by guest blogger Dean Petrulakis of Rider Dickerson
Thank you to all those who attended our first annual conference, printForum the conference! The attendance rate and response from the attendees was awesome! The conference included 11 carefully- crafted education sessions led by some of the most knowledgeable leaders in the industry, an amazing keynote speaker, and a networking reception with all of our speakers, sponsors and attendees in our Solutions Center. We gave attendees the ability to choose from a vast array of educational sessions covering topics such as InDesign, Cross Media Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, and many more! Our promise to attendees was that they would gain knowledge, inspiration and connect with peers, and based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received we can proudly say we came through on that promise!
printForum the conference focused on bringing light to new concepts, building community and inspiring growth in your business. The conference was packed with a host of attendees who were eager to learn and who had the chance to expand their knowledge by attending 3 educational sessions. Attendees were able to choose their 3 sessions from a total of 11 different topics. These educational sessions gave attendees an inside look at the
newest trends, technologies and ideas in the industry. While in the sessions, attendees were able ask questions, as well as share ideas with the presenters and other attendees.
“I want to say I was very impressed with the printForum and its success. Having done hundreds of events for printers over the years, I must say this was by far the best and most impressive. It was very well organized and executed, even down to the signage!” – Clint Funk, Adobe
If you are interested in learning more about the educational sessions you missed, feel free to download the presentations below. (presentations with PowerPoint)
After an afternoon packed with knowledge, fun and peer exchange we were joined by nationally- acclaimed speaker, Ken Schmidt, former Director of Communications for Harley-Davidson. Ken Schmidt has been associated with Harley-Davidson since 1985, and his success in helping improve the company’s reputation – and creating demand for its products – played a vital role in the motorcycle legend’s turnaround from the brink of ruin to global dominance. In fact, Ken took in some of the breakout sessions, and he was quite impressed.
“It’s a rare day for me when I get to be around so many really great people and actually learn something, too! You and your team really know how to put on a great event and I am very glad and thankful to have been part of it.” – Ken Schmidt former Director of Communications at Harley Davidson
Ken’s speech focused on understanding the basic drivers of human behavior and the importance of building a community and it resonated extremely well with all the attendees!
“I have to tell you, I’ve heard many keynote speakers over my years and after hearing Ken’s presentation; he ranks right up there with the best of them.” -John Federico Appleton Coated
We wrapped up the day with a networking reception in the Solutions Center. Attendees were able to interact with sponsors and speakers in the Solutions Center while taking in the beautiful views and enjoying tasty heavy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Here is what some other attendees had to say about the conference!
“Overall, you guys did a great job of putting on a classy, well thought-out conference with a phenomenal keynote speaker. I enjoyed Ken’s presentation immensely; he totally validated a point of view I’ve shared for years! The content of the breakout sessions and the caliber of presenters was excellent. And the printForum magazine is a good read. Clients love to hear metrics, particularly as they relate to marketing, and there’s some great info in there that I will share.” -Megh Knappenberger, Here to There Studio
“Kudos to Rider Dickerson for investing in not only their clients, but the industry as a whole! printForum was a spectacular opportunity for attendees to hear live presentations on today’s relevant topics in marketing, design, integrated campaigns, and ROI just to name a few. The breakout session format was fantastic for allowing attendees to customize their own experience and the Solutions Center gave us the opportunity to network and share our latest samples. What printer does this kind of thing these days? Only the best!” – Michele Pistone- Neenah Paper
“printForum the conference was a total homerun on every front!” – Ferko Goldinger, Appleton Coated
We were extremely pleased with all of the wonderful feedback we received from our sponsors, speakers and also our attendees! With all the success of this year’s event we can’t wait to host printForum the conference again next year! You don’t want to miss it! To stay up to date with all news on printForum check out www.printforum.info and connect with us on our social media pages!
printForum Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/printForumRD
Rider Dickerson Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RiderDickerson
Rider Dickerson Facebook: http://ow.ly/4tEU4
printForum Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3193358
Rider Dickerson YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/RiderDickerson?feature=mhum
If you missed the event and want to see pictures of what we did click here! http://www.flickr.com/photos/riderdickerson
We would like to give a special thanks to all the sponsors of printForum the conference for their hard work! We couldn’t have done it without you!
Premier Sponsor:
Hewlett-Packard www.hp.com
Event Sponsors:
Adobe www.adobe.com
Appleton Coated www.appletoncoated.com
Chicago Laminating www.chicagolam.com
Diecrafters www.diecrafters.com
Domtar www.domtar.com
GPA www.askgpa.com
Lindenmeyr Munroe www.lindenmeyr.com
Midland Paper www.midlandpaper.com
MindFireInc. www.mindfireinc.com
Neenah Paper www.neenahpaper.com
Sappi www.sappi.com
Unisource www.unisourcelink.com
Media Sponsor:
Print Media Centr www.printmediacentr.com
