Virtual ppiDays21: High attendance and captivating user stories

ppiDays21 event was held on 7 June 2021

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Virtual ppiDays21 was held on 7 June 2021 by ppi Media
Virtual ppiDays21 was held on 7 June 2021 by ppi Media

ppi Media’s traditional customer conference for managers in the media industry, the ppiDays, was held in a virtual setting this year. Those in attendance were impressed by the extremely exciting and entertaining range of talks. 

Around 80 representatives from the top media groups in German-speaking Europe came together for the 20th time at the ppiDays on 7 June 2021. The event was hosted by the Managing Directors of ppi Media GmbH, Dr Hauke Berndt and Manuel Scheyda, who led the audience through a varied afternoon of virtual talks from selected speakers – not only from the media industry.

Valuable practical insights 

The guests were particularly impressed by the exciting user stories and industry reports on the latest ppi software solutions. First, Berndt Röttger (Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Hamburger Abendblatt) and Torsten Landmesser (Funke Mediengruppe) held a presentation entitled “From a small magazine project to a lifeline for the daily newspaper,” where they spoke about the use of the Content-X editorial system during the last year’s cyberattack on the media group.

Next, Nicolas Sonnenberg from Team Beverage, the leading distribution and service platform for the beverage industry, talked about how his company was using a solution from ppi Media to run highly efficient, hyperlocal social media marketing campaigns for customers. Finally, Torsten Wiethe from Nürnberger Presse described how the printing house utilized ppi Media’s self-service ad portal, AdSelf, and how the solution had even sparked a turnaround in the company’s declining advertising business during the coronavirus pandemic

ppiDays21 focusing on current trends 

In addition to industry reports on the use of ppi solutions, #ppidays21 also focused on current strategies and important developments in the media industry – this has become a key part of the event over the years. Peter Buhr, the founder of Sinnborn GmbH, reported on tools and technologies for the use of AI in editorial offices.

Saskia Mayer, Head of Operations and Technology at Sudkurier GmbH, offered insights into Sudkurier’s recipe for success. Over the past three years, it has led the publishing house to frequently sell more digital subscriptions in one day than it used to sell in a whole month. 

The talks during the ppiDays were rounded off with a presentation held by Editorial Solutions at ppi Media, where the team talked about its plans to develop the Content-X editorial system into a new type of modular publishing platform.

Hauke Berndt, CEO of ppi Media, has commented on the success of the ppiDays21 format: “The feedback on our digital event has generally been very positive. Our customers were impressed by the range of topics, the format, and the length of the event. It went down well despite our customers being overloaded with digital conferences in recent months. Nevertheless, we look forward to holding a real live event again next year and being reunited with our international customers”. 

 

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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