Sponsored by Veritiv, session discussed critical economic and industry trends and challenges and launched new book 

WhatTheyThink.com - WhatTheyThink reported today that its 12-year tradition of hosting an educational breakfast meeting at Graph Expo 2014 continues to draw large audiences. The event, held on September 30^th, featured Dr. Joe Webb, Director of WhatTheyThink’s Economics and Research Center and was sponsored by Veritiv.  Dr. Webb also used this event to launch his new book, This Point Forward, co-authored with Richard Romano.  In addition to sponsoring the breakfast, Veritiv partnered with Kodak to make copies of the book available to all attendees and hosted a book signing later in the day.

Access to audio and slides is located here. 

“We are pleased that Veritiv sponsored this event and the distribution of copies of This Point Forward,” said Dr. Webb. “The economy is transmitting conflicting signals, and the printing industry continues to experience pressures from technology and other forces. Our goal was to help attendees sort these trends out for their planning and decision process.” Dr. Webb discussed how broadband, mobile, social media, marketing automation, analytics, postal rates and many other factors are affecting how consumers and business people view and use print. ”While change is not always easy, these trends can offer many new opportunities to printing businesses willing to innovate on behalf of their customers and in their own businesses,” Dr. Webb added. “We must continue to evolve the value proposition for print and look for ways to leverage our expertise in combination with other media channels.” 

During the session, Dr. Webb covered the following topics:

• Economic conditions and forecasts
• Mid-term elections and the economic outlook
• The new challenge to print and printers: engaging the automated and analytic communications marketplace
• Print shipment forecasts and the unseen restructuring of the marketplace
• Hidden and emerging challenges to print business management
• This Point Forward: An executive overview of a new book by Dr. Joe Webb and Richard Romano

 “As always, this session was both informative and entertaining,” said Eric Vessels, President of WhatTheyThink. “We were pleased to have Dan Watkoske, SVP of Strategic Print Solutions at Veritiv, kick off the session. It was also a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. We appreciate Veritiv’s thought-leadership position and its generous sponsorship which made this session available to Graph Expo attendees at no charge at the show and in our online archive.”

About Dr. Joe Webb

Dr. Joe Webb is one of the graphic arts industry's best-known consultants, forecasters, and commentators. He is director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center and president of Strategies for Management, Inc. A 35+ year veteran of the graphic arts industries, his forecast webinars and industry presentations assist C-level executives, owners, and analysts understand how changes in the economy, technology, and the industry affect their strategic decisions. He is a Ph.D. graduate of the NYU Center for Graphic Communications Management and Technology (1987) and served 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). He started in the industry with Agfa's Graphic Systems Division, was a marketing executive with Chemco Photoproducts, and entered consulting full time in 1987. In 1994, he founded the influential TrendWatch information service, sold to multinational publisher Reed Elsevier in 2000.

His book, Disrupting the Future: Uncommon Wisdom for Navigating Print's Challenging Marketplace, written with Richard Romano, has been described as “the manifesto for a new generation of printers” and has had more copies printed and downloaded than any other printing industry specific book.

About WhatTheyThink

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading media organization. We offer a wide range of publications that deliver unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Special interest sections include Economics, Wide Format, Print Software, Labels & Packaging, Production Inkjet and Mergers & Acquisitions.

WhatTheyThink hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, delivering content directly to related websites. In addition, WhatTheyThink offers a wide range of lead generation and branding programs that help print- and publishing-related companies achieve business growth.

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