1/1: Interview with Dean Petrulakis Senior VP, Business Development at Rider Dickerson Inc.

by Deborah Corn
Buyers, Education, Events, Featured, Interview, Paper, Tips, Tools, Training, Uncategorized

Dean Pertulakis is a long standing and respected member of my LinkedIn Print Production Professionals Group. I was thrilled when I saw that he had an event coming up and I immediately took the opportunity to reach out to him and see if PrintMediaCentr could help. After conference call and a presentation he made regarding the event, I knew for sure this was something that we wanted to be involved with. I am a huge fan and supporter of education for Print Buyers by the Print Industry that is not sales based, but provided to actually give people information and better tools to do their jobs no matter where they execute their projects. printForum – The Conference, is such an event and we are proud to be a media sponsor for it, happy to be able to introduce Dean to those who dont know him, and ready to provide you with some great reasons to be in Chicago on March 24th.

DC: Who is Dean Petrulakis and what does he do?

DP: Dean Petrulakis is Senior Vice President, Business Development at Rider Dickerson Inc., a fully integrated printing and marketing solutions company in Chicago. I am responsible for leading key growth and marketing initiatives across various industry vertical including higher education, healthcare, and creative agencies. I am also responsible for spearheading the company’s educational brand, printForum – a vehicle that educates clients on the application of the latest technological advances and how to bring additional value to their marketing efforts. I have been with the company since 2001 and in the industry 14 years in total.

DC: What is printForum?

DP: Launched in November 2009, printForum’s mission is to provide education and inspiration to help our clients deliver better results Through printForum, Rider Dickerson works to build loyalty with our customers and partners through a steady stream of relevant educational content. Our goal is to build a community of like minded professionals who aim to be the best they can be at their jobs and who have a common thirst for learning new things. As our industry continues to evolve our clients can rest assured we will be the partner to provide them with the most current and practical information, enabling them to perform their jobs at the highest level.

We aim to be our clients’ resource for knowledge and innovative print solutions through a variety of sources:

* A bi-monthly magazine

* Our website which includes a collection of educational articles and case studies

* Thought provoking and engaging webinars

* Lively discussion on our LinkedIn group as well as timely and informative posts via Twitter

* Email communications

* Our annual conference held in Chicago this year on March 24

DC: How did the conference develop from concept to actual event?

DP: printForum – The Conference started to gain momentum in my mind as an idea halfway through 2010. In February 2010, we hosted a wildly successful seminar in Chicago titled “Digital print can do that!?” We had nearly 200 people in attendance for the 2 hour seminar that took a look at the evolution of Indigo digital printing to the point where it was at the time of the conference. We wanted to dispel the myths that digital printing is inferior in quality. Furthermore, we wanted to show what could be done with the smart use of data to create sophisticated, customized variable data communications. The response during and after the event was tremendous, and we knew we were on the right track. After we hosted a very successful webinar in September (The Code 2Know, looking at QR Codes), we knew that webinars would continue to be a viable way for us to reach a large audience with relevant topics. However, we didn’t want to lose the opportunity to gather our community and engage in personal interaction that has always been a staple of our seminars–even before we officially launched printForum.

Knowing that we would commit to 3-4 webinars in 2011, I pitched our president Bill Barta on the idea of a more full-blown conference as our cornerstone event for 2011. He loved the idea, and we began to shape it from there. It’s truly going to be a unique event in the Chicago community! No other local event will give attendees such a breadth of knowledge, and couple that with our inspiring keynote and the reception in our Solutions Center and you have the makings for a truly valuable event for anybody who has a marketing mind!

DC: What new technologies in printing should be on all buyers’ radar?

If I were a “print buyer”, which as we all know is not the right term these days, I would learn as much as I could about all of the supporting technologies that work so wonderfully with print. For example, a buyer who is well versed on the appropriate use of variable data printing, personalized urls, QR Codes and augmented reality could bring so much value to their internal marketing team as they map out the strategy for executing a marketing campaign. I would make myself the internal go-to person for this knowledge and insight and would count on my printer to educate me on these technologies (and others that are soon to follow). It’s not enough anymore for a buyer or production manager to know the right way to produce a print job. They must be an indispensable resource who know not only understands the right way to produce a job but, more important, the right channels the marketing team should consider for maximum impact and ROI.

DC: What role does social media play in promoting the printForum and your Business Development endeavors?

DP: With society evolving so quickly, social media plays a key role in promoting printForum as well as the conference and also has helped us connect with potential prospects. Social media is one of the main channels of communication printForum has to its followers. printForum has its own twitter account (printForumRD), and we are using #printForum11 as the hashtag for the conference, as well as a LinkdedIn group that are updated daily with educational articles, discussions, new trends and announcements about upcoming printForum events. Social media is used as our daily communication with followers. With all of the intriguing educational content that is being supplied by printForum on its social media sites, we have had some very interested people connect with us. Some of these people have turned into leads. Social media is an essential tool in our marketing campaigns when promoting printForum.

DC: I have to ask… What’s the mood in Chicago as Oprah’s move to California is approaching?

DP: With the Oprah Show Era coming to an end, her big move to California is much expected. Many in the city of Chicago are upset by this since Oprah was a large part of the city for 20 years. With her new network beginning, it makes sense for her to relocate.

DC: You list “keen knowledge of paper” as one of your specialties on your LinkedIn profile… what is your best tip on choosing a stock?

DP: I firmly believe the paper you choose can make a break your printed piece. There are many factors to consider when choosing the right paper for a particular job–including the intent of the piece, the audience, the product or service you are trying to sell or promote, the ink coverage, etc… My best tip would be to consider the end use of the piece when choosing a stock. Ultimately, it’s all about the user experience, and choosing the right paper is a huge part of making that experience a positive one. As an example, if the piece has lots of copy and requires a good deal of time to be read, a gloss stock is probably not the wisest choice.

DC: Lastly, if you were to give the commencement speech at Barat College of DePaul University, what would your message be regarding print in a multi-channel marketing world?

DP: My message would be simple: avoid print at your own peril! In today’s marketing cluttered society, print has a beautiful opportunity to make a statement and really stand out from all of the e-noise and drive home your brand message to your target audience. That’s not to say electronic communication is bad. Quite the contrary. It’s quite effective when used appropriately. However, nothing can create the emotional response and tactile experience like a well-done, thoughtful printed piece. Print still has the ability to move and engage like no other media. Print has staying power. Print connotes stability and confidence. Print captivates and ignites action. The challenge for today’s marketer is to figure out how to best use print in concert with the other channels available to reach their customers and prospects. Finding that balance is key. No one channel alone can do the job anymore. As a society, we are “tuned” in to multiple channels every day (an average of 7.2 to be exact). A layered, multi-channel approach with multiple touch points are the keys to executing effective marketing campaigns today.