IR talks to… Kathy Woodward, BPIF

Kathy, though the BPIF markets itself as the principal business support organisation for the UK’s print, packaging and graphic communication industry, the majority of Image Reports readers consider it as a bit of an old boys’ network and really representing just big, mainstream companies. Does its membership, focus and services make this fair comment?

I suppose you’d expect me to answer no. We have over 1000 companies as members - from large to small and covering every sector. So we have people covering different processes and markets.

I think your point about the BPIF?being an old boys’ club is the historical view of the federation and is a hangover in people’s minds. When they see what we can actually offer them I think we will be able to change that perception.

The BPIF has undergone some significant changes since you became CEO. It has not only moved into new premises but also seen various key Board changes. Do you think the BPIF is choosing right people to move it forward and in which direction?

You’re right, there have been changes. I came on board essentially last May and with a very firm view of where I wanted to take the BPIF. But equally, at that point in time I actually said ‘stop’, because whilst I have my opinion we do have is a structure of six regions and those represent printers of all different shapes and sizes, and what I wanted to do was take some time out to talk to those printers and ask ‘what do you actually want from the BPIF?’. And that has shaped some of our thinking and some of our moves.

A priority was to get out of Farringdon Point and we have now moved into Hooper Street which is modern and reflects the image we’re trying to project.

But the other message we took on board was that people wanted a good cross-section of the industry represented on the Board, which could then take us forward and that’s what we specifically went out to do.

I think our Board structure is now stronger than it’s ever been. And I think the reason it is strong is that we went back to the regions and sought their support. What the regions have helped us do is seek out specialist skills.

We’ve recruited Tony Garnish [European CEO of packaging company AGI Shorewood] who’s come in as president. He’s a very experienced business manager with plants across Europe and I think he’ll bring stong leadership skills.

We also wanted somebody right at the forefront in the digital arena and we also wanted somebody who had experience of supplying to big multinationals and the big supermarket chains and we actively went out into the regions and asked them nominate those kinds of people. [It was recently announced that Gary Peeling, MD of Precision Printing, and Nigel Stubley, MD of Northend Creative Print Solutions, are joining the Board as directors.]

So I’m really excited by the Board we have now and I think they’re really going to help shape our strategy going forward.

I understand the federation is trying to change its image and appeal to a wider potential membership. Until now large-format digital print has been sidelined as a small, peripheral part of the industry. But it’s now one of the fastest growing sectors of the UK print industry, so is it more firmly on the BPIF’s radar?

I think the sector is firmly on the BPIF’s radar. It is seen as a growing sector. It’s difficult to categorise how many current members are principally involved in that activity, but we know many are moving into that sector as they see opportunity there.

What we have tried to do is take a lead from the regions in what they believe are the areas we should focus on and we’re now creating an interest group around the whole question of digital printing. And that’s really brought to the fore how we want to shape that interest group and of course wide-format is an area that we will be pursuing as we go forward.

What proportion of members are currently producing large-format digital print and do you expect that ratio to change and in what kind of timeframe?

It’s actually very difficult to categorise who is a wide-format printers and who isn’t because of the way wide-format printers represent themselves. Sometimes they consider themselves ‘commercial’ printers or whatever, but we are looking at ways in which we can attract those companies into the BPIF.

What is the BPIF specifically doing to better represent the wide-format sector then?

I think we can help them analyse the market and perhaps talk to people who maybe haven’t come in contact with print before – I refer to them as the print virgins.

You’re actually selling a concept rather than print to experienced print buyers who have a very clear agenda. What we are realising now is that selling into new markets or to people who aren’t really print buyers, is a very different selling style.

What we have with the Print Academy is the beginnings of getting people to analyse that. What we’re also looking at is how people analyse their markets – who they need to sell to, who they need to influence and how they need to promote their products within the market.

The BPIF has an extensive of membership services and benefits that would be as useful to wide-format print companies as any other type of printer. But increasingly, networking is seen as one of the real reasons for joining any ‘club’. Your ‘special interest groups’ allows like-for-like members to exchange information and has events that focus on specific sector problems etc. but there’s no group really relevant to wide-format. Is that likely to change?

If that is a member need or requirement. What we’re trying to do, is rather than have a hothouse at HQ where the BPIF Board determines what members should have, is actually talk to them and ask what they need and how they want the BPIF to evolve.

So if there was a membership need for a wide-format group then that is something we would actively seek to introduce.

What is the BPIF doing to change the general ‘face of print’? In particular there’s massive potential for decorative-based print in wide-format, but a bigger swathe of people need to understand what’s possible. Does the BPIF see it within its remit to help in that educative process?

I think we do have an educative role and we need to make sure we promote the full range of print activities and focus on the power of print and the return on investment of actually having a printed product. We need to provide tools; we need to provide training and routes to market so people can actually demonstrate to those who are buying print, the actual power of print.

One of the programmes we do have at the moment is based around the Sales Academy. We look at how the Power of Print initiative and the Sales Academy can actually work together so we can actually support companies as they take products to perhaps people who have not experienced them before.

How closely does the BPIF work with other federations, such as Fespa UK?

We do work with other federations and we had a dialogue throughout last year as Fespa UK was developing its own future. What we provide here is access to things like funding, that perhaps Fespa UK doesn’t have access to at the moment. So we like to think we complement what Fespa UK is offering rather than challenging or competing with it.

Where does the BPIF go from here? What’s its key agenda for the rest 2012 and does that have any impact on producers of wide-format print?

For me, its trying to get over that regardless of process, companies are operating in complex markets and competing with other media and in an environment where they need a range of support services. And what we attempt to be is a focal point for those eservices, providing everything from general business support, financial services, HR, health and safety, environmental help, but with a specialist knowledge that many of the generic providers can’t give.

If there’s one thing I’ll actually focus on over the next year it’s what do members really need in terms of services? If that’s lobbying, it’ll be lobbying, if that’s helping somebody understand the implications of removing the retirement age then those are tools we’ll look to provide the industry.