Both New Orleans & the US Print Market are experiencing cautious optimism.

[Marcus Timson]

But will it last?

But rather than this optimism of growth being propelled rocket like into the stratosphere – the trajectory of growth is more like a balloon in the wind. It is likely to go up – but equally likely to dip, go sideways, up, down, up and down!

This was the prevailing opinion during a recent trip to the US to the SGIA show.

Unusually, SGIA took place in New Orleans. I say that as many Americans told me that they felt this location was wrong for an event. Why? Because the last SGIA planned for New Orleans was cancelled due to Katrina and the fact that the aftermath of Katrina had left devastation, lawlessness and a huge migration of business capital and talent out of the City.

There are some analogies with New Orleans and the recession we are beginning to come out of. Both storms have past but both storms have changed the landscape forever. Lets be honest, global business is never going to be the same again and neither is New Orleans.

Meeting the print people of New Orleans, I heard tales of sadness and tales of heroism, injustice and innovation.

Flying into New Orleans it is evident that this storm damaged City still hasn’t fully recovered from Katrina. There has been a brain drain which has affected the dynamism and future prosperity of the City.

The government’s response to the worst storm to hit America was to evacuate people. And I met people who literally lost everything – their print businesses and their homes. It must take a huge amount of resourcefulness to be able to recover from such a devastating shock and challenge to your livelihood and survival. Sadly, many people, stricken with the stress of losing everything they had lived their lives to achieve literally took their own lives to escape the unbearable grief, stress and injustice of it all.

But the storm has passed. It may leave a different landscape, but clearly there is opportunity in adversity. One print businessman located in New Orleans managed to grow his business by 200% despite the chaos that prevailed. And that was impressive & inspirational to hear.

There are distinct similarities between the Katrina storm and the global economic storm – it is a stark reminder that we mere individuals cannot predict and control everything. But what we can control is how we run our businesses and how we think about the future. We can control our ambition and our appetite for innovation.

The fact is that over 50% of the current fortune 500 businesses were established after a recession or downturn. These businesses innovated their way through a difficult period and created new demand. Recessionary pressure forces change and businesses to be innovative.

I have a concern and that is that R&D budgets are getting more restricted and innovation is less abundant. This economic storm has given financial people more power and this power has been put to use to restrict spending - we know that from data across the world! R&D in our market is very important. Digital printing technology is fuelled by the ability for manufacturers to invent new ideas and technologies to enhance the performance of print businesses. If I am honest, at SGIA there was very little genuinely new innovation. This isn’t anything to do with the SGIA show organisers. But it was evident that exhibitors were showing predominantly ‘old innovation’.

It is inevitable that innovation slows during a downturn. But this wasn’t just a downturn – it was a recession preceded by a financial collapse. And a truly globally connected collapse it was too.

However the bottom of the downturn has been reached. We have stabilised and thankfully there is a hint of optimism in the air. Even in New Orleans.

Schumpeter’s creative destruction is the order of the day. Rebuild, redefine and re-launch innovative products that align with current market needs.

What was also clear from the show floor was that leading print service providers, large and small have used wide format digital technology to create niches, new applications and outcomes for their businesses. The ‘long tail’ of demand is still there and we know that humanity hasn’t changed just because times have become more uncertain. We just want a better use of our personal assets. And our personal assets are time, money, energy and attention.

We are coming out of the recession. Whether we move in a wholly new positive direction is down to one word. Innovation.

Being brave enough to innovate will define the successful business of the future. The commodity printers are getting scarcer, something FESPA predicted in 2007. They are literally disappearing due to their inability to innovate.

I challenge our whole community or market to innovate – the manufacturers, press, printers and buyers of print!

On a personal note, I thought New Orleans was awesome. New Orleans is a place with spirit, character and resilience. I hope that the New Orleans Saints continue their progression all the way into the Superbowl as the power of community, rejuvenation and optimism is what New Orleans needs.

PS: & our market really needs this too!