Steve Ballmer: print to disappear

I was invited by Kris Decoodt last week to Microsoft's Digital Inspiration event in Louvain-la-Neuve. Microsoft wanted to brief brand owners, creative and media agencies and programmers on the latest developments at Microsoft. I sat in a session specifically designed for agencies, but was somewhat disappointed. There was some interesting research about the use of online media and its function. On the basis of worldwide research among 400 respondents Microsoft deducted that 19 percent of all time spent with media is spent online. And almost 40 percent of this is used for communication, 18 percent for information, 16 percent for entertainment, surfing, transaction and creation all score less than 10 percent. The flaw on online media is the shared attention: 71 percent of online activities are conducted while people are doing other things. Internet access is interwoven with working, eating, watching TV, listening to music or chatting to friends as the report mentions.
Some interesting examples on online advertising were shown by David Pugh-Jones. A couple of these examples uses the Q-code or UpCode. This code gives access to more detailed information when captured with a mobile phone. A year ago I wrote about this application in Life with Print, and at the DRUPA it will also be featured.
The number one sensation was of course Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO. The Aula Magna of the University was packed with Microsoft believers, what became quickly clear when Steve B. made some jokes. He presented an interesting overview of which business Microsoft is in (its basically a software company, working for desktop and enterprises, is involved in non-PC devices and online advertising). With a goal of being on every desk and in every home. His most important quote was that content and communication media will come together and that we will consume content in a more social context. Video can be watched on different screens, be it a TV, a computer, and iPod or a game console. Barriers between the media will disappear and content will be exchangeable between these media. In this context Steve B., as he refers to himself, also announced that in 25 years time people will not make a distinction between print and TV. I would be interested in Rupert Murdoch's perspective on this.
(Picture:Bert Claeys)

Only thirty two days to go..

Fiat starts the Dutch - German football match already in the German press with this ad. It will be a hot summer!

Forty percent less budget, same effect

Kobalt presented research that indicates that brand owners can do with 40 percent less media budget while still obtaining the same result. With the analysis of data of thousand + campaigns the media agency concludes that cutting away the waste and advertise in a more selective way will result in a decrease of the TV budget of 5-20 percent. The online and radio budget can decrease with 10-20 percent and outdoor even up till 40 percent. Print is already very selective, cost can only be reduced by 5-10 percent. Managing Director Beijer of Kobalt adds that for FMCG's 76 percent of the total effect is derived from only 23 percent of the media target group. Time to make bold changes, but the marketing and advertising world is slow. And of course this piece of research calls for other research to confirm such dramatic changes.
Maybe another figure will make marketers and advertisers change their mind. Also in The Netherlands the number of "No Brochures" mailbox stickers has increased dramatically. Last year 14.6 percent of all Dutchmen did have such a sticker, an increase of almost 10 percent. On average every family receives 34 brochures and folders per week. Consumers are probably reacting on the overload of brochures, folders, flyers and door-to-door newspapers.
Both pieces of research call for a more personalised approach. This will probably be more expensive per contact, but also more effective because more relevant. Today's media options offer plenty of possibilities to become more personal in advertising.

Books take flight

This month much has been written about books. Most recently Amsterdam was announced the World Book Capital by UNESCO. The city thrives on a long history of freedom of expression since the start of the first book printer in 1506. Because of this freedom of expression and the fact that guilds were in that time open to foreigners Amsterdam became the center of books. Today for every 4.000 residents of the city there is one bookshop. The Amsterdam World Book Capital theme is therefore Open Book, using icons as Spinoza, Anne Frank and Annie M.G. Schmidt.
The city also hosts a beautiful exposition of 3.500 posters on how books have been promoted during the years. Worthwhile a visit.
A unique partnership between publishing houses, libraries and booksellers stimulates readership in The Netherlands. One of the activities is the Book Week. Since 1932 this event is organised, resulting in handing out a total of 25 mio free books. Last month during the Book Week 960.000 free books were handed out.
Despite the surge of the internet, books are selling well. In Flanders sales in 2007 increased with 8 percent, resulting in a total sales of 11 mio books. On average every family bought 4 books in 2007. (In the Netherlands this figure is 6,4 books). In the UK sales of books increased with 9 percent. The biggest increase was among the new titles published in 2007, 36 percent more titles came to market, more than ever before. And as Nielsen states Print-on-Demand is driving this growth, proving the Long Tail.

New campaign The Guardian

A beautifully designed campaign with a quality message for this leading UK newspaper by Wieden & Kennedy.

Wake-up call paper industry

Papyrus organised this week in Brussels an evening program on the future of print. Creative minds, printers and brand owners gathered to listen to presentations from a Hendrik Kaa Andersen (Arjowiggins), Erik Kessels (KesselsKramer), Richard Owers (Pureprint Group), Pierre Bernard (Atelier de Creation Graphique) and Oliver Salge (Greenpeace). The overriding theme of the evening was the growing importance of sustainable business. An increasing number of brand owners include paper specifications for their print work. Printers start to produce in compliance with the ISO 14001 norm. And paper manufacturers produce paper that is FSC and PEFC certified. The need for sustainable forestry was clearly demonstrated by Oliver Salge. Although he prefers of course no use at all of paper. Inviting him to a paper conference was daring, but during the drink after the presentations it became clear that the participants much appreciated his presentation. It remains of course difficult for brand owners and printers to define proper action to limit the carbon footprint. Papyrus made a carbon offset for the paper presented in the handout. But that is no structural solution either.