North American Coated Cover Paper Brand and Usage Study

Transcription

1 Headquarters 97 Libbey Industrial Parkway Suite 300 Weymouth, MA Phone: Fax: Europe 3 rd Floor, Sceptre House 7-9 Castle Street Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom LU1 3AJ Phone: Fax: euro.info@capv.com North American Coated Cover Paper Brand and Usage Study Brand Awareness and Perceptions Purchasing Behavior and Influences Japan Hiroo Office Building Hiroo Shibuya-ku Tokyo Japan Phone: Fax: info@gsm.to Usage Patterns Role of Printers, Merchants and Print Customers About Us InfoTrends/CAP Ventures is the leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industries. We provide research, analysis, forecasts, and advice to help clients understand market trends, identify opportunities, and develop strategies to grow their businesses. Learn more about our company, visit InfoTrends/CAP Ventures

2 Introduction The coated cover and bristols market is a very competitive segment of the paper industry with over 20 suppliers and 50 brands competing in North America. This grade of paper is used in a wide range of applications. Many of these applications require high-quality printing or sophisticated finishing, and all are very important to the print customer. Brand is often an important factor in the paper purchasing decision because of the implications on quality, appearance, performance on press, and other factors. Leading Coated Cover and Bristol Applications Annual report covers Book/manual covers Brochures Business cards Calendars Catalog covers CD inserts Direct mail Directory covers Displays/Point of purchase Folding cartons Folders Gift boxes/bags Greeting cards/invitations Magazine inserts Menus Packaging Phone cards Postcards Tickets The challenge facing suppliers of coated cover stock is that there are numerous pressure points within the industry to influence brand decisions. Printers are often the brand decision-makers, but their decisions are influenced by their previous experiences, job requirements, price, availability, as well as print customer and merchant recommendations. Print customers also often play an important role in the coated cover brand decision. Many print customers specify the brand of coated cover they would like their job to be run on, especially for large or high-profile jobs. If the print provider can easily get the brand and has not had a bad experience, they are very willing to accommodate the customer s request. Given the extremely competitive market for print services, printers do not want to risk losing a deal because they didn t go with the print customer s brand specification. Page InfoTrends/CAP Ventures

3 Finally, merchants play a very important role in affecting the brand decision based on their recommendations, inventory levels, and financial motivation. Printers running lean, just-in-time operations do not have much time to investigate alternative brands, and prefer to rely on information from the merchant. If a merchant does not stock a specific brand or the right sheet size of a brand the printer specifies, the merchant will often suggest an alternative brand. These numerous cross currents for brand decisions create challenges for the paper suppliers, especially for mills that are managing multiple brands across their product lines. Paper mills and private-label brands are working with very tight margins and cannot afford to invest in programs that do not demonstrably improve their market position. Costs for exhibiting in tradeshows, advertising in magazines, sending out swatch books, mailing direct marketing pieces, and making sales visits continue to rise. Paper mills and private-label brands need objective input to make budget allocations for their marketing activities. InfoTrends/CAP Ventures has conducted an extensive brand and usage research study on the North American coated cover market. The intent was to cost-effectively provide paper mills and private-label suppliers with detailed, objective quantitative information that can help guide important product and marketing business decisions. Project Objectives The study provides paper mills and private-label suppliers of coated cover stock with critical information to support their marketing efforts, product planning, and distribution initiatives. Key information objectives of the study include: Measure unaided and aided brand awareness Determine brand share Assess printers and print customers brand preference Understand the role of print customer in specifying grades and brand Determine the role of the merchant in brand selection Determine the information sources used in making brand decisions Understand the use of marketing collateral and Web sites Assess the role of the mill sales representative Identify the key factors when selecting a brand Quantify the usage of coated cover stock by key metrics (e.g. type of printing system, sheet size, basis weight, finish) Determine the order frequency and supplier type Measure the brand performance by key factors (e.g. performance, price, availability) Determine factors for switching brands Market Research InfoTrends/CAP Ventures has leveraged its knowledge of the commercial printing and paper industry and complemented it with extensive market research. This research includes input from manufacturers, merchants, printers, and print providers to provide a complete understanding of brand decisions and usage in the coated cover market InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Page 3

4 Print Provider Survey (172 responses) InfoTrends/CAP Ventures conducted a structured 15 to 20-minute interview with 172 print providers distributed across a variety of key market segments and geographic regions. We generated quantitative data on coated cover usage and brand decisions that is segmented by key customer attributes, including: Primary type of business Company size Type of equipment (e.g. offset vs. digital) Geographic region Key questions for the print providers will include: How frequently do you order coated covers? Approximately how much coated cover paper does your company use per month? What percentage of your coated cover volume is run on the following types of printing systems and presses? What portion of your coated cover volume are standard and non-standard sizes? What percentage of your coated cover volume is C1S and C2S? What percentage of your coated cover volume is in the following weights? What percentage of your coated cover volume is in the following finishes? Which of the following types of jobs do you use coated covers for? What brands come to mind when thinking of coated covers or cast coated paper? Which of the following suppliers of coated cover stock do you recognize? How familiar are you with each of the following brands of cast coated papers? What percentage of your cast coated covers are of the following brands? How familiar are you with each of the following brands of coated cover paper? What percentage of your coated covers are of the following brands? What is the primary reason that you don t use more of each brand? How important are the following factors when selecting a brand of coated cover? How big of an influence does BRAND have on the following factors? Which person has the most influence on your awareness, brand information, and your selection of a brand of coated cover? How frequently do you read an industry trade magazine? Which industry trade magazines do you read? What trade shows have you attended in the last 5 years? What effect do the following items have on getting your company to try a new brand of coated cover? How often does your print customer specify the brand of coated cover stock? How often do you go with the print customers brand specification? How frequent are the following factors for NOT going with the print customer s brand specification? How often does your merchant encourage a specific brand of coated cover? How often do you go with the merchant s recommendation? What is the primary reason your merchant recommends a brand of coated cover? Page InfoTrends/CAP Ventures

5 When did you last meet with a representative from a paper mill or branded supplier to discuss coated cover paper? From which mills have you met with representatives to discuss coated covers? What information would you find it useful for the representative to cover? How often do your print sale representatives show samples or swatch books of specific brands of coated covers to your customers when discussing a job or putting together a quotation? How often do your print sale representatives recommend specific brands of coated covers to your customers? How often do customers go with the recommendation of your print sales rep on the brand of coated cover? Print Customer Survey (102 responses) InfoTrends/CAP Ventures conducted a structured 15-minute interview with 102 print customers distributed across a variety of key market segments and geographic regions. We generated quantitative data on their use of coated cover stock and influence on printers in brand decisions that is segmented by key customer attributes, including: Company size Annual print expenditure Geographic region Key questions for the print customers include: Approximately how much does your company spend annually on printing? What percentage of your printing requires a coated cover grade of paper? What percentage of your coated cover volume is in the following finishes? Which of the following types of jobs do you use coated covers for? How often do you specify the type of coated cover paper for your print jobs? How often do you specify the brand of coated cover paper for your print jobs? What brands come to mind when thinking of coated covers or cast coated paper? Which of the following suppliers of coated cover stock do you recognize? How familiar are you with each of the following brands of cast coated papers? How familiar are you with each of the following brands of coated cover paper? When ordering print jobs, what items are you willing to pay a premium for? Which factor is most important in selecting one brand over another? How often does your print representative recommend a specific coated cover brand? How often do you go with the print sales representative s recommendation? What is the primary reason your print representative recommends a coated cover brand? How often does your print sale representative show you samples or swatch books of specific brands of coated cover paper when discussing a job? Would you want to receive more technical information about different grades of paper and the attributes of coated cover stock so you could make more informed decisions about paper? How useful are the following sources for making decisions on coated cover brands? 2004 InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Page 5

6 Who has the most influence on your awareness, information, and your selection of a brand of coated cover? How frequently do you read an industry trade magazine? Which industry trade magazines do you read? What trade shows have you attended in the last 5 years? What effect would the following items have on you trying a new brand of coated cover that you have never used or have not used for a long time? How useful are the following sources for making decisions on what brand of coated covers to use? When you specify a brand of coated cover, how often does your printer recommend a different brand? How frequent are the following factors for your printer not going with your coated cover brand specification? Merchant Survey (33 responses) InfoTrends/CAP Ventures conducted a structured 15-minute interview with 33 paper merchants and related distributors. We generated quantitative data on their decisions to stock and recommend coated cover brands. Key questions for the merchants include: What brands come to mind when thinking of coated covers or cast coated paper? Which of the following suppliers of coated cover stock do you recognize? Which brands of coated cover do you inventory or carry? What percentage of your coated cover sales are the following brands? How often do your sales reps recommend a brand of coated cover? How often do printers go with your recommendation? What is the primary reason you recommend a brand of coated cover? How frequent are the following factors for a printer not going with your coated cover brand recommendation? How important are the following factors in deciding to stock a brand of coated cover? What impact does BRAND have on the following factors? Page InfoTrends/CAP Ventures

7 Project Deliverables Subscribers receive a variety of deliverables as part of this project, all designed to help with their marketing efforts, product planning, and distribution initiatives. All deliverables are available in hard copy and electronic format. Subscribers receive: An executive summary that covers the key findings, trends, and recommendations (Word format) Presentation-style report that describes the methodology, research findings, conclusions, and recommendations (PowerPoint file) Data tabulations from the structured surveys with print providers, print customers, and merchants (Excel table) Project Schedule InfoTrends/CAP Ventures started the research in September 2004 and published the study in December Project Fees The study is available for $9,995. A personal presentation is available for an additional $1,750 plus direct travel expenses. Participation To purchase this study or to ask questions about the research please contact Scott Phinney at or via at scott_phinney@capv.com 2004 InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Page 7