LLKFB buys over $10 million of print annually for their clients. But this interview is more than an examination of LLKFB's print requirements. Bob Lieber is a visionary, with insight into Corporate America’s view of print as a medium to communicate with their customers and prospects. Print versus New Media: How do marketing and advertising professionals view print now and how will that change in the future?

Keeping customers loyal is a long-term challenge. It can be hard to prove results, and even harder to get funding approved. We recommend establishing milestones that will generate quick results to prove these investments make sense. When we start to map out where business issues are relative to behavior we are trying to affect, we often end up doing things differently than they originally anticipated. This can sometimes mean a media change, but not always.


WTT: In recent WTT columns by Dr. Joe Webb, he reported that 40% of J.C. Penney direct orders are received online as opposed to through its call center, and that GE just launched a major online advertising campaign featuring the company's new "Imagination at Work" tag line, a significant departure from the norm for them. What do you think? Are these indicators of the imminent "death of print advertising"?

BL: Interestingly, when we recently pitched a large retailer, we did a count of all of the potential customer contacts they have in a year, and we found there were over 2 billion, including catalog mailings, circulars, credit card statements, inserts in packages, inbound and outbound telephone calls – an amazing number, and most of it in print. They were stunned when they saw the number. This client is a perfect example of the multichannel factor we have been discussing.

Even if a customer orders on the web, a package gets delivered. There is a message on the shipping documents tailored to the recipient. There are inserts for other things they can buy, and perhaps a mini catalog – all printed. As for the GE example, it is fair to say that most companies now recognize that the internet has to be part of any campaign they launch. The real question is, what medium is it taking the dollars from? I just read an article in an industry trade magazine (in print!) that indicated that Amazon has decided to eliminate TV advertising. They have found that a combination of print (circulars) and internet is more successful than a print and broadcast combination. And oh, by the way, some of those ad dollars are being allocated to their well-publicized free shipping program. The other advantage for Amazon in this scenario is that they can obtain co-op dollars from manufacturers that cover much of the cost of printed circulars. What’s really driving marketing these days isn’t just media oriented decisions; it is about creating value for the customer. Free shipping is a powerful value creator and differentiator for Amazon.


WTT: From a strategic perspective, what do you advise clients relative to media mix for a given campaign, and what are some of the reasons you would recommend print over electronic, or vice versa?

BL: If we are trying to reach an audience that is hard to find but we have good mailing lists for that audience, we will recommend direct mail. Mailing lists still offer the most specific information on a target audience. The other area that still drives print is literature fulfillment, where someone requests that a brochure be sent, and takeaways for retail establishments or at events.


WTT: How involved are you these days in the creation and production of marketing collateral, aside from advertising and direct marketing materials, and what role do you play relative to selecting the printer to produce the work?

BL: We still do a lot of that. We believe that every contact has to deliver its own value, and we are finding ways to create value in print and collateral that perhaps a classic agency or a client company wouldn’t find. Besides that, most client companies will acknowledge that one of the most difficult functions to bring in-house is creative work. Even though desktop design applications have made it easier for anyone to be a designer, most companies still prefer to outsource a lot of that work.

I would say that about 65% of the time, we choose the printer; the other 35% of the time, the client will have its own print production operation. If a client has contracted with us to manage production, they rarely choose the outside printer.


WTT: What else can you tell us about the print versus electronic trends in advertising and communications, and short- and long-term impact on print volumes?

BL: On the longer term horizon you have things like wireless communications and networks, content and advertising integration, and time-shifting viewership, via devices like TIVO. All have enormous implications on marketer-consumer communications.

Regarding print, you’re starting to see marketers shift printing to consumers (coupons and tickets to events are two examples).

Shorter term, the idea of multichannel contact and seamless integration with the web is the place to be. Using an exclusive channel of interaction is not where the world is going. As an example, we are currently working on a client initiative that involves retention. In the course of that project, will do three off-line contacts (paper, print, direct mail), and in the same period we will do five or six electronic contacts where we have an e-mail address. You just can’t afford to do this level of frequency in print.

In this particular case, part of the pilot project is to determine what the right frequency is and what the customers’ reaction are to various offerings. It is much easier – less expensive and faster -- to do this kind of testing using electronic contacts particularly. I can create an e-mail message, get it approved and into a recipient’s hands much more quickly than I can create, produce and send a direct mail piece. With competition being what it is, and the need for businesses today to show results instantly, a few months saved can create enormous advantage.

Also, in many cases, the timeliness of contact makes a huge difference. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, when a doctor prescribes a patient medication, you have much more chance of affecting the patient’s behavior – that is, getting them to follow the recommended regimen – if you can give them usage help and support within the first few days of getting their script. Sometimes a patient may not completely understand the implications in their seven minutes with the doctor, and the materials that come with the prescription aren’t much more help. But if part of the documentation received from the doctor or pharmacist directs the patient to a web site to get more information, there is more likelihood of successful adoption.


WTT: Any other words of wisdom you would like to share with us before we close?

BL: From the perspective of the marketer or advertiser, you must look to places where you can add value to the communication. Where tactile interaction can add to persuasiveness, to help motivate behavior, print works well. There is an intimacy that you just can’t achieve via the web. But to be effective with print, you must innovate. Don’t let print ads be flat; they need to be dimensional and involving. Innovation will be the driver that will keep print growing. The world of "crank it out" is becoming old world because there are more efficient ways to do mass communications.

For the printer, you need to look for ways to deliver flexibility in terms of cycle time, substrate and services, because you are going to have to differentiate yourself in a world where the alternatives to print look much more attractive. By adding services such as digital asset management to repurpose original art for both print and electronic media, or by offering to convert brochures and other materials to PDF for posting on a client’s web site, you can add a lot of value to the process.

Print has to get more innovative to keep people involved and interested; flat ink on paper, delivered in the mail, has a hard time competing for attention with popping visuals, movies and sound delivered to your desktop.

Bob, thanks so much for your time today. An interesting discussion!


See part one.