Ipex is changing, as you would think it had to. It can’t have been an easy several months for Trevor Crawford, the personable event director for Ipex 2014. The stream of big industry names withdrawing from the exhibition will have been a thorn in the side that persisted in causing pain; the mooted and now discarded idea of drupa taking place every three years, another unwelcome concern.
There was an announcement concerning funding for a VIP visitor programme which seemed timed to get Ipex back on the front foot, only for Xerox and Kodak to most recently pull out of the show. It makes it somewhat hard to believe Mr Crawford when he says: ‘I honestly think it’s probably the best thing that could happen to us.’ More believable is another comment: ‘We cannot survive just being a drupa-lite.’
The reason why Mr Crawford makes the first statement is tied to a piece of global research (available as a white paper) that has been carried out for Ipex by AMR International, and the consequent ‘refocusing’ of the event from 2014 onwards. The gist of it is this: Ipex will no longer be just an international print industry trade show; it will be the first global event where print meets multi-channel – a melding of print and digital marketing communications into an event that aspires to thought leadership, rather than aisle upon aisle of heavy metal printing presses.
Intriguingly, Mr Crawford even voices the possibility that some of those companies who have already decided that Ipex 2014 was not for them (which includes HP, Agfa and Heidelberg, as well as those stated above), might yet re-engage. ‘In the last few days we’ve had very good dialogue with those organisations,’ he said. ‘I do believe we are a much more attractive proposition to them, because they are talking about customer engagement, and that’s what we will be doing as an event.’
The research emphasised seven key trends impacting the industry: consolidation of print service providers in developed economies; offset is changing; the rise of digital; printers offering non print-related services; growth in printed packaging; growth in emerging markets; and interest in multi-channel marketing communications.
A few snippets: digital print revenues are forecast (by PIRA) to grow by 9.2% CAGR up to 2014, while offset is set to reduce by 1.5% in the same period; 76% of printers have a digital press and the same proportion see digital as the most important change for them; 50% of printers already offer non print-related services, or plan to by 2016; 44% of Ipex visitors in 2010 did not visit drupa, and these were not just UK visitors – it includes people from India, Australia, parts of Africa, and more. The number of overseas visitors to Ipex 2010 grew by 16%. At its core, even with the new focus, Ipex will remain an event for international print service providers. In theory, being in London from 2014 also makes Ipex more attractive to the huge creative and brand marketing community in the south of England.
The duration of the event has been shortened to six days (Monday 24th March to Saturday 29th March 2014), which will probably mean little to UK digital print companies, but will help exhibitors to meet resourcing costs. With so few major offset manufacturers in attendance, the need for a lengthy build time ahead of the show is much reduced.
Ipex organiser Informa Exhibitions launched the Cross Media event in 2012, and parts of it will be integrated into the new Ipex, although Cross Media will continue as a standalone annual show, said Mr Crawford. A ‘World Print Summit’ running across Ipex 2014 will explore the theme of ‘Strategies & Practices of Outstanding Leadership in the Challenging Business of Offline and Online Marketing’.
Could drupa not also head in this direction, and become a multi-channel event, thereby removing Ipex’s new differentiation at a stroke? ‘Drupa will always be a trade show with its German legacy,’ said Mr Crawford. ‘I think we can be far more nimble, reactive and relevant. We can engage people in a way that maybe we have not done before. I think drupa will find it hard to do that because it is run by large offset manufacturers and by the city, and the city wants them to fill those halls with large manufacturing exhibitors. I would be surprised if drupa made such a sea change.’
He also said that there had not been ‘an enormous amount of pressure’ from Ipex’s new venue, London’s ExCeL, despite the body blows that have rained down upon the event. ‘We have a commitment to a big space over a long period of time. They have been very supportive and they totally understand the direction of the show. We’re delighted that we have good partners like that, and I feel we can reshape the show better at ExCeL.’
The Ipex organisers have laid their cards on the table. They have responded to what many will have seen as a crisis by trying to re-shape the event in a manner that chimes with market trends. Time will tell how successful the refocus on print and multi-channel will be.
