Dscoop8 Draws Impressive Crowd

More than 2,000 enthusiastic HP users packed the auditorium at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville last month for the opening of the eighth annual Dscoop conference, a gathering of graphic arts business owners and technical professionals who use HP equipment. The three-day meeting included scores of educational sessions geared toward HP users, as well as an exhibit area with nearly 100 partners showing equipment and software designed to work with HP equipment.

After a welcome from Eric Hawkinson, Dscoop’s executive director, and other Dscoop officials (all sporting bad toupees with ponytails), a bluegrass band gave an appropriate Tennessee greeting by getting the crowd to sing along to Rocky Top, a state anthem. Then keynote speaker Mark King, CEO of TaylorMade, gave an uplifting and humorous talk that detailed how he and his team developed a vision to become the best performance golf brand in the world, then followed through with it. Having this vision got employees excited, motivating them to try harder and come up with ideas.

“Nothing extraordinary happens unless there’s a dream or a vision,” he said.

The job of a leader, he remarked, is to inspire people. When they are invigorated they will come up with ideas you hadn’t thought about.

The end of King’s presentation marked the opening of the Solutions Showcase, where nearly 100 HP partners showed their wares. They included the likes of Standard Finishing Systems, Duplo, Rollem, Magnum Magnetics, Spiral James Burn, Avanti, EFI, Domtar, Finch Paper and so many more.

Dscoop is often praised by attendees for providing an opportunity to mingle with other HP users, compare notes and share ideas. There was no shortage of such networking at this year’s event, whether between sessions, at the Solutions Showcase or at a huge party held on the second night.

Mobile technology was a big topic of conversation at Dscoop, with speakers stressing the importance of using it for marketing and incorporating it into print campaigns.

“The winners in the market are going to have to figure out how to make print and mobile work together,” noted Barb Pellow in a session on strategic marketing.

Another oft-repeated message at sessions was that today’s leaders, thanks to constantly changing communications technologies, must themselves be in a constant state of change. What worked a year ago will not work in today’s business climate. The ones who realize this and constantly adapt, will be the most successful leaders.

One strong believer in this mantra was keynote speaker Gary Vaynerchuk, author and social media expert. In a talk both profane and prophetic, he challenged business owners to stop running their operations as if it were 10 years ago. Most people, he said, are slow to adapt new technology, insisting at first that it will never catch on, and failing to take advantage of it to grow their businesses.

He insisted that social media and mobile devices are changing the way we communicate, so business owners should stop thinking in terms of pushing out their information via billboards or banner ads and instead use social media to start conversations and provide valuable information. This will, in time, lead to sales, he maintained.

“Word of mouth is driving the economy,” he said.

At the event, Dscoop announced two major business development initiatives:

• Dscoop University, powered by HP, a community-driven training program for print service providers. The course curriculum will span multiple market segments and functional tracks that include marketing, sales, operations and technology-specific topics. The curriculum will be derived from the real-world knowledge and experiences of Dscoop members, supplemented by HP resources and industry information providers. Dscoop University will offer dual-platform learning through both online and in-person venues.
  
• The Dscoop Print Directory will be launched as a Web-based tool designed to provide users a quick way to research and connect with digital print service providers. In addition to contact information, it will also offer qualitative information about each participating print service provider’s capabilities, allowing brand owners and designers to source services according to their specific requirements.