Here is another great set of pics by Brian Wilder from the first day of Print 09:

Here are some great pictures from the floor at Print 09 in the Kodak booth:

One of the fun things about the Communication industry is that there are so many amazing solutions for those who have the job of creating effective conversations with their customers. Whether the mission is to create great solicitations that get higher-than-average response rates or customer care communication in the form of bills, statements, regulatory notices and other essential documents, sometimes a trade show provides the much needed injection of new ideas. Print'09, September 11-16 at McCormack in Chicago, could be just that show. From the current exhibit map it looks like the hardware and software providers will be out in force which should provide a chance to pick up new marketing ideas, new delivery ideas, and new thoughts on how data plays in the communication strategy!

You do have a customer communication strategy, don't you? A comprehensive view of how you want to communicate with your customers, inform them about your products and services, and keep your brand top of mind with them? It's a tough job these days no matter what industry you work in since there is so much competition for mindshare. From banks to car dealers, hospitals to hotels, the challenges for those in charge of acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones are immense. A strategy help define the framework so that the marketing teams and product owners can work in unison and optimize their customer communication costs.

Curious about how this works? We hope you'll come to the Kodak booth at Print '09 where solutions teams will be waiting to answer your questions! Come find me there - I'll be Twittering and updating Facebook during the show!

These days, launching a marketing campaign is getting easier and harder to do successfully...millions of radio stations, millions of tv stations, millions of websites...

It tough getting your message into the hands and minds of your markets...really tough if you decide to forget print or choose one channel.

The effort you make on strategy makes all the difference. Its pretty easy to:
produce a banner ad - get a traffic report - slap a PPT together for the Boss.

• Drop a brochure in the mail and wait for a response.
• Have an event and invite the people you know will show up and you knew were in buying mode already.
• Execute the safe.

Doing the same thing repeatedly is what a robot does really well, if this sounds like you...its time to be a little more organic.

Robots have yet to replace the left brain and right brain working together - information and creativity. Understanding how to be effective is crucial. Having a team that can execute your vision is, of course, beneficial. Multi-touch marketing campaigns are effective and help make your brand stand out in a crowd.

P

You are a marketer living in a world with print technology we could only dream about 10 years ago and couldn't even imagine 20 years ago. Why would you throw this opportunity away? Because everything is online? Don't believe everything u read on the Internet, (except this blog), most of them are still learning what a fact checker is. Print is highly effective, if you take the time to develop a strategy.

Today we have photo quality, variable data, short run printing with a host of options including, Kodak dimensional ink , 60+ megapixel digital camera backs and printers connected across the globe. If your message is targeted and relevant, print will get their undivided attention.

No one reads an email or listens to a voice ad the same way they read your printed, personalized message - its in their hands and for the moment - has their undivided attention. Add Kodak dimensional ink and they can feel the difference your product could make. No one gets an error 401 when they turn a page in your book and no one gets a virus from viewing your product photos. If you are trying to build relationships, print can add trust to your message.

Statements to be mailed? Don't forget to include transpromo in your campaign, it's a low cost method to add personalisation and exclusivity to the project - ask @patmcgrew on twitter.

When I get a piece of mail from a company...and they get it right - it leaves a stamp.

O

Getting a response online that counts for something is tough. Do the million hits pay the rent? ...or are you selling lots of Viagra.

How many people go to a shopping cart on a website, but leave before they check out? Does that actually happen at a real store? I don't see too many shopping carts half-full piling up in front of the checkout - but it happens allot online. These kind of statistics are more important than the usual hits and views report - make sure you get this information from your web master and make changes to the process to improve your checkout totals.

Ask your marketing department or ask a printer about pURLs....- 'personalized URLs'. For pennies per name in your database you can have a unique domain name printed on each piece. Its been proven the world over that it drives response rates into double digit territory.

E

Salespeople love events - the people that visit are usually in research or buying mode and are open to discuss plans. For a sales person, its easier to have a prospect come to them, then to face rejection over the phone or in person.

There aren't too many experiences that top an in-person meeting. But a video testimonial? This can potentially trump an event or site visit - especially if it goes VIRAL. Viral become the holy grail of aspiring marketing rockstars. But 'going viral' is rare - do something that you can manage a good response from - try keeping track of all the people that visit your event or booth and mail a printed variable data booklet for them after the show - with their photo on the cover. Most marketers hope to do something that catches on and goes viral, but fail to include a follow-up plan to handle the volume of response. In the end your brand suffers.

If you are maintaining your database and supporting your 'creative engine', you could leverage this opportunity online with a little help from a Pocket video camera (Kodak makes really good ones) and a social media site like Twitter or Facebook .

Call it 'word of mouse', if you cannot meet and greet all those prospects and valued customers at an event, get them to sign up to twitter or facebook and keep in touch with them online. A couple hours of effective use of social media each week is probably better than a week of internal email strife. Mailing a brochure or sending a monthly enewsletter is ok, but they dont build relationships like social media.

M

Your graphic designer and marketing guru(s) have written sparkling copy and created jaw dropping imagery and you convinced a key customer to provide a video testimonial at your event. Finally, you managed to get 100 prospects to follow your every movement on twitter. You just might have the ingredients for a multimedia stew you can deliver online with a campaign microsite. Targeted sites get high search rankings for free because they answer the google question correctly. Do not take the site down when the campaign is over - the internet is not very forgiving. Leave the site up and make note on the site that your offer has expired. If it's a subdomain it costs you nothing, but you retain the search potential.

With so many possibilities, its good to find a way to remember things...

Print, Online, Event and Multimedia = POEM.

If you mis-spell it, you will regret it.

Kodak has a long history of innovation. It's at the core of everything we do. So it's no surprise that at Print 09, Kodak is bringing innovation to the trade show floor. We're reinventing the trade show experience and it's all about you - the customer.



We're going to give you a personalized experience tailored to your individual needs. We'll provide an entirely new demonstration of how Kodak solutions enable new applications and deliver more value - helping you increase production efficiency and return on marketing investment (ROMI), and ultimately grow your business.

As Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor of What They Think, said in a recent article, "this is something you will not want to miss."

Our new approach to trade shows reflects Kodak's strong commitment to be the best partner to help you grow your business. If you are interested in what you see, the next step is to schedule a one-on-one visit with our team and yours for a more in-depth discussion about your business needs and how Kodak can customize the right solution for you.

What's more, if you're unable to attend the show, this approach allows us to bring the Kodak Print 09 experience to you virtually. Our K-Zone sessions will be streamed live over the Internet at http://www.kodak.com/go/print09 and will also be available online after the show.



The K-Zone is a live talk show set where customers, industry experts, print and marketing service professionals, and Kodak leaders will share insights, expertise and practical advice you can use to grow your business.

The K-Zone kicks off on Friday, September 11, at 11:00 a.m. CST with "What's Print Got to Do with It," a panel featuring Kodak Chairman and CEO Antonio Perez; Shelly Lazarus, Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; Linda Sawyer, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsch Inc.; and Howard Mittman, Publisher, WIRED magazine. Here, we will take the conversation beyond "speeds and feeds" and hear how these global brands view and use print in the communications mix. You can see the full K-Zone schedule here.

The bottom line? Kodak's booth is about what's important to you and your business. It's about you AND Kodak at Print 09. We look forward to seeing you.