at work:
The behaviors and expectations of each new generation seemingly [and now virtually] transform every aspect of business. communities on the internet (not typically a Baby Boomer's forte). Gen Z’ers are confident with navigating the web, but may confuse tech savvy with information literacy. When Baby Boomers, X'ers and millennials respect a Gen Z’er’s ability to search for data, they can teach them how to verify statistics, vet stories, ask critical questions and improve search strategies to yield more valuable results.
2. Swap out Your Dashboard for Espresso
4. Curiosity & positivity
Millennials want and expect feedback. They like knowing where they stand. But unlike Baby Boomers who prefer quarterly reports for shareholders and X'ers who prefer in-depth personalized performance reviews, millennials wanted to know where they stood in comparison to other millennials, minute to minute. “Text Me Please” was their motto. Gen Z is going slightly old school again. They want face-to-face feedback, but over an espresso.
5. Active listening
3. Teach Leadership
1. Empathy 2. Ability to influence 3. Emotional intelligence
6. Humility 7. Communication skills 8. Creative problem-solving 9. Resilience 10. Observation skills Leveraging these skillsets by creating cross-generational teams helps you launch over barriers. While a Gen X’er teaches a Gen Z’er how to make well-reasoned, strategic decisions (not a Gen Z’er’s forte), a Gen Z’er shares how Instagram can build a more engaging brand with new
Millennials and Generation Z both crave opportunities for advancement and demand that companies invest in their ability to grow. Embrace this passion and dedication and you will increase their loyalty and performance levels. Unlike the Dilbert generation, today's college graduates are more motivated to excel and embrace hard work. But they want to be surrounded by other hardworking team members, thriving on new knowledge, technologies, trends and friends. Help them help themselves by investing in their leadership skills. Conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, communication skills are all areas wherein this generation lacks expertise and experience. Unless the millennials and Gen Z’ers are ready
to be promoted, organizations will face a daunting leadership gap.
4. Share the Why… Then Show Them How
Define and share the “why” at the core of what you and your organization do. If you want to capture the energy, passion, creativity and profitable production of these younger generations, engagement in the “why” is essential. The value of smart, hard work for its own sake is meaningless. Purpose, beyond the paycheck, is what ignites them. That said, the “how” requires a bit of guidance. Baby Boomers and autonomous X'ers must demonstrate how great, creative ideas are only sustainable when companies can effectively take those ideas to market and make a profit. When Baby Boomers and X'ers share workflow processes, supply chain management, and the why and how behind the cool gadget, millennials and Gen Z’ers will thank you.
5. Assimilate to a New Normal
“9 to 5” is the title of a 1980 movie that debuted when millennials were first born. It is not their normal working hours. Managers must seek ways to respect and adapt. Gen Z’ers readily say they will work hard for you— when they want to. Sadly, 28 percent are already feeling burned out at work. Helping Generation Z find a healthy split between work and life will be critical to your success. For leaders to drive growth and respond to the incredibly fast-paced changing world, they must embrace, not resist, new ideas. Leaders will need to lean into more open and connected communities and spotlight their multigenerational workforce and the responsible, cause-oriented culture everyone has created.
AmyK Hutchens is an International Award-Winning Speaker, Biz Strategist and Cool Aunt. With an Amazon best-selling book and a globally popular online leadership & communication program, she’s still keeping it real. To learn more about AmyK, visit www.amyk.com.
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BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Industry news & more
Around the industry Quad/Graphics has raised more than $41,000 for the “Quad/Graphics Eric Steinbach Memorial Endowment,” a fund used for students in the Graphic Communication Department at California Polytechnic State University. Quad/Graphics raised the money via its annual charity golf in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The funds will be added to the endowment, which continually assists deserving students by providing scholarships. It also will enable Cal Poly to add resources for technology and enhanced curriculum development so that the graphic communication program continues to provide relevant experiences to produce students who are ready to join the workforce and continue to grow the graphic communication industry. Steinbach, the former president of publishing solutions for Quad, died suddenly in 2018. For 15 years, he was an extremely active member of Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Advisory Board, mentoring and hiring students,
Personnel Moves The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has named Heidi Brock president and CEO. She will succeed Donna Harman, who is retiring after 12 years. Brock recently served as president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, which provides global standards, industry statistics and expert knowledge to member companies and policymakers nationwide. Electronics For Imaging Inc. has appointed industry veteran Jeff Jacobson as CEO, effective immediately. Jacobson, who will retain his position as executive chairman, succeeds Bill Muir, who is stepping down for personal reasons. The newly formed Graphic Communications Workforce Coalition has elected its board of directors and executive officers. The group consists of concerned associations, educators and industry representatives uniting to address a key industry concern. To date, 36 organizations have joined the group, with additional interested parties welcome to sign on. The board includes: Judy Durham, Association for Print Technologies Wayne Lynn, Lynn Consulting Donna Painter, Millersville University Jeff Stoudt, PICA Teresa Campbell, PIA Mid-America John Berthelsen, PGSF Dino Scalia, Print Link Paul Foster, Printing & Graphics Association MidAtlantic Maurice Norris, Promotional Products Association International Melissa Ferrari, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) Jessica Johnson, TLMI Elected officers include: Chair: Melissa Ferrari, SGIA Vice-Chair: Judy Durham, AP Tech Secretary: John Berthelsen, PGSF Treasurer: Donna Painter, Millersville University At-large: Jeff Stoudt, PICA At-large: Maurice Norris, PPAI
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advising on curriculum and aiding in establishing many resources for student labs. Canon Solutions America Inc. (CSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. Inc., recently celebrated two events surrounding its TRIPOD at Writers Room program, co-founded by Drexel University in Philadelphia and CSA. The first was the unveiling and installation of a mural inspired by the TRIPOD program. TRIPOD participants' writing and images were incorporated into a custom-designed mural, which was printed locally by Color Reflections on an Océ Colorado 1640 Printer. In addition, CSA and Drexel launched its latest anthology, "Notes to Self." The book showcases the work of students and participants in the TRIPOD program. In its second year, the TRIPOD at Writers Room program featured camera instruction, field trips and cultural events, weekly meetings and monthly workshops.
Mergers & Acquisitons Full-service printing company Sorrento Mesa Printing has sold its book of business to PrintStar. Both companies are based in San Diego.
Awards & Recognition Canon U.S.A. Inc.’s Océ ProStream Series inkjet press has received the “2019 InterTech Technology Award” from the Printing Industries of America (PIA). Designed to open up new business opportunities for commercial printers, the Océ ProStream delivers quality on a broad range of media, including publishing, premium direct mail, graphic arts and marketing collateral. With a resolution of 1200 dpi at full rated press speed, The Océ ProStream is designed to improve workflow and efficiency for end users while competing in the offset market. HP Indigo digital printing inks are now certified for compostability in home and industrial. The accolade is the latest in sustainability achievements that enables converters and brands to print smaller quantities, while helping to reduce inventory waste and improve their overall environmental impact. TUV Austria awarded the “OK Compost Home” and “OK Compost Industrial” marks to HP, verifying HP Indigo ElectroInks can be used as printing inks for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation in accordance with leading standards, such as EU regulation EN 13432.
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STRATEGY
BY THAYER LONG
A peek behind the curtain...
We have been saying that there is no better time to be a part of the print industry, and we truly believe it. We say this because new opportunities abound if you know how to create them and make them a part of your business. This may have been the last year of PRINT® as you have come to know it, but it is the beginning of Brand Print Americas—a collaboration between Tarsus and APTech that will unite the print community and expand the business potential for the entire value chain. It is not just the PRINT event that is changing. There are a lot of other changes going on behind the curtain at APTech. We have become a different breed of association. We are focused solely on providing a forum to inspire the development of new valuable print products by fostering collaboration between those who imagine and those who create. We are the ambassadors for the future of print, and we are aiming to help our members diversify their businesses through ideation. So, what is behind the curtain, you ask? We have been rolling out several new initiatives from which you might already have benefited, including industry highlights in the form of LeadingPRINT magazine, which has provided a medium for printers to tell the honest truth about the ups and downs of running a print business. We plan to continue telling these stories
We are the ambassadors for the future of print, and we are aiming to help our members diversify their businesses through ideation. because we have heard how much they have resonated with readers. In July, we launched APTech Connect—an online community forum. Open to all individuals who print or are associated with print, this is a place to connect and collaborate. Post a question and get an answer from those who have walked your same path or perhaps
had the same challenges. Participate at community.printtechnologies.org. We kicked off our LeadingPRINT Forum series of events as well. These intimate, in-person events put you in the same room with the leaders who have shared their stories in our magazine. We invite you to come to these events in 2020 to ask questions, have discussions, and build relationships. We will be expanding this program and delivering even more opportunities for executive, peer-to-peer interaction. With these new initiatives, we have not forgotten about the core programs, including Standards, International and Research that our members depend on. We have been evaluating what is working and what isn’t based on the needs of the industry. This has helped guide us to developing shorter studies that are more manageable for time-crunched executives to read and digest. We have added staff to support Standards and we are addressing our international programs in new ways. So yes, this is a great time to be in the print industry and a great time to be a member of the Association for PRINT Technologies. We are continuing to develop new programs and new content to serve the industry. I invite you to participate in all that we have to offer and be a part of the charge forward. Check out what we are doing at PRINTtechnologies.org.
Thayer Long is president of the Association of Print Technologies (APTech), formerly known as NPES, and serves as president of the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF).
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The print industry has been going through a period of significant change, and so has the Association for PRINT Technologies. To keep current with what our members need, we’ve been refreshing our existing programs and launching new ones. Including: • Research
• Standards
• Executive Development • Global
Learn more at PRINTtechnologies.org
• Workforce
• Networking
• Industry Events
• Medical, dental, vision and life plans for small to medium-sized manufacturers and print service providers. APTech provides a forum to inspire the development of new and valuable print products. Through our programs we foster collaboration between those who create and those who imagine. We are the only industry association entirely focused on the future of print. We exist to facilitate the evolution of physical experiences in our increasingly digital world. To learn more about our programs or to become a member visit: PRINTtechnologies.org or phone 703/264-7200.
SOCIALLY SPEAKING
BY MATTHEW PARKER
4 myths that hold print salespeople back — and what to do about them “Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.” Selling print is getting harder every day. One of the main issues is that buyers are changing, both in their job roles and in their behavior. They are getting more and more used to traditional sales techniques. Most prospects simply ignore their phones and delete their emails. But what are we actually doing about it? Often, there is an acceptance that maybe we will have to try something a bit different in the not too distant future. But right now most people are staying in their comfort zones. Few people are trying out new tactics. A lot of this is due to the fact that we are held back by our beliefs. And in the world of print sales, there are some sayings that I hear again and again that are holding many people back. Here are four myths that seem to be repeated far too often:
Myth No. 1 — “Good salespeople are born, not made”
Let me share a personal story. When I started Profitable Print Relationships, I was hopeless at sales. I could create and run workshops that received excellent feedback. I could explain how the buyer’s mind worked. I could show my delegates new ways to engage buyers. But I had no experience in selling and I wasn’t very good at it. My first clients were people who knew and trusted me. I had to learn some sales skills pretty quickly. These days, some of the people I have successfully sold to are very complimentary about my sales skills. But I was not born with those skills. I learned how to sell. I am always studying new sales techniques and putting them into practice. Anyone can become a good salesperson. They just have to be prepared to study, try new ideas and practice them relentlessly. However, they cannot rely on traditional methods. That’s where the second myth comes in.
Myth No. 2 — “If you want to improve your results, you need to make more calls”
Sure, more activity often boosts results. But I always prefer to work smarter than harder. These days, most buyers just don’t answer the phone unless you already have a dialogue going with them. Making more calls will usually result in being ignored more often. Besides, we all know how hectic the life of a print salesperson is. Do you really have time to make enough calls to make a
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real difference to your sales results? And are you just deciding to make more calls because you believe in the third myth?
Myth No. 3 — “I’m too set in my ways to change”
Buyers are changing. That means salespeople also have to adapt in order to deal with the new style of buyer successfully. Staying the same is not a realistic option. Besides, change does not have to be as drastic as many people fear. Some people think you need to change everything in order to successfully improve the way you sell. There are plenty of sales courses that say you have to adopt a completely new system. Some even suggest you adopt a new persona. But it does not have to be this way. Successful change can come from smaller tweaks, not from trying to adopt completely new systems that you aren’t comfortable with. But even if you acknowledge and accept this, there is a fourth myth that prevents many people from changing.
Myth No. 4 — “I’m too busy to change”
I get it. If you are a salesperson, your life is very busy. It can be hard to find time to study and practice new techniques. But let’s look at the alternative: If you do not change, you will still be facing the same sales challenges in a few months’ time. But in a few months’ time, those
challenges could be having a far greater impact on your results and your business. So what’s the solution? It is time to do things differently. Here is a list of five mini-challenges to help you start to change your game: 1. Take a copy of this article and physically cross out each of the subheads about the myths. It is your way of making sure you no longer believe in them. 2. Read a blog about print sales. You could try this one: (http:// profitableprintrelationships.com/ ways-to-increase-print-sales/) 3. Have a friend or colleague give you an honest but constructive critique on your sales message. Does it really cut it with today’s buyers? How could you make it better? 4. Use a sales channel that you haven’t tried before. How about experimenting with social media messaging, WhatsApp, Skype or even good old direct mail? 5. Write down three things that you are going to achieve tomorrow or in the next week. You may be surprised at how the simple act of writing down targets improves results. None of these will force you to change radically. None of them will take much time. But they will start to move you away from traditional print sales activity and to start reacting to the changing behavior of today’s buyers. They may just give you the edge that you need for your sales. Most importantly, they will stop you from being your own worst enemy.
PS: Find more ideas on how to increase sales with today’s buyers. Download my free e-book, “Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them,” right now at http://profitableprintrelationships.com/e-book/ You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the Print Buyer” bulletin, which is full of ideas on how to sell print effectively. In addition, if you want to find out more about carrying out the right sales activities, check out my online course, ”How To Increase Your Print Sales In 23 Minutes A Week.” Matthew Parker is the Champion of Print at Profitable Print Relationships. He speaks globally at print events and is the author of "How To Stop Print Buyers Choosing On Price." Parker also trains and mentors printing companies as well as produces content for them. As a buyer of print, he was sold to by more than 1,400 different printing companies, so he knows what works for customers and what doesn’t. Download his free e-guide to using social media to sell printing and similar services at http://profitableprintrelationships.com/social-media-printing-marketing/
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CANVAS BUYER’S GUIDE
CUSTOM CONTENT
Download the CANVAS Buyer’s Guide app Products and resources just a tap away
Conduit Inc. Custom Content Spotlight
Custom Publications creating content is the most robust way of uncovering the stories that matter to your clients and then engaging with them in the most sincere manner. Content can be commoditized just like anything else. But truly committing to the publishing process means you are committed to telling stories that resonate with others and sets you apart.
Creating awareness and building a following through customized magazines is Conduit Inc.’s core competency. They organically create content that captivates an audience and endears them to you without feeling the threat of solicitation. Their discovery process involves gathering intelligence and validates
insights about you and the markets you serve. In turn, they uncover the most compelling stories for your community and the most creative ways to tell them. Their publishing vehicles include magazines, collateral material, direct mail, live events, and digital. Regardless of the form, the process of
Digital Content Creation
Design is critical and driving traffic is even more important. Anyone can design a nice site, but Conduit Inc.’s emphasis is building the campaign to drive people to it.
Audiences determine the proper channel of distribution. Conduit Inc. loves print and the ownership it creates through touch, but building a true following must include the use of social posts, infographics, videos, email campaigns and web design. Regardless of the vehicle, the story is about those you serve. Uncovering what matters to them most creates trust within your brand and, ultimately, a purchase. Conduit Inc. creates all of the above in an effort to build your community in the sincerest manner. Content is the core of every great conversation. Activation makes that conversation meaningful. Utilizing SEO, social posts and email campaigns provides the energy. In turn, the publishing process enables Conduit to find influencers who can help bring new audiences to your brand. We use the data we’ve gathered to get your message to the right channels in order to develop a deeper connection with your community. In today’s world, the canvas for which we design varies. This includes website development. And while paper may provide the purest canvas to design from, the importance of on-screen design is just as critical. You simply cannot hold someone’s attention until you grab their attention. Design is critical and driving traffic is even more important. Anyone can design a nice site, but Conduit Inc.’s emphasis is building the campaign to drive people to it.
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Analytics Finally, Conduit Inc. believes in continuous improvement. Therefore, they monitor what works and how people are finding your content and interacting with it. Their role does not stop with the creation of content. In fact, they believe that publishing is the new
marketing and is a cyclical nurturing process that allows you to understand and respond as if you were sitting across the table. Analytics will never take the place of real relationships, but they certainly can support relationship building.
Download the CANVAS Buyer’s Guide app Products and resources just a tap away
A new breed of fast
INKJET PRESS
How the Océ ProStream™ Series provides high-quality, continuous feed printing at production speeds on a wide range of media
The Océ ProStream™ Series has come at the right time for you. Thanks to its outstanding quality, relevant content and short turnaround times for promotional and graphical applications, a world of new markets are available to you. The high-productivity continuous feed inkjet press is a new breed of fast, combining the vibrant colors of offset with the variable-data versatility of digital printing. This production printer is ideal for applications printing at 1200 x 1200 dpi running at a speed of 262 feet per minute (80 m/min) at 22” (565 mm) web width. There is no need to slow the press down to achieve maximum, high resolutions, full color output. The Océ ProStream™ inkjet printer— which now has an expanded paper range running up to 300gsm (12 pt.)— produces high-quality results from native 1200 dpi DigiDot print head, ColorGrip and pigment based polymer ink.
The high-productivity continuous feed inkjet press is a new breed of fast, combining the vibrant colors of offset with the variable-data versatility of digital printing. And with a high-capacity duty cycle of up to 35 million letter pages per month, it’s built for productivity. With the Océ ProStream™ Series, you can benefit from broad substrate support and format versatility beyond B2 sheet size, plus support for coated or uncoated media. This continuous feed press fits seamlessly into your workflows, allowing easy integration into existing PDF workflows, IPDS and PDF DFE, plus an intuitive, modern user interface.
For more information, visit www.csa.canon.com.
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CANVAS BUYER’S GUIDE
FLATBED PRINTER
Speed merchant Why Fujifilm’s OnsetX UV series is the flatbed printer for your shop
The new generation of OnsetX is ready to take the high-end inkjet market by storm. Inspired by its continual quest to push the boundaries of what is possible in print, FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division and Inca Digital are introducing their latest addition to the OnsetX UV flatbed series. Featuring two new machines—the Onset X2 HS and the Onset X3 HS— the OnsetX UV series provides dramatic increases in overall productivity, made possible by the further integration of robotics and great advances in printing speeds, print quality and substrate compatibility. The end result is print businesses and entrepreneurs who have the capability and capacity to grow market share and confidently move into new markets. You want speed? The Onset X2 HS and Onset X3 HS can now print up to 15,597 square feet per hour, utilizing a new single cycle mode. Compatible with Inca’s range of application specific robotic handling systems, and incorporating “30-second” job set up and single cycle printing mode, the HS range is set to deliver another “step change” in inkjet printing. This is something Inca Digital and Fujifilm have become renowned for in the marketplace.
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The OnsetX HS launch is partnered with a new Fujifilm inkjet range, Uvijet OX. Uvijet OX features a brand new, unique, patented ink technology developed and manufactured at Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems in the UK, designed specifically for the Onset family of printers to achieve exceptional adhesion on rigid plastic media, specifically those commonly used in North America, at the highest speeds. Features include: Increased productivity — The addition of the new single cycle print mode to the OnsetX HS, made possible by the optimization of the print jetting profiles and jetting frequencies, means the new HS range can print at speeds up to 15,597 square feet per hour—more than 50 percent higher than previously published throughput figures. The intelligent bonding properties of the new Uvijet OX ink also ensure maximum adhesion to a much wider range of media, even at these new highest printing speeds. “30-second” job setup — Machine downtime caused by job changes and set-up routines also has been dramatically reduced with the integration of a range of new automated features on
the HS machines. On- and off-loading systems, UV shutter alignment and table skin adjustments have all been automated, reducing operator intervention and bringing job set-up time down from an average of 15 minutes to around 30 seconds. Inca Digital’s own research in the field suggests this will substantially increase machine capacity and utilization in real world situations.
New inks mean new levels of versatility and new markets
The OnsetX’s scalable architecture and multi-substrate printing capability has helped to make it the machine of choice of many print businesses for whom maximum productivity and flexibility are key. The new OnsetX HS, combined with the robust adhesion qualities of Fujifilm’s Uvijet OX ink, further builds on this reputation. Together, the OnsetX HS and Uvijet OX inks open up an extensive new range of applications and possibilities in markets where the demand is growing for shorter run but the highest quality printing on corrugated board, packaging and non-PVC rigid plastics. The new OnsetX HS series is available now and distributed exclusively in North America by Fujifilm.
Download the CANVAS Buyer’s Guide app Products and resources just a tap away
LeadingPRINT Spotlight
LEADING PRINT
About APTech The Association for PRINT Technologies (APTechTM), formerly known as NPES, is a purpose-driven organization dedicated to supporting the entire printing value chain. We believe in helping our members maximize alignment with their value chain partners to be more effective and competitive. Printing has been vital to communication for decades. Today, the digital culture has heightened our industry’s complexity and reframed its relevance. APTech’s signature event— PRINT®—answers the call by bringing the boldest and brightest innovators, influencers, and newest technology together to create connections that showcase and advance our industry.
APTech makes available to its members a wide range of services, including: >> Industry Market Data & Research — Actionable information for immediate implementation >> Global Business Development — Targeting key international markets, consulting and direct assistance for members >> Education Programs — Offerings from C-suite to skill-building workforce development >> Events that Convene the Industry — Connecting the printing
value chain for education, business networking and commerce >> Government Affairs Representation — Engaging the printing value chain to leverage advocacy to drive favorable business outcomes for the Industry >> Safety and technical standards development — Providing coordination in the national and international arenas
For more information about APTech, its programs, and its member companies, call 703-264-7200, or find us online at https://www. printtechnologies.org/. Socially, check us out at twitter.com/ APT_tech, facebook.com/APTechorg and linkedIN.com/company/ association-for-print-technologies
About LeadingPRINT A brand new content program from APTech, LeadingPRINT (LP) is for the progressive print executive. Built to support the success of our members and promote overall positive industry outcomes, LeadingPRINT aims to inspire and educate the brightest minds within the printing supply chain. We believe innovation in the printing industry must not only come from the technology you purchase and deploy, but from the forward-looking business models you develop. So, we decided to focus our efforts on showing industry members “how” to achieve success, rather than just telling you “what” you need to do. LeadingPRINT is our new content platform that shares entrepreneurial stories of the printers transforming their businesses, expert advice from outside the industry and strategic-based content that will guide you to prosperity. LeadingPRINT is not a trade magazine, a buyer’s guide or a trade show. It is a content platform that inspires through
LeadingPRINT is about looking forward. The businesses we have today are not the same as they were a few years ago. The future is an uncertain place, but LeadingPRINT will help lead the way.
To subscribe, visit: www.printtechnologies.org/ LeadingPRINT
multiple vehicles. LeadingPRINT magazine, the “LeadingPRINT CEO Summits,” LP podcasts, and our LP Online digital strategy will all be utilized to explain “how” you can succeed in an ever-changing landscape.
Editor — Julie Shaffer, Association for PRINT Technologies 1899 Preston White Drive Reston, VA 20191
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CREATIVE CORNER
Gregg Bauer, CEO, BauerHaus Creative Design guru Gregg Bauer on why your clients should trust your instincts If Gregg Bauer could pass along one piece of advice to the students he teaches on the Atlanta campus of Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), it would be to stick to your convictions. His experience, which includes more than 30 years in graphic design and advertising, is filled with stories of those unrelenting back and forth meetings between client and creative director (and when the light goes on for the client). Over the years, the stories of Bauer’s exploits in the creative world span many genres. He has logged time in ad agencies, design studios, and freelance and in-house agencies. In the ’90s, he was a team leader overseeing a group of designers at Turner Broadcasting, when he was assigned an emerging news network, CNN. At the time, the network was on the front lines covering the Gulf War. The results featured myriad awardwinning projects, including corporate communications, brochures, national consumer advertising, merchandising and helping establish CNN’s branding during this critical stage. Today, he is CEO of BauerHaus Creative in Atlanta, where he works with a variety of clients in the B2B and B2C worlds, including hospitals, law firms, construction, financial technologies and restaurants. His agency’s work creates brands, collateral pieces, websites, ad campaigns and videos. For the past 15 years, Bauer has also served as an adjunct professor at SCAD, where he teaches advertising design and branding, as well as art direction and portfolio design. CANVAS sat down with him to get his thoughts on dealing with today’s brands and what tomorrow’s creatives should know about design.
Give us a snapshot of today's graphic design market. What are you seeing out there?
We can look at that from a design standWe can look at that from a design standpoint, a business standpoint and a technology standpoint. Each one influences the other. If we start from a technology standpoint, while interactive has greatly expanded, printing
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has been forced to become more flexible and specialized. Digital printing has advanced to a much higher quality than what it was just 10 years ago. This has allowed lower quantities of collateral material to be printed and in full (4) color. What was once not possible to print affordably in full color, like business cards, is now possible. And printing techniques like spot varnishes and embossing are now possible on smaller runs with dazzling results. Variable data printing has personalized printed pieces as well. Now clients can have their customers’ names not just on the envelope label, but in the headline, along with a special message just for them.
Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show March 8 10. 2019 S
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What are your clients looking for today?
As technology has advanced, clients expect more all around. They want faster turnarounds and tighter budgets (I guess they have always wanted that). I think most clients still realize the value of printed pieces and direct mail. Now a well-designed mailer is seen as a more unique item since less are mailed out. Clients want their marketing pieces to be more disruptive and stand out, which is more of a challenge for designers. Each piece needs to look more outstanding and exceptional, while still staying on brand for the client. So this leaves the designer always trying to push the envelope just a little more.
What are some of the most critical things important to today's brand owners?
As always, a brand is a promise of a company’s unique value. So brand
owners still need to get their message out about how they are different and why their difference matters. In today’s saturated marketplace, it is more difficult to cut through the clutter. Creating a disruptive marketing campaign is not all of the challenge. Doing it within the confines of the existing brand really is the bigger challenge because brand managers realize that brands need to be consistent. Disruption is great, but if it costs the brand their reputation in the process, then it has done more damage than good.
What is the one quality every art director must have today?
Versatility. With new technologies and marketing expanding in a few different directions, today’s art directors must adapt and become more versatile. From social media to content marketing, what is expected of an art director continues to grow and evolve. But at its core, it is still aesthetics and being able to manage people to achieve a final result that will move an audience.
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What is the best piece of advice you can offer today's designers?
Learn your craft well. Designers have several tools in the tool belt, including type design, layout skills, color choices and computer skills. I would add to that writing skills to at least be able to write a good headline. Ultimately, designers will grow to become art directors and to do that, they should become good managers of people, time and budgets.
What is the biggest thing on your to-do list right now?
My to-do list is long and never ending, and ranges from work to non-work. The work list changes weekly as projects come in and out the door. But I think it is important to also keep an eye on the non-work list, too. Creatives need to refill the tank constantly. Getting inspiration from design shows, traveling and just going to fun events all help give creatives a fresh perspective. And time spent with family and friends away from work is important to a good outlook on life in general, which is reflected in your work and designs.
Can you share a recent success story about a project you did with a client?
I have a longtime client that had an out-of-date logo that I had recommended be updated. The pushback
was that their clients have known them as this visual identity for years, and to change the brand so drastically now would leave their clients confused. I argued my case, but to no avail. There was an emotional attachment to the brand’s old script logo that I just could not convince them they had grown beyond. They had grown into a sector that dealt in financial technologies, and the outdated script just did not fit them anymore. It was like wearing a suit from 30 years ago because it was comfortable, even though it was ill-fitting and out of style. Finally, a consultant was talking to them about an unrelated item and
mentioned the off-brand logo. They came back to me ready for a new brand. Our new mark was a departure from where they were. It was simple, colorful and had a current look to it that matched the industry they were in. From there, we expanded on their brand in collateral pieces and online. They came to me after the project was completed, not just to say how happy they were with the new brand, but they were surprised how reinvigorated their own employees were about the new look and feel of the company. Their clients reacted positively as well, and we continue to expand on the brand look, taking our cues from the new logo.
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PERSPECTIVE
P26 CANVAS OCTOBER 2019
Cover Story: By Michael J. Pallerino
WHY THINKING DIFFERENTLY IS BETTER THAN TRYING TO BE DIFFERENT
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teve Jobs did not particularly care for the original concept of Apple’s “Think Different” and “To the crazy ones” campaign. True story. To hear Rob Siltanen tell it, Jobs initially called the script crap (we are being kind here). The then creative director and managing partner at TBWA/Chiat/ Day recalls Jobs being blatantly harsh about the commercial, an astonishing revelation since the famously chronicled pioneer of the microcomputer often gets credit for the spot that helped orchestrate one of the greatest corporate turnarounds of all time. The moral of this story is not that Jobs resisted, then relented to the idea. It is that he had the foresight to do so. He had the guts to think differently about something that, well, some people thought differently about.
“ Obstacles do not block the path; they are the path.” — ZEN PROVERB
Depending on which account you follow, Jobs knew that the campaign was a way to inspire consumers and recharge the Apple brand. He understood that consumers (and his employees) had forgotten what Apple stood for. When he took the 20,000-foot view of the situation, Jobs knew that thinking differently—being a little crazy, if you will—was the right thing to do. So, if thinking differently is such an extraordinary mental move and can truly make a difference in how people act and respond, why doesn’t everyone do it? Patrick Ungashick believes that thinking differently is a crucial attribute for any brand. It is a requisite step to acting differently, which in turn produces different results. “For any brand—and the products and services behind that brand—to separate itself
from the pack, there must delivery of a different experience for the customer, a scalable operational advantage, or a sustainable approach to product innovation,” says Ungashick, CEO of NAVIX Consultants. “All of that starts with different thinking.” One of the best places to start is by looking for unseen intersections between two different fields to find advances or advantages. Take the entertainment industry. When the creators of HBO’s mega-series “Game of Thrones” were pitching the idea, they did not hype up magic and dragons. Rather, they said the show would be “The Sopranos meets Middle Earth.” “That’s different,” Ungashick says. “They found the intersection of compelling, tense family drama meeting the fascinating other world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hobbits in Middle Earth.”
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Click While rising to the challenge of creative thinking is encouraged, you must be careful not to limit creativity by simply forcing a different mindset. “Thinking outside the box helps you force yourself to stop and look at situations differently,” Ungashick says. “It works so well because, to start, you have to intentionally describe what the box is and where the lines are currently drawn. That effort alone brings clarity and insight to whatever you are seeking to improve, redesign or redefine.” In the end, thinking differently leads to greater empathy, because to think differently, you must stretch your eye and heart to see and comprehend new angles and insights. Doing so increases our understanding of yourself, others and the communities you serve. “This leads to greater self and social awareness,” Ungashick says.
Put it on your calendar
Cindy McGovern, Ph.D., believes that thinking outside of the box should be a required part of every staff meeting. She says that part of the reason we have a hard time innovating is that we are stuck in our own boxes and silos— too busy to step outside of our routines and try something new or even think of something different. “When we think outside of the box, we can’t help but innovate,” says McGovern, CEO of Orange Leaf Consulting. “I encourage managers to assign their people to poke holes in their organizations’ boxes and let the light in. Great ideas can come from the craziest notions. Here’s one of my favorite outside-of-the-box notions: Every job is a sales job. Even employees who work at reception, on the help desk and in accounting should think of themselves as sales reps for the company.”
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“Thinking outside the box helps you force yourself to stop and look at situations differently.” — PATRICK UNGASHICK, CEO, NAVIX CONSULTANTS
The key is that we must work harder to train ourselves to think differently. It takes practice. In the day-to-day battle to keep up with the competition, our coworkers and the person next door, we sometimes forget to think at all. For example, McGovern recommends that clients stop worrying about Brand X and instead focus on what their customers need and want. That’s how a brand stands out from the crowd. But to note, thinking takes planning. If you are not in the right headspace to be creative, it will not happen. “Ever notice how you get some of your best ideas while you’re on vacation?” McGovern asks. “That’s because you have time to think. Once you plan to spend some time thinking, you can force yourself out of your own box.” To shake out of the same old, same old doldrums, McGovern recommends physically trying something new—a workout class, a professional development course, a book, a podcast or anything out of your normal routine or habit. “This pushes me outside of my box, and that’s when I start to see
ways to ratchet up your creative thinking
1. Just Do It — You cannot find a better place to craft your creative thinking mindset than Nike’s vaunted slogan. Do it frequently by forcing associations or connections across different ideas when they don’t naturally emerge.
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things a bit differently,” she says. “Once you are out of your own box, ask yourself, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if we did XYZ?’ Go nuts with it. Think of all the pie-in-the-sky stuff you can. That’s where innovation starts.”
Mad scientists abound
Creative thinkers are “mad scientists,” and they are everywhere. They are the people who see what others do not. They give themselves permission to draw outside of the lines. They are not always the most organized, confident or even articulate employees, but they are the game changers. “I like to think of them as artists,” McGovern says. “They are free thinkers who can lead judgment-free creative conversations that allow employees to tap into ideas, values and beliefs that they might not even realize they have.” If a department has a culture of “no idea is a bad idea,” those who might otherwise self-censor often make suggestions that stun colleagues who never expected such creativity. “We can’t help but be changed when we experience other cultures, view the work of the masters or listen to the perspective of those who live in conditions so unlike we have here,” McGovern says. “We return to work with big ideas, a broader understanding and, if we’re lucky, a more open mind and welcoming nature.” Ungashick says that while he does not see a single profile of a creative thinker, courage is part of the mix. “It takes some level of bravery to challenge conventions and assumptions. I would add impatience or perhaps even intolerance to the mix too—one must be unwilling to tolerate a status quo in order to invest the effort required to think and act creatively.”
If you are looking for ways to take your creative thinking skills to the next level, the Harvard Business Review panel of experts offers these three exercises:
2. Shake it up — When associations do not come naturally, try forcing them to surface unnaturally by shaking things up randomly.
3. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. — Harvard Medical School researchers found that if adults practice associational thinking long enough, the task can energize them. Like most skill-based activities, if you plug away at something over and over, the task becomes life giving, not life taking.
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BUSINESS
More than just dots… P30 CANVAS OCTOBER 2019
Feature Story: By Michael J. Pallerino
How Fort Orange Press is helping expand the print game “Printing is more than just dots.”
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hat does the average person think when he thinks about print? Ask a dozen people and you might get a dozen different answers. Like everything, the answer is in the presentation. At Fort Orange Press, which proudly boasts the aforementioned phrase on its website’s homepage, printing is many things. Printing is the award-winning service Fort Orange has delivered to every job for the past 100-plus years, whether the times called for letterpress, traditional offset and now digital. Printing is also the strategic and forward-thinking decisions that the Albany, New York, printing service provider brings to every project.
Family owned and operated since 1905, Fort Orange Press has grown into one of the Northeast’s leading commercial printing companies, with clients stretching to Greater New York City and as far north as the Canadian border. With a diverse set of seasoned print professionals, Fort Orange possesses the expertise, visionary intelligence and acute business insight to help lead the print community headlong into the 21st Century.
For Robert Witko, there is no other way. A print lifer, the president and CEO grew up in the business. When he was named president and CEO in 2009, he succeeded his brother, Michael, who had taken the reins from their father. Frank Witko started as a sales representative for Fort Orange in 1956, eventually working his way up through various management positions to president in 1962. He later became a majority stockholder and chairman in 1973.
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More than just dots...
As Robert will tell you, his father’s progressive leadership and thinking paved the way for a generation of Witko involvement, which also included his sister, Kim. “In this business, it is one thing to claim performance ability, and it is quite another to have the resources to support that claim,” he says. That starts with having the right team. The essence that is Fort Orange lies in its people, from the management team, to skilled craftsmen and administrative staff. “Not only is our ownership thirdgeneration, but we’ve had generations of production employees as well,” Robert says. “We take craftsmanship to a new level by staying at the forefront of technological changes. Additionally, having a customer base that is as excited as we are with adoption of new technology, as we continuously look to enhance their brand identities.”
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“ While our objective is print perfection, we place an utmost importance on building long-lasting relationships with our accounts and consumers, ensuring success for each individual involved.” — ROBERT WITKO, PRESIDENT & CEO, FORT ORANGE PRESS
Take the company’s foray into the world of digital printing, particularly production inkjet. After installing an Océ VarioPrint i300 and an Océ ColorStream 3900 last year, Fort Orange now has the versatility to run both sheet fed and inkjet web covers, enabling it to pick and choose where and when to utilize the technology to reach maximum efficiency.
“Inkjet gives us the ability to provide our customers an expanding catalog of product offerings and services,” Robert says. “From books to direct mail and magazines, the inkjet process has allowed our team to utilize these presses as a maximum cost benefit for our customer. Inkjet has enhanced our storefront capabilities, giving us the flexibility to decide which press will be
optimal for each specific job. It has also allowed our team the ability to provide shorter lead times on low volume, high frequency orders.” In today’s highly competitive landscape, every opportunity to gain an edge is critical. Adding inkjet has afforded Fort Orange the advantages of digital printing, including VDP, customization, personalization, as well as the ability to produce a higher volume in a quicker and more efficient fashion. Robert says it has become the perfect technological upgrade to complement its dry toner presses and has proven to be an on-ramp to the more traditional offset production. “The ability to shorten lead times for low volume, high frequency orders has also been a huge addition to the printing industry,” he says. “As the world continues to move forward, so too does the printing industry. The speed, quality and productivity improvements that inkjet presses offer are just the beginning of the printing industry’s transformation into the modern world.”
In the eye of the beholder…
Every project is different. Each carries with it a unique characteristic that can call for the most straightforward approach or something a bit more creative. To help set the tone at Fort Orange, every
customer who comes in with a project gets one-on-one time with the team. Each team member seeks ways to either save cost, make recommendations and add some peace of mind. “Our team has a good working knowledge of what they have to do to provide a beautifully designed piece,” Robert says. “They have a unique opportunity to be there with our customers for each step along the way to bring a design to life.” That is also where inkjet comes into play. Fort Orange is able to offer a multitude of proofing options that are not always so easily accomplished in traditional offset. “This provides an opportunity to our client to see exactly what their final product will look and feel like before the actual production takes place,” Robert says. This kind of attention to detail is what helps build relationships. For example, Robert recalls the working partnership
Fort Orange has built with a family owned publishing business near Buffalo, New York. The customer needed to produce short-run full color textbooks consisting of more than 150 pages each to support its educational skills teaching syllabus. The handbooks contained colorful illustrations that help assist children with their reading skills. After consulting with the company, Fort Orange found the publications were a perfect fit for the Color Stream 3900. Today, Fort Orange helps deliver two up-trimmed book blocks from its bindery, helping utilize cost-effective, vibrant, inkjet imaging. “While our objective is print perfection, we place an utmost importance on building long-lasting relationships with our accounts and consumers, ensuring success for each individual involved,” Robert says. “We like to think that is what makes an exception in the printing industry.”
The essence that is Fort Orange lies in its people, from the management team, to skilled craftsmen and administrative staff.
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BRANDING
P34 CANVAS OCTOBER 2019
Feature Story: By Feature Jamar Laster Story
Effectively toeing the line between motivation and strategy
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ric Wallace had figured it out. In 2015, against the backdrop of big-beer conglomerates like Anheuser-Busch, InBev and MillerCoors scooping up smaller, independent craft breweries across the country, Wallace devised a way to foster an ownership mentality, enthusiasm and high level of buy-in among employees.
He made them owners—literally. His company, Left Hand Brewing Co., developed an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) under which the craft brewery contributed stock to its ESOP trust, with each eligible employee receiving an annual allocation. “Our intent is to reward employees and foster an ownership mentality, encouraging members to contribute to and participate in Left Hand’s long-term success,” said Wallace, cofounder and CEO of the Longmont, Colorado, company, upon announcing the ESOP. The brewery established a vision statement and core values that incorporated the ESOP, asserting that it would help cultivate long-term service, promote responsibility and trust in all relationships, and create a sense of pride in the workplace.
“It’s not about maximizing immediate financial return,” Wallace says. “We have a longer view. Money is only a tool to serve our greater mission. Left Hand is about brewing great beer, giving back to our community and perpetuating a participative employee culture.” Unpacking the contents of the “motivation-and-strategy” package can be complex, and includes multiple pieces that managers can combine to form a cohesive productivity puzzle.
Define the motivation
Left Hand’s ESOP and the resulting personal stake that employees were given in the company’s success represent one of the ways motivation can be established. Jono Bacon, a community and management strategy consultant, speaker and author of “People Powered: How Communities Can Supercharge
Your Business, Brand, and Teams,” says human beings are motivated by performing meaningful work. As such, having a meaningful mission and results-oriented strategy can be a magical combination to keep people focused on potential while seeing that potential being delivered upon. “If a given project has real purpose and meaning, it can significantly amp up the level of motivation in the individual,” Bacon says. “The impact of this is that it can get people to think bigger and broader, which can result in a more adventurous strategy.” Make no mistake about it—strategy is an important portion of this equation— one that some organizations don’t have the patience to establish and achieve. “For many organizations I’ve worked with, motivation has been such a strong driver that leaders forget to identify a strategy in the process,” says Jeff Fromm, an international speaker and authority on consumer trends, marketing and innovation, and author of “The Purpose Advantage.” “Organizations that are able to motivate not just for the outcome, but for the path to get to
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The Finish Line
“If a given project has real purpose and meaning, it can significantly amp up the level of motivation in the individual.” — JONO BACON, AUTHOR OF “PEOPLE POWERED: HOW COMMUNITIES CAN SUPERCHARGE YOUR BUSINESS, BRAND, AND TEAMS”
that outcome, tend to be more fluent in strategies, and overall more efficient and effective with how they win.”
The balancing act
Peter Topping believes there will always be tension between focusing on day-today operations and crafting strategy for the future. "High-performing organizations understand how to balance these two interdependent imperatives,” says Topping, associate professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta. “Focusing too much on either is a serious problem.” Indeed, striking the balance between the present and the future is daunting, often resulting in “wasted work” if the drive to get things done does not fit into the broader strategic picture. Bacon, who has done community-management consulting for organizations such as Deutsche Bank, Intel, Samsung, IBM and Mozilla, says the “Big Rocks” methodology can be used to design a clear strategy of what needs to be accomplished and the key pieces of work that must be produced. The goal is to break the “rocks” down into individual tactics that can be delivered in smaller work increments. For example, if the rock is delivering a website, then tasks could include identifying a platform, designing the site’s structure, creating core imagery and logos, producing core content, etc. These smaller tasks should be gratifying to deliver and help build momentum toward the broader goal, or rock. "The idea here is that you tap into the motivation of your team by painting a picture that moves the needle in the project, but then each individual task sits neatly within a broader strategy,” Bacon says. “This will reduce the likelihood of wasted work and keep people excited about the project.” Fromm says devising a strategy requires patience and sacrifice, with both—at times—being the enemy of many leaders’ get-it-done philosophy. “To balance this, you have to make sure that you reinforce and compensate what ‘having a strategy’ actually provides you,” says Fromm, who has 25 years of experience consulting for brands such as Amazon, Dairy Queen, Wingstop and Gallo. “Clarity, focus and efficiency are sometimes the best indicators of having a strong strategy.” The following are a few other tips for fostering motivation and keeping it in
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4
ways to keep yourself (and your team) motivated 1. Don’t Discount Your Potential — Your ability to learn, grow and get better is personal. Failure is simply a learning lesson, and motivation will be endless when you realize your future is in your control. 2. Seek Counsel — Surround yourself with honest, frank people. Tap their experiences, listen and learn from them. 3. Incentivize the Small Stuff — Even the little gestures can mean a lot. Words matter, too, so figure out a way to provide positive reinforcement. 4. Remember Your Humanity — Some people burn themselves out trying to be perfect. Accept your imperfections. It may even help humanize your employees.
the context of a larger strategy: Communicate effectively. Bacon differentiates between two types of phone calls between managers and employees: “Rambo” and “Ghandi” calls. The former strictly focuses on achieving business goals, while the latter is meant to provide moral support, especially in stressful times. “These calls should be designed to always keep the team focused on the bigger meaning and mission, and how they work directly makes it happen,” he says. Focus on personal development. Some leaders rely on employees to be self-motivated to facilitate effective strategy. Fromm says while internal motivation is a strong contributor, it’s important to think introspectively rather than framing the motivation for the business. “I recommend focusing on personal development as a way to gather skills on the employee level that can elevate your strategic capabilities as an organization in total,” he says. “It’s rare that one person drives strategy; rather, it’s the combination of behaviors and decisions of the community of people you employ.” Promote accountability and be a mentor. It’s important to create a culture of delivery. Your employees must be held accountable, Bacon says, and problems must be handled in a proactive way. If employees struggle with certain tasks, create an atmosphere where they feel comfortable sharing their challenges with peers who can help them surmount any obstacles. Harness the power of consistent productivity. One way to do this is to create succession plans. “Roll certain responsibilities to lower-level employees, and engage those who have mastered areas of contribution to higherorder efforts and initiatives,” he says. Bacon describes the workplace as a melting pot of minds, experiences and capabilities—true communities. That’s something to remember when trying to promote productivity therein. “Build an internal community where your team can bring their expertise and insight to projects,” he says. “Create an open, collaborative internal environment with a solid set of guardrails to ensure you make decisions and get work done. This doesn’t just empower your team, which builds motivation, but it tends to generate happier, more fulfilling team members and, as such, longer retention and easier hiring.”
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Beyond the buzz P38 CANVAS OCTOBER 2019
Feature Story: By Sarah Mannone
How to create authentic thought leadership
T
hought leadership. Is it a corporate buzzword? Yes. But it is also a critical component of your content marketing strategy if you hope to build credibility for both your company and personal brands. Publishing quality thought leadership content packs a lot of punch; it positions you as the authority on your subject or industry, boosts your influence, and builds trust in your expertise. But despite its power, many business leaders I talk to are not giving the creation of thought leadership content the time and attention it deserves. Maybe you are just starting to dip your toes in and are feeling overwhelmed. Or maybe it has been on your to-do list for a long time, but keeps getting bumped in favor of other work that feels more pressing. Whatever is holding you back, I have good news—it is not too late to add your voice to the conversation.
How do I find topics to write about?
In order to produce solid thought leadership content, your content must be, well, thought-leading. This type of content operates on a level above the rest of your marketing. Thought leadership is all about contributing a fresh take to the ongoing industry dialogue. It should be provocative and is most powerful when it comes from a place of experience. This is definitely not the time and place to sell your products or
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Beyond the buzz services—it’s the time and place to sell yourself as the expert. So how do you find your voice and tap into what makes your perspective unique? First, talk to your peers. Thought leadership is about taking part in the broader industry conversation. What is the word on the street? What are the latest trends? Make a habit of checking Twitter hashtags and industry newsletters and publications daily with content creation in mind. And do not be afraid to build on the content your competitors are producing, as long as you’re adding something new to the conversation.
have available to you, since the basis of the best thought leadership content is original research.
Great, now where do I post?
Once you have honed in on topics, you need to decide on your format, which will be informed by the channels you plan to use for distribution. Thought leadership content can take the form of blog posts, case studies, e-books, interviews, podcasts, webinars, infographics, and much more. It could be an in-depth long read, a short and punchy video, or anything in between.
quotes. If you publish regularly, there’s also the chance that your content could be featured on the platform or in their email newsletters, extending your reach even further. LinkedIn — As the most trusted and respected business-focused social media platform, LinkedIn has become a very popular channel for thought leadership. Unlike Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, the majority of people log into LinkedIn to network and get down to business. Posting in LinkedIn groups is also a valuable way to make your voice heard, provided you are engaging in authentic interaction and not simply spamming a group with your sales pitch. Industry publications — Not all thought leadership content needs to be self-published. Work on developing relationships with industry trade publications and you might be able to get your work placed in a widely-read and respected magazine or newsletter that’s highly targeted to your ideal audience.
Okay, but when do I get all this done?
Similarly, pay attention to what your audience is saying. Tools like answerthepublic.com can help you tap into exactly what people are searching for, but you’ve got an even better resource right at your fingertips: the frequently asked questions that come up during your sales process. For example, at Trekk, we constantly get the question, “What’s the ROI for using augmented reality with print?” From that question, we’ve created a high-level informational page on our website, a more in-depth blog post, a webinar, a video and multiple social posts. You should also talk to your team, and I mean everyone on your team. Even if C-suite executives are going to be the public face of your thought leadership content, your employees may be the ones who are the most plugged into what your audience is hungry for. Host ideation sessions to tap into their frontline knowledge. And while you’re at it, take a close look at the data you
Here are some easy and effective places to start: Your company blog — Hosted on your own website, a company blog is the most obvious platform for thought leadership content. Having it integrated into your website reinforces brand awareness and boosts SEO. Just keep in mind that if your website doesn’t get much traffic currently, you will need to work to build up your readership over time. It may make sense to publish your content somewhere you already have a built-in audience in the meantime. Medium — Medium is a publishing platform that is still blog-like but is separate from your website. It’s easy to use, with plug-and-play functionality. It is less customizable than your own blog would be, but with 60 million monthly readers, Medium has a large built-in audience and features that foster engagement, like the ability to highlight and comment on specific
I get it—people are busy. I will not say that producing effective thought leadership content does not take time and resources, but there are some strategies to help you prioritize it. First, think about when you want to release your content. Is there an upcoming industry event or a significant product launch that could help amplify it? Put that date on the calendar, now. Having a real deadline can prevent the project from getting kicked down the road. Second, enlist your team. For most of us, writing quality pieces is timeconsuming, and it is okay to recognize that you don’t have time to accomplish it alone. If your operation is small, designate a strong writer to work with you and meet for periodic “brain dumps” that will allow this writer to produce initial drafts for your review. If you are running a larger operation, recruit a few people and assemble a team of writers, editors, and producers who can help you create and polish new content regularly. To make it easier, keep a shared document of topic ideas. It can seem like an overwhelming task, but remember that your content doesn’t necessarily have to be long. Sometimes less really is more. Above all, think of your thought leadership content as a long-term investment that will help you earn the trust and attention of the audience you are trying to reach. It is about much more than views, clicks, or social media followers. It is a reflection of something much harder to measure: respect.
Sarah Mannone is Executive Vice President at Trekk, a tech-driven creative agency obsessed with exploration. She thrives on infusing new ideas and technologies into multi-channel marketing programs. Connect with her at trekk.com or @sarahmannone on Twitter.
P40 CANVAS OCTOBER 2019
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE. THEN LOOK ON THE INSIDE.
Introducing a new choice in premium paperboard: Spectro® C1S and C2S. Born from our legacy of innovation in coating technology, Sappi is delivering a superior printing surface to make any project outstanding. So when the reverse side of your print job needs to speak as loudly as the front, you won’t need to wonder if you’re making an impression. Thinking inside the box. That’s the new standard in packaging. See reverse-side radiance for yourself. Visit sappi.com/thenewstandard to start your partnership with Sappi.
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JUST WHEN YOU JUST WHENINKJET YOU THOUGHT THOUGHT INKJET COULDN’T GET COULDN’T GET MORE AMAZING MORE AMAZING Introducing the third generation J Press from Fujifilm. Introducing the third generation J Press from Fujifilm. The J Press 720S set the industry standards for print quality, color reproduction, repeatability and reliability. Now, the new J Press 750S incorporates exciting new advancements like an The J Press 720S set the industry standards for print quality, increased sheet size of 23” x 29.5” and a running speed of color reproduction, repeatability and reliability. Now, the new 3,600 sheets per hour, effectively doubling letter-size output. J Press 750S incorporates exciting new advancements like an Just imagine where the new J Press 750S can take your business. increased sheet size of 23” x 29.5” and a running speed of 3,600 sheets per hour, effectively doubling letter-size output. By pushing the envelope of inkjet technology, the J Press 750S Just imagine where the new J Press 750S can take your business. invites you to rethink what you can do using the world’s fastest full color B2 sheetfed inkjet press. By pushing the envelope of inkjet technology, the J Press 750S invites you to rethink what you can do using the world’s fastest See the J Press 750S in action at Booth #8220. full color B2 sheetfed inkjet press. See the J Press 750S in action at Booth #8220.
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