Spending by promotion marketers dropped for the past two years, but specialty printers began to see the light in 2003 as revenues rose by 5% to $5.9 billion, up from $5.7 billion in 2002, according to Printing Industries of America (PIA), Alexandria, VA.
This small upswing in promotional spending on print can be attributed to the return of the economy during the second half of 2003. (Overall printing sales for 2003 were up by 0.8% to $156.7 billion.)
And things look promising for 2004, too, says PIA Chief Economist Ron Davis. “We’re seeing very strong, continued demand for high impact specialty printing with high levels of individualized customization,” says Janice Mayo, senior VP, national sales and marketing, for Vertis, a Baltimore, MD-based integrated marketing firm.
“I would agree that the trend is up — toward the end of 2003 things started really picking up,” points out Mike Maguire, president Structural Graphics, headquartered in Essex, CT. “Fourth quarter 2003 was the busiest quarter we’ve ever had. We are already seeing a pretty serious flurry of projects for March and April.”
Printers are becoming increasingly involved in ancillary services, including logistics, distribution and toner-based printing, which have further fueled the industry. On another positive note, the number of printing plants remains constant at 994, with no plant closings reported in 2003. “The print shops that seem to do well have more defined missions,” Davis explains. “In general, we’ve found that specialization is one of the keys to success.”
Specialized printing runs the gamut from premium items, three-dimensional game pieces and inserts, high-quality imaging and more personalized direct mail.
The automotive sector, for example, chose printed premiums as a part of several marketing efforts in 2003. MINI Cooper’s 4.4 million magazine inserts featured punch-out assemble-able versions of the car, which created a cult following with consumers. Volkswagen mailed tins of limited edition coaster collections to VW drivers promoting Volkswagen Driver Gear.
“Printed premiums provide a tactile benefit for the consumer,” says Maguire. “When people touch and can hold a piece, more senses get involved as opposed to just looking at a product online. The automobile business is a tangible product.”
The 2003 magazine-insert business featured increasingly high-tech interactive pieces. Structural Graphics created a variety of high-impact and three-dimensional promotional print pieces, including magazine inserts, direct mail pieces, sales aids, P-O-P displays and packaging solutions for companies such as Wyeth and Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Maybelline and Texas Instruments.
“We do magazine inserts in all kinds of formats and things really picked up with the insert business from July on,” says Maguire. “We did a piece in February for HBO’s The Sopranos complete with a sound module that plays the show’s theme music.”
For 2004, Davis predicts another strong economic year, which will pull print along. “The presidential election should generate some additional print revenue. Trends are in line — it should be a pretty good year for print growth, based on what we’ve seen happening, especially with ancillary services,” he concludes.
SNAPSHOT 2003
- Total spent: $5.9 billion (up5.04% compared to 2002)
- Outlook for 2004 is continued growth and spending
- Summer Olympics and presidential election should drive sales and revenue
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