Business | IPIA Conference
The IPIA Conference presented a fantastic networking opportunity for attendees
physical print rather than digital. For example, a piece of printed mail receives an
average attention time of 108 seconds, compared to 1.3 seconds for a digital ad. The same piece of printed mail receives a 6x higher response rate and 135% more engagement. Now imagine if the prints you produce are receiving the same level of attention and engagement over digital ads, you can begin to appreciate the effect you can have on the end-user.
And if you can somehow inject an element of
personalisation into your final product, the level of engagement increases further. Because who doesn’t love to feel like they are one of a kind? As Gemma said: “Cut through the noise – engage with purpose.”
FRIEND OR FOE? Perhaps the most interesting element of the day came right at the end of the conference when four professionals from all corners of the print world engaged in a strategic conversation on the subject of AI and whether it should be considered a friend or foe in the workplace. Arguments were put forward for and against the use of AI and some insightful points were raised. The main takeaway point from the discussion
was at this moment in time, most can agree that AI has replaced the more menial, admin tasks within a business, enabling those with certain skillsets to focus on topline work. Essentially using AI as a business enhancement tool. “AI provides the freedom to focus on creativity,” said Rob Flannery, sales and marketing manager at Nutshell Creative. However, one downside to this use of AI is that it replaces the role of those starting out in the print industry – leaving no room for graduates or apprentices. This leaves businesses with a dilemma – say no to AI and employ juniors at a cost to themselves or use AI and see the average age of the workforce increase. Rob added: “AI is very much at a stage where it is picking up a lot of administrative work and a lot of tasks that you would typically expect to see on a job description of an entry-level role. “People often enter the print industry with low responsibility. They do entry-level jobs so they can get exposed to other roles and responsibilities in the company and improve their skillset. With AI now picking up these tasks, where does that leave these job roles in the future? What opportunities are we giving young people of today? I don’t really have an answer.” Like most tools used within a business, AI is only as good as the person using it. The person telling it what to do. It is critical to use the right large language model for the right application. For example, you wouldn’t ask your lawyer to produce a great piece of artwork.
The panel suggested that when using AI, the human needs to take the lead. Any creative projects which use AI as an assistant should be overseen by a human to avoid a mundane level of creativity being produced.
Ultimately AI is here to stay and we will all find our
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own way of integrating it into our own businesses and utilising it to our advantage.
TO CONCLUDE Conferences like the one the IPIA organises on an annual basis are a great source of learning and networking for those in the wide-format print community. They equip attendees with vital information required to evolve and thrive in the current UK economy.
I would highly recommend attending a conference
or event of a similar nature the next time the occasion presents itself. Who knows what you may learn.
Rob Flannery of Nutshell Creative took part in the AI panel discussion
CUT THROUGH THE NOISE – ENGAGE WITH PURPOSE
- Gemma Mitchell, managing director, Paragon Dagenham
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