Rochester, NY - February 14, 2008 - Highlights of the recent PODi AppForum include fresh ideas on the digital print market from three keynote speakers. Over 460 digital print professionals attended the 2008 AppForum in Las Vegas, along with 31 exhibitors. Attendees came from across the US and Canada as well as 16 countries outside of North America. Audiences were enriched by the unique perspectives of accomplished professionals like Rick Smith, founder and CEO of TASER International; Joel Cartun, retired Vestcom founder; and PODi President Rab Govil.

TASER CEO Charts Evolution of Digital Campaign Success
Smith told the AppForum audience how TASER (with the help of marketing partner, R and R Images) launched extremely successful personalized marketing campaigns targeting law enforcement agencies. The first campaign in 2002 focused on customized direct mail detailing savings estimates and ROI periods for TASER equipment. A 2003 campaign went even farther, using the image of an officer customized with the actual uniform patch worn by each agency. The 2006 campaign was still more ambitious. It used postcards, email, and print ads to drive prospects to a web site where customer input generated a 30-page customized brochure and quote was generated. Smith reported response rates ranging from 8 to 48 percent for postcard mailings. The audience came away with a strong sense of what was possible with careful data collection, a strong and relevant message, and one-to-one marketing technology.

Joel Cartun: Inside the Mind of an Entrepreneur
Mike Howard of InfoTrends interviewed industry legend, Joel Cartun, retired founder of a highly successful transactional printing business. Cartun founded Comvestrix, the first service bureau specializing in page-oriented digital printing. By the mid-1990s, Cartun considered selling Comvestrix, which had passed $20 million in sales. Instead, he chose an entirely different direction, acquiring and integrating other companies into what ultimately became Vestcom, a $50 million public company. After the dot-com bust, Cartun took the company private again. Another strong period of growth ensued, and Cartun ultimately sold the company in 2007. The interview was notable for its insights into the thinking behind Cartun's decisions at these key junctures. AppForum attendees with responsibility for either the business or the technology side of their companies came away with the sense of how personal these decisions can be and how deeply they reflect the leadership approach of the CEO.

Rab Govil: Value-Stream Mapping for Greater Efficiency
Rab Govil, PODi president, focused on the role of efficiency as a growth strategy. By being extremely efficient, profits can be made even in a commodity printing market, Govil noted. He described use of "value-stream mapping" to analyze every step of every process to see whether it added anything that the customer would value. Then he discussed eliminating the non-essential aspects of the workflow. Using the framework originally developed by Toyota and known as "lean manufacturing," he showed examples of how the printing process could be made more efficient and more profitable.

For more detailed information about the key ideas presented in these keynotes, contact Christine DeLooze at 585-214-5900.

2009 PODi AppForum
PODi will be returning to Las Vegas for the 2009 AppForum, January 19-21st, at The Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino. Individuals who would like to submit a speaking proposal should watch the PODi Web site, www.podi.org, for the call for speakers. The deadline for speaking proposals will be June 16.