Graphispag has prepared an extensive programme of training activities and conferences, as well as round tables and workshops. The aim is for attendees to update their knowledge and find inspiration to grow their businesses. At the same time, it sets out to encourage debate and open up business opportunities in priority sectors for print, such as packaging, labels, publishing and retail. Enric Jové, CEO of McCann Barcelona, will give a talk on brand building and business generation. We spoke to him about the challenges facing the graphics industry to remain competitive and about advertising agencies and print products.
What is your current perception of the graphics sector? How is the print world reinventing itself in an increasingly digitalised environment?
It is clear that the pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of society. Many things have changed, probably forever. And the graphics sector, like many others, has been no exception. It will have to reinvent itself, it’s the only way. Paper, as a communication medium, has undergone a significant decline. In my view, only companies that bring real added value to their product will have a reason to exist.
At McCann you design and produce paper publications. What do you bring to the digital world we live in?
Yes, we continue to design and produce publications, even more than in previous years. In such a digitalised environment, print – if it is treated qualitatively – provides differentiation and notoriety. At McCann we are currently publishing corporate magazines for firms such as CaixaBank, Tech Barcelona, Vila Viniteca, the Base chain of sports shops and Ametller Origen. We take great care to generate quality content, to take care of the design to the extreme, and to work with top quality materials and finishes. Anything else would not make sense for our customers or for us.
What challenges do you see facing the publishing industry?
The big challenge is content. It has to be interesting, relevant, differential and unique. Niche, in most cases. Otherwise, we will be doomed to utter failure. The Internet has been the ultimate democratisation of access to information, perhaps as much as the invention of the printing press. It’s all out there, and it’s all free. As a consequence, such solid pillars as newspapers and generalist magazines, until not so long ago, are facing a crisis of model and raison d’être. Its survival in the not too distant future must be based on a new paradigm.
Printers have historically been a major supplier to advertising agencies. Has the collaboration with them changed in any way? Do you think these profiles have evolved?
Yes, indeed. The printing industry has always been an essential partner in our work. And it is and I am sure it will continue to be. But our requirements have evolved over time, especially in the last decade. We are no longer satisfied with the same old product. And it doesn’t just work for us. Our client needs to differentiate itself from its competitors, to communicate differently, to be more than yesterday. And he demands that we help him. Our mission, our only mission as an advertising agency, is to help brands to be relevant in the minds of consumers. And we need our partners to achieve this.
What do advertising and communication agencies value most in print products?
Innovation and disruption. With a resounding “no-nonsense” stance. We know what the printing industry has traditionally provided us with. But, as I said before, this is no longer enough in many cases. We now need our suppliers to help us to be able to offer our customers differentiated and sustainable products. In commercial printing, large format, packaging and POS. We will have a raison d’être to the extent that we are able to generate value. In an increasingly commoditised world, where there are hardly any barriers, innovation is the only way to success.
What do you expect to find at a show like Graphispag that could be interesting for advertising agencies?
It is an event I always look forward to. Although we have all the knowledge we want at the click of a button, I am interested in visiting the fair. To see what’s new, learn first-hand about the latest developments in the graphics sector and talk to our suppliers.
Cristina Benavides, Graphispag contributor
