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As Vice President of Sales for Progressive Communications, Troy Barnes is committed to growing the company’s business. But in his position as First Vice Chair on the Printing Association of Florida’s (PAF) Board of Directors, Troy is working to ensure that all Florida printers are able to get their fair share of business in today’s challenging economy.

Troy recently met with Florida legislators in Tallahassee as a member of PAF’s committee to encourage lawmakers to introduce the Buy Florida Act (HB 153/SB 538) during this session. As the proposed bill relates to the printing and graphics industry, passage would require state government entities and agencies to give reasonable preference to Florida printers when bidding out jobs.

“The graphics arts industry is the number one manufacturing employer in Florida,” said Troy. “Yet many state agencies give a large percentage of their printing purchases to out-of-state printers.”

A PAF-compiled analysis of printing purchase information by state agencies for the years 2007 through early 2011 provides eye-opening numbers, with some agencies sending up to almost 90 percent of print business out of Florida. According to PAF’s research, each $125,000 spent out of state results in one employee to a Florida printer.

Several states give preference to in-state printers because they recognize the economic benefits. For example, Michigan gives virtually 100-percent preference to in-state printers for printing purchased by state government.

“This is about keeping jobs in Florida, which is essential to Florida’s economic recovery,” Troy said. “And the printing industry offers jobs that pay well – the kind of jobs that any state would want to attract. There’s also the multiplier effect. People who have jobs have more money to spend, and they spend it locally, which supports other local businesses.”

This is the fourth year the bill has been proposed. “I’ve been told that this is about the average length of time for proposed legislation to be introduced,” said Troy, “so it’s actually typical.”

Troy attended in mid-October with the other PAF Board members and 10 PAF members, spending two days meeting with Florida state representatives and senators. Based on his conversations with them, Troy is optimistic of the bill’s chances of introduction in November.

“All the lawmakers we met with said they could support the bill,” Troy said. “They are very aware of the state of the economy and the need to create jobs and keep money in Florida. The time is right for this bill to be introduced and passed.”

As the year 2011 concludes, this is the ideal time to take a good look at your company’s brand identity to make sure it’s positioned for success in 2012. While doing so, you may find that you’re due to reboot the franchise – that is, update and refurbish your branding to keep your brand fresh to your target market.

In this context, “franchise” doesn’t literally apply to a business franchise. The term “reboot the franchise” comes from pop culture to refer to the updating of a popular series of movies, comic books, etc., featuring an iconic character – such as Superman or Batman.

The idea behind rebooting the franchise recognizes that people will always be interested in classic superheroes, but that their stories occasionally need to be reinvented to be relevant to today’s audience. In a movie reboot, for example, special effects are state-of-the-art, the hero uses the latest technology and there may be a new storyline that expands his or her personal mythos.

Brands need to reboot for the same reasons. No matter what the demographic group of your product or business, the background, experiences and expectations of each generation changes. Even if your target market is males ages 18 to 24, today’s generation is different from males in that age group in the year 2000 – with different points of historical/cultural/social reference and different experiences with technology. Does your branding take these changes into account, or are you still talking to a long-gone 64-bit audience in an HD 3D world?

Because the ability of your brand to evolve and renew is essential in growing market share, look at the following components of your branding to see if it needs rebooting:

Advertising – Do all elements of your advertising work together to deliver a consistent, cohesive brand message? Is graphic design both attractive and impactful? Unless your brand identity is deliberately retro, make sure graphic design, colors and messaging aren’t stuck in a time warp. Hint: nothing screams “Miami Vice ‘80s” like mauve and teal.

Marketing Materials – Consider the same elements as advertising, as well as the quality of such printed materials as brochures, pocket folders, direct mail pieces, etc. The importance you place on the appearance of these pieces is also part of your branding. And make sure you’re keeping up with innovative ways of targeting your market, such as QR codes, variable data printing and personal URLs (PURLs), which provide exciting new ways to reach your audience and improve response rates.

Interactive – Your website can make or break your brand. Consumers don’t respond positively to a website that is difficult to navigate, confusing or poorly designed – nor to one that has obviously not been kept up-to-date (for example, the last press release posted two years ago). Optimum functionality is also essential. Does your website give visitors a user-friendly experience, a sense of involvement and an opportunity to provide feedback in some manner? If applicable, can they place orders easily and contact someone who can answer their questions? Unfortunately, too many businesses place their website last on the list of priorities when it should be one of the first.

Packaging – If your product is sold on the retail shelf, it needs to grab the consumer’s attention over competing brands. Does your packaging’s graphic design and messaging convey your brand identity? Is copy concise, with easy-to-understand descriptions? Is the packaging design optimized for the retail space it occupies, and to discourage product loss (that’s shoplifting, in plain English)? Is the packaging itself well-made, sturdy and of high quality?

So how does your brand shape up? Reevaluate, rethink and reboot the franchise, and your brand can be super in 2012!

Communications with Progressive: Which brand do you think needs rebooting, and why? Weigh in on our Facebook page!

If you spend some time navigating around our website (and we hope you do), you’ll see the logos for “green” certification from four organizations. Earning the right to post those logos, however, involves meeting the stringent procedures and standards required to achieve and maintain certification.

As an ever-increasing number of businesses see the value of choosing a printing partner with green certifications, the logos we display prove Progressive Communications’ total commitment to sustaining our environment through maintaining ecologically healthy forestry practices, habitat protection and non-hazardous wood fiber production practices. We are certified by the following forest sustainability groups:

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)

PEFC’s Chain of Custody (CoC) certification is a mechanism for tracking certified material from the forest to the final product. CoC exists for companies that manufacture, process or trade in timber or non-timber forest products. Each manufacturing step in the CoC must follow ecologically responsible practices. Achieving CoC certification reinforces the sustainability commitments of a business.

Rainforest Alliance

This independent organization works to ensure that millions of acres of working forests, farms, ranchlands and hotel properties are managed according to rigorous sustainability standards. The Rainforest Alliance is one of the founders of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). It is the largest FSC-accredited certifier, and has certified the greatest number of community and indigenous operations to FSC standards.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

SFI Inc. is an independent, charitable organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management. SFI works with conservation groups, local communities, resource professionals, landowners and other organizations and individuals. Its forest certification standard is based on principles that promote sustainable forest management, including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional conservation value.

SFI CoC certification is an accounting system that tracks fiber content through production and manufacturing to the end product. Companies can make claims about how much of their product comes from certified lands, how much contains recycled content, and how much is non-certified/non-controversial forest content.

The standard is used widely across North America, and has strong acceptance in the global marketplace to ensure a steady supply of wood and paper products from legal and responsible sources. This is especially important at a time when there is growing demand for green building and responsible paper purchasing.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

FSC certification is a voluntary, market-based tool that supports responsible forest management worldwide. FSC certified forest products are verified from the forest of origin through the supply chain. The FSC label ensures that the forest products used are from responsibly harvested and verified sources. Increasingly, governments and other organizations specify FSC certified products in their purchasing policies.

SFI and FSC are the two most common forest certification programs in the United States and Canada. While there are differences in the forest management criteria for each of the certification programs, both require printers to obtain CoC certification.

Obtaining CoC certification through SFI and/or FSC requires the printer to develop written procedures for managing and handling certified paper and to keep appropriate records demonstrating that procedures are being followed. In addition, the printer must train employees with regard to these procedures. Finally, annual on-site audits are required to maintain “certified” status. The CoC certification process involves the following steps:

• Preliminary screening
• On-site audit
• Records review
• Report preparation
• Certification

The demand by customers for printers to be more sustainable in their products has become commonplace and is increasing at an extremely rapid pace. CoC certification is an important means by which printers can address customers’ environmental concerns. Progressive Communications is proud to be a long-time industry leader in sustainable practices.