The Value of Paper and Print campaign has seen a surge in membership since organisers pitched the idea to Australia’s printers, with companies joining the move to convince advertisers and the public of the power of print. Launching the campaign at the PIAA’s Sydney HQ this morning, Kellie Northwood, VoPP head and executive director of Two Sides Australia, says printers are responding with enthusiasm. She says, “Since we started this campaign we have had a significant upsurge in membership. It is as though the printing industry has said thank you, we can do something with this.
Launching VoPP, l-r: David Leach, Kellie Northwood and Bill Healey
“It has been quite phenomenal, we are just shy of a quarter of our total budget since October 1. That is great news.” Printers at the NSW event included Rawson Graphics, Bright Print, Look Print, Centrum, SOS, Opus Group and OnePoint. Northwood says the campaign has now sent out almost 16,000 copies of its printed Industry Report, which provides case studies and statistics on the ROI of impressive print campaigns, and data about print’s overall strengths as a channel within a brand’s marketing mix. Some 14,500 emails are also flying to inboxes monthly for both the VoPP and Two Sides campaigns, to advertising and print professionals as well as brands. Bill Healey, CEO of the PIAA, says the association will work with smaller printers through its transformation project to show how the VoPP report can be used to engage with their customers and sell more print. A multi-pronged advance will target media buyers and advertising professionals, including a roadshow in 2015 to reach out face-to-face, PR support through radio, and lecturing at design and advertising colleges to get the next generation excited about print.
VoPP’s The Industry Report
Discussions are also underway with Australia’s top newspapers that may result in more ways to spread the word. Printers at the launch event raised the issue of educating the general public; Northwood says while the project’s current budget of some $250,000 currently rules this out, it may be on the cards for the future. Healey says, “Until we started this campaign, we had no ammunition to take to the advertisers and general public. We now have the data, the information, to back us up. “A TV commercial, without it being linked to a broader industry development strategy, would be money proverbially up against the wall.” Northwood says the campaign’s overall objective is to wrestle back marketing spend to the printing industry, from TV, the internet and outdoor, as a key player in the advertising mix. She says, “Print is effective, it has environmental credentials, it is fun, engaging, tactile, trustworthy, accessible. We can substantiate all of these words through data, and pass them on to our customers in conversations that are much more sophisticated than those that are based around price. “We are trying to open up a different language around print.” She says the project’s PR campaign will ramp up during February and March next year, to target corporates and media buyers as they plan their media budgets for 2015. The VoPP roadshow, sponsored by Media Super, will hit Victoria tomorrow November 26 at the PIAA Mulgrave office from 8.30am; and Tasmania on November 27 at the Royal Yacht Club in Hobart from 3pm. Roadshow attendees will receive copies of the Industry Report, which is only available in print. Registration can be found here, and further information about VoPP, here.
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