Business Management - Marketing/Sales

THE IN-PLANT industry, like many other industries, has been knocked off balance by the economic turmoil of the past several years. As companies have been forced to cut costs, print has been identified as an area of potential cost savings. Gone are the days of 500-page, end-of-year reports and formal printed presentations. These major drivers of print volume have been replaced by documents housed on SharePoint sites and PowerPoint decks to be presented digitally. And now that companies have made this behavioral change, they are unlikely to change back.

Fox Valley Technical College held its first Open House and Technology Expo on May 24, in partnership with Ricoh Business Solutions. Nearly 100 attendees from 44 statewide organizations, including commercial printers and in-plant professionals, came to view the facility, get personal tours and attend sessions on digital printing, industry trends and workflow.

There was something about the recent In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference in Charleston, S.C., that really made it stand out; something more than the great sessions and packed vendor fair; something beyond the fact that Ricoh Americas launched a major color print system there, bringing the event into the national spotlight.

For the second consecutive year, Document Solutions at The University of Texas at Austin has captured IPMA’s Promotional Excellence Award for its extraordinary in-house marketing efforts. This award recognizes excellence in promotional campaigns developed by and used to promote an in-house corporate publishing facility.

I'm on my way home from the IPMA 2011 conference in Charleston as I write this. After spending four days with in-plant managers from around the country, it's a little sad to have to say good-bye to them all and head back to real life.

IPG talked with Richard Beto of UT-Austin about why he markets his in-plant and how open houses help bring in business.

YouTube is the most popular video-sharing Web site available right now. It allows you to upload as many videos to the Internet as you want, for free.

In my last article ("Should In-plants Offer VDP and Marketing Services?") I suggested that a better question might be, "Will this increase the value of the in-plant?" The answer, of course, is yes.

EVIDENCE OF how social media is taking the business world by storm is everywhere. Facebook "Like" buttons, Twitter links and invitations to follow RSS feeds seem to grace every Web site.

Topics our readers cared about, including the Washington State Printer and issues with in-plants and their inherent value to their parent organizations. Also, the effect of social media is discussed by our readers from around the country.