manroland Sponsors WhatTheyThink Event at Print 09 Featuring Dr. Joe Webb discussing the change in media mix and what it means for the printing industry

Lexington, Kentucky USA -- WhatTheyThink.com today announced the opportunity for industry professionals to attend a free event with Dr. Joe Webb. Sponsored by manroland Inc., it will be held Monday, September 14^th from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. in Room S106A/B, McCormick Place in Chicago in conjunction with Print 09. A continental breakfast will be available at 8:00 AM.

Register today.

This one hour event is entitled "Entrepreneurs Welcome: Opportunities in the New Printing Industry." It will help printing and publishing executives rekindle the spirit of a start-up within their companies.  Dr. Joe will provide insights on what to expect as the economy recovers. He will discuss how changes in media, communications technologies, social trends, and the economy will create new and different opportunities for all printing businesses—small to large.

“In past economic downturns, many printers have simply opted to wait it out,” said Dr. Webb.  “This time, they can't because even basic concepts such as advertising are changing.  Printing companies that were envied for their “forward-thinking” approaches have closed their doors.  Yet the post-recession industry will offer a new range of communications options for print buyers.  My objective during this session is to help printing executives make sense of all of this turmoil, avoid problems, identify opportunities, and see a clearer path to success in a very different world.”

This is manroland’s seventh year as the sponsor of this popular and important WhatTheyThink educational event at Print/Graph Expo. Each year, the audience has grown, and the event provides a good opportunity to both catch up on the state of the industry and to see old friends and meet new ones.

“The information to be gleaned from this year’s presentation is more vital than ever before,” said Vince Lapinski, CEO of manroland North America.  “The time for handwringing about the economy is over, and it is now time to take positive steps to ensure a successful future.  Dr. Webb’s guidance will be of great value to executives as they build strategies for the balance of 2009 and into 2010.  We are pleased to continue our  sponsoriship  of this event.”

"We should view this as a time of opportunity," stated Randy Davidson, President of WhatTheyThink.com. "It is stage one of a new marketplace.  Entrepreneurs deal with the cards they are dealt and move decisively from there.  That’s what this event is about.  manroland's continuing generosity as the exclusive sponsor of this important event has enabled WhatTheyThink to make it free to all attendees for the seventh year in a row. We are honored by their decision to support this event and the needs of printing executives and owners."

Dr. Joe Webb is the director of WhatTheyThink.com's Economics and Research Center, where managers, researchers and analysts can find free and premium content about industry trends, including forecasts and more. Dr. Webb is a recognized marketing authority, forecaster and one of the best known speakers in our industry. His weekly “Mondays with Dr. Joe” has been a “must read” column since 2003.

To register for this event, click here.

After the event, manroland will host Dr. Webb at Booth #1129 where he will be signing complementary copies of his book, “Renewing the Printing Industry.”

About WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites.

Through the WhatTheyThink Speakers Bureau, expert speakers are available for private company planning sessions and sales meetings, customer and dealer events, and association membership programs. WhatTheyThink also supports the speakers programs by assisting in the promotion of the events through its web sites and e-mail programs, if desired.

About manroland

manroland Inc., a division of manroland AG, is the world's second largest printing systems manufacturer and the world's market leader in web offset. manroland employs almost 9,000 people and has annual sales of some Euro 2 billion with an export share of almost 84%. Web and sheetfed offset presses provide solutions for publishing, commercial and packaging printing.

For more information visit www.manroland.us.com.

About Dr. Joe Webb

Dr. Joe Webb is the director of WhatTheyThink.com's Economics and Research Center, where managers, researchers and analysts can find free and premium content about industry trends, including forecasts and more. Dr. Webb is a 30-year graphic arts veteran, a recognized marketing authority, forecaster and one of the best known speakers in our industry. He is known for his ability to interpret the latest market conditions in the graphic communications industries and translate what they mean for executives and their strategic decisions. 

He is a Ph.D. graduate of the NYU Center for Graphic Communications Management and Technology (1987) and serves on the Center's Board of Advisors. He holds an MBA in Management Information Systems from Iona College (1981) and was a magna cum laude graduate in Managerial Sciences and Marketing from Manhattan College (1978), and was a member of the economics honor society. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing, market research, quantitative analysis, business policy, and organizational behavior. He started in the industry with Agfa's Graphic Systems Division and was later a marketing executive with Chemco Photoproducts, entering consulting full time in 1987. Among his publications is the controversial "Renewing the Printing Industry: A Contrarian's Constructive Perspective."