BOULDER, CO - InfoPrint Solutions, a Ricoh company, today announced the results from the "Go Beyond the Meter" utilities-specific conference and industry event that forced utilities around the world to rethink their customer communications approach. This peer-to-peer forum brought together dozens of international utility companies to discuss and share emerging trends and technological advances such as data analytics and bill redesign that can lead to consumer brand attachment, advocacy, loyalty and bottom-line savings.

Feedback from industry marketers and pundits who attended the Go Beyond the Meter conference includes:

• "The LADWP presentation was an excellent case study example of real-world problems and how they were solved," said an executive at a Western US-based utility company currently serving more than 25 million customers
• "Wes Friesen of Portland General Electric discussed his very interesting perspective on justifying in-plant resources. It was great reference material," said an executive from a Southwestern US-based utility serving nearly two million customers
• "Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. However, my knowledge of effective customer communications dramatically improved," said an executive from a Southern US-based utility company that serves nearly 1.5 million homes, businesses and industries
• "This event exceeded my expectations and was very informative. I will be able to apply this learned knowledge to expand the utilization of our bills," said an executive from a Texas-based retail electricity provider

Go Beyond the Meter featured guest speakers including top utility industry executives, marketing professionals and industry analysts. These experts discussed the value of implementing a data-driven marketing approach in customer communications to achieve key goals, such as broadening awareness of renewable energy initiatives. Speakers included:

• Wes Friesen, Manager, Revenue Collection & Community Offices of Portland General Electric (PGE)
• Jill Feblowitz, Vice President of Utilities, Oil and Gas, IDC Energy Insights
• George Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Solutions
• Liz Miller, Vice President of Operations, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council
• Lee Gallagher, Director of Precision Marketing and Sales, InfoPrint Solutions
• Mike Bryant, Worldwide Practice Leader, Strategy & Marketing Analytics, InfoPrint Solutions

"Go Beyond the Meter was a tremendous event -- sharing best practices, real-world experiences and multiple industry perspectives -- according to the positive feedback from our attendees," said Sandra Zoratti, Vice President of Global Solutions Marketing, InfoPrint Solutions. "The utility industry is at an important inflection point. We were able facilitate the conversation about major challenges and real solutions as these companies strive to better connect with their customers through more effective communications and engagement while complying with renewable energy, regulatory and global regulations. We are already working on the next collaborative event."

The CMO Council and InfoPrint Solutions also unveiled their newest "What's Critical in the Vertical" study focused on the utilities industry. The unique study, now available, addresses the programs, promotions, productivity and profitability that can be achieved by optimizing and leveraging the data that already exists within the utility -- from the perspective of both the consumer and utility marketer.

For additional information about the Go Beyond the Meter conference, please visit http://www.gobeyondthemeter.com/.