Live Blog: Graph Expo Keynote – Freedom to Perform

Written by:
Joel Basa
eMarketing Manager
Xerox Corporation
Good morning everyone! We’ll be covering Ursula Burn’s keynote address from Graph Expo in Chicago. I hope you can join us! We’ll be starting shortly.
[09:00] – About to get started here. Room is nearly full. Ursula will address Graph Expo attendees and be joined by Cirque Du Soleil performers.

[09:05] – Great video just played outline Cirque’s relationship with Xerox. Cirque performers just took the stage. Amazing! Wish I could stream this performance out. It’s my first time to see Cirque performers and I understand wow they are world renown.

[09:12] – Performers just wrapped up! Once again, wow! Now, Gina Testa, is taking the stage. Gina is reviewing how Cirque and Xerox share some of the same values. The partnership shares the same objective: performance.

[09:14] – Bernard Heber, VP, Improvement and Technology at Cirque has joined Gina on stage. He is outlining his role and how his responsibility is to improve the operations of the Cirque show in all aspects. He’s now outline how Cirque started as a group of street performers in 1984. A great history…

[09:17] – Bernard is reviewing how to leverage traditional forms of media with digital…including digital.

[09:19] – Ursula about to join the stage. Cirque performers again. The costumes are amazing…colorful, creative…much like many of the applications that you’ll find in our booth.

[09:23] – Ursula is speaking about how printers…regardless of “shape” or size…have common goals. Many of which include: growing your business, delighting your customers, reducing your cost, and producing more jobs.

[09:25] – Revenue per page is higher in digital that in analog. Ursula is referring to how digital can help with profitability…be it cross media, personalized campaigns. She is reviewing how automation and web-to-print have created new areas of profitability. What’s on your mind if you’re here at Graph Expo? What’s your focus going into 2012? You can tweet us using #XeroxGraphExpo…we want to know.

[09:30] – Great keynote by Ursula. Gina Testa has returned back to the stage. They are playing a new video that goes over highlights in our booth. Including: XMPie Personalized Video, iGen4 EXP with Matte Dry Ink, the CiPress 500 Production Inkjet.

[09:32] – A customer panel is about to join Gina on stage to review how they’ve partnered with Xerox. Chris Beech from Gilmore DocuLink, Louis Crockett from Keiger Printing Company, Randy Seberg from dmh Marketing Planners and finally Dave Zamorski from Associates International.

[09:39] – Dave is reviewing how continuous improvement in this economic environment is so critical. Dave says that although 60% of our industry is automating he believes that number should be 80-90%. He’s also saying that he’s hired staffing to truly transform from PSP to MSP. Its expensive but a necessity to continue to grow.

[09:41] – Randy from dmh is outlining how the CiPress  500 is transformational and game changing. Randy’s running a lot of non-profit applications such as newsletters, personalized notepads, general appeal pieces and are completely variable.

[09:44] – Louis is talking about his customer Salem College and how they wanted to improve response rates at lowered cost. A great challenge especially since they needed to accomplish it in 2 weeks. They used XMPie to create a variable campaign and resulted in incredible improvements in response rates for Salem and also were able to do it at lowered cost. They also recently QR Codes to improve results.

[09:47] – Gina is asking Chris from Gilmore on how to work with Canadian Post. Chris is outlining the strikes that occurred recently and how it greatly affected things like fundraising, direct mail etc. Chris leaned on Xerox software to help find a solution to create more effective printed media and also use electronic media to help the areas that were greatly affected.

[09:52] – Gina asks what are you focused on next to the panel? Dave: focus on social media and electronic media. Randy: educate our customers on applications so they are more knowledgeable from a data side to create more effective printed pieces. Louis: Variable video such as uVideo. Chris: educational fulfillment and technology training. The e-side of the business.

[09:55] – Customer Panel just wrapped up. The Cirque performers are back to close the show. This is simply amazing. I’ll post photos as soon as I can. Cirque performer using a hoop and doing some amazing things. I know we all jump through hoops to do our jobs…but not literally!

[10:00] – Our keynote has concluded. I’ll post more photos on our Facebook page a little later today! Thanks for joining us!