EURO-GRAPH Reports P&W Jully Ships

http://www.euro-graph.org/publicms/index/view/

EURO-GRAPH has reported European coated mechanical paper shipments in July fell -5.7% as compared to the same month last year. Demand declined -7.2%. Exports rose +1.3%. Coated woodfree shipments were down -5.7%, demand fell -3.8% and exports decreased -14.8%. Supercalendered paper shipments fell -0.6%, but demand went up +0.5%. Exports declined -4.8%. Uncoated woodfeee shipments for the month decreased -3.2%, demand was down -4.3%, but exports rose +6%.

UPM to Reorganize Finance & Control Operations

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/08_27_2013upm_reorganize_finance.html

UPM announced that it plans to reorganize its Finance & Control operations and to outsource recurring transactional tasks to an external company by the end of second quarter 2014.

The reorganization is expected to affect up to 180 positions, mainly in Finland and China, UPM said.

The plan is part of UPM’s profit improvement program published on the 6th of August 2013, the company added.

According to UPM, the restructuring of operations aims to improve Finance & Control function’s cost-efficiency through simplifying the ways of working and building the ability to scale to current and future business needs.

July Global Pulp Shipments Up

Global pulp deliveries edged up by 1.2% to 3.683 million tonnes in July, up from 3.639 million tonnes in June, according to Pulp and Paper Products Council (PPPC) data.
Shipments were 6.9% higher than the year-earlier period, up from 3.445 million tonnes in July 2012.
The shipment-to-capacity ratio fell from 92% in June to 90% last month.
Bleached softwood kraft (BSK) pulp shipments moved up from 1.840 million tonnes in June to 1.944 million tonnes in July, while bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) pulp deliveries fell from 1.680 million tonnes in June to 1.617 million tonnes last month.

China's Imports of RCP and Pulp Grow

China's recovered paper (RCP) imports ticked up last month, climbing 5.0% from June to more than 2.384 million tonnes in July, according to data from China Customs.

Mixed paper intake saw the biggest increase, surging 18.8% compared to June to 466,295 tonnes.

This is down to a sharp decline in June, when intake plummeted 22.7% from May to 392,531 tonnes.

Mixed paper is the prime target of the Chinese government's intensified customs inspections under the Green Fence policy. Buyers and sellers have tried to stay away from trading the grade, especially European tonnage.

July's total RCP imports figure was 1.4% higher than the 2.352 million tonnes recorded in July 2012. 

China's total pulp imports grew 7.8% in July compared to the previous month, climbing to 1.388 million tonnes, according to data from China Customs.

The rise was ascribed to a surge of bleached softwood kraft pulp imports, which amounted to 575,178 tonnes last month - up 15.2% from June.

Intake of bleached hardwood kraft pulp edged down 3.0% month-on-month to 482,131 tonnes.

July's total pulp import figure was 16.1% higher than the 1.196 million tonnes recorded in the same month of 2012.

NewPage Introduces Ed #15

http://news.paperindex.com/ProductLaunches_NewTechnology/NewPage_Introduces_Ed_15_Interactive_Print/ 

NewPage Corporation (NewPage) announced today the release of Ed #15: Interactive Print, the newest brochure in its popular "Ed" series which has been delivering educational tips and advice on printing techniques, new technologies and sustainability topics relevant to customers and other stakeholders for more than a decade.  
"Ed #15 showcases paper as the original interactive communication medium," states Steven DeVoe, vice president, Marketing for NewPage. "Paper keeps getting better, finding new ways to connect, not just to a particular audience, but also to other media. With new browser technologies, print has become a uniquely effective gateway to video, websites, e-catalogs and other information through smart devices. Printed communication is more vital than ever. It's vibrant and highly effective—reaching millions and selling billions."

Print: Evolve from Outbound to Inbound Marketing

http://whattheythink.com/articles/65025-lets-proactively-evolve-print-outbound-inbound-marketing/

Outbound marketing is promotion-based; spread the message about my company, my products, and my services to as many people as I can interrupt in the hope that some will find the message relevant. Print examples of this are blasting out huge direct mail campaigns to strangers, newspaper advertisements, and billboards. The majority of outbound marketing messages get ignored – we filter mass e-mails, we fast forward through commercials, we ignore billboards, we throw away junk mail.
Inbound marketing is attraction-based; give something away, create compelling content in exchange for the permission to market to a prospect who has already found your message relevant. The message in inbound marketing isn’t about you; it’s about your customer’s challenges – that’s what makes it relevant and compelling to them. We also ignore some of this marketing, not because it interrupted us but because it wasn’t relevant to us. When it is relevant, we consume the content and give “permission” to send further marketing messages.

Print Preferred by Parents for Back-to-School Shopping

http://printinthemix.com/Fastfacts/Show/768

The back-to-school shopping season is second only to Christmas in size and importance to retail sales.The Back-to-School Shopping: 2013 Trends, a survey by mobile location analytics company Placed, provides analysis of purchase planning, advertising preferences and smartphone usage which influence shopping activities.The survey’s results highlight the power and importance of print in the advertising mix.PARENTS PREFER PRINT ADVERTISING FOR BACK-TO-SCHOOL PROMOTIONS  
When more than 12,000 U.S study participants (all smartphone users with at last one child) were asked which ways they prefer to receive back-to-school promotions, 46.3% said “print ads,” followed by “direct mail” (41.3%) -- far ahead of social media (21.2%).

Rodale Publishing Custom Magazines for Hotel Chains

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/rodale-publishing-custom-magazines-hotel-chains#.Uh0JJ7yYyKw

Rodale Grow, the content marketing agency of Rodale Inc., will publish magazines for two hotel chains owned by Hilton Worldwide. The Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts will both launch luxury magazines focused on their unique collections of lifestyle brands.
The bi-annual titles will have free print issues, available in-room at hotels and resorts globally, and be digitally distributed via Flipboard, iTunes and the Google Play Store. 
“Rodale has been increasingly involved in custom publishing over the past several years,” says Robert Novick, SVP, international, business development and partnerships for Rodale in a statement. “We’re looking to expand even more this year and next in both digital and print."

Reactions to USPS Exigency Case

http://www.dmnews.com/exigency-extra/article/309012/

With the direct mail industry preparing to debate the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Postal Board of Governors on Sept. 5 in a discussion about a potential exigent rate increase, we present considerations posed by parties that figure to be affected by such a move.
"If the USPS Board of Governors impose an above-CPI-cap exigency postage increase on catalog mailers, catalog mail volume will inevitably take a significant fall. In some cases, catalog volume could decline to post-2007 rate increase levels, and will be very hard for some companies to recover from. More than six years since the damaging 20%-plus postage increase imposed on catalog mail, this industry has still yet to recover; an exigency increase will only exacerbate the problem." — American Catalog Mailers Association
“With the availability of highly effective and efficient marketing alternatives, any significant postage rate increase would change the ROI calculus by companies in comparing alternatives. That shifting ROI, in turn, would threaten the sustainability of our existing strategies and compel an industry-wide shift of investment of communication and advertising dollars from mail to those alternative channels...  — The Affordable Mail Alliance
“Attempting to address some of the service's inherent problems—notably an oversized and underutilized infrastructure—by imposing a rate increase on a product [periodicals] postmaster generals have called ‘the anchor of the mailbox' [as] both unwise and unlawful... — MPA , The Association of Magazine Media
“And now let's look at the reasons why the USPS should not play the exigency card. The primary reason is that the result of higher-than-CPI increases will be an immediate loss of volume and movement to other marketing channels...— Joe Schick, director of postal affairs, Quad/Graphics 
And more...

RR Donnelley Closes $400 Million Debt Offering

http://whattheythink.com/news/65029-rr-donnelley-closes-400-million-debt-offering/

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company ("RR Donnelley" or the "Company") announced that it has closed an offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 7.000% Notes due 2022.
As previously announced, RR Donnelley intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with borrowings under its revolving credit facility, (1) to partially fund tender offers for up to $400 million aggregate principal amount of its debt securities, including up to $100 million of its 5.500% Notes due May 15, 2015, up to $100 million of its 6.125% Notes due January 15, 2017 and up to $200 million of its 7.250% Notes due May 15, 2018 and (2) to pay premiums in connection with those tender offers. The completion of each tender offer will be subject to customary closing conditions. If there are any remaining proceeds from the notes, RR Donnelley intends to use those proceeds to repay borrowings under its revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. Amounts repaid under its revolving credit facility may be reborrowed for general corporate purposes, including the repayment or redemption of other indebtedness.

Teaching Your Old Direct Mail System New Tricks

http://thedigitalnirvana.com/2013/08/teaching-your-old-direct-mail-system-new-tricks/

Does your business need direct mail marketing in this age of digital advertising? While many people think ‘no’, direct mail still has a place in marketing. It all depends on how you are utilizing this medium. Don’t mass mail plain old letters, that’s not going to bring in customers any more effectively than placing a plain website with just your logo on it into cyberspace. There are some tricks that will get your mail noticed instead of tossed.

Cost While it might sound counter to what you’ve learned about direct mail, sending advertising through snail mail may cost the same or even a little less than digital advertising. The follow through on direct mail can be higher than that of pay per click advertising. Clicks may not result in a sale, while still costing your business up to or well over the amount of postage per direct letter. Even with the addition of printing and envelopes, you may spend far less on direct mail than digital advertising.
Postcards 
Postcards are an effective method for reaching an audience right at the mailbox. The postcards are easy to scan for information. A quick message can be conveyed to an audience without forcing them to open an envelope. People are aware of what they’ve received as opposed to blank envelopes that do not give any indication that the material inside is advertising. And more..

Dr. J. Webb on Vogue's Success

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/08/vogues-print-ad-rise-has-very-little-to-do-with-print-lots-to-do-with-branding-research-and-competitive-action/

I saw a few citations of an article Mashable about the success of Vogue’s September edition in terms of ad pages. The 665 pages was its second best in its history, when it had a September edition count of 727 pages in 2007. For those who cite this as positive for print, the irony of linking to Mashable (a digital publication) is amusing. And if it was a story about print, a wide range of publications, not just Vogue would be up, and up in similar degrees.
Why is Vogue not about the “power of print”? The Vogue story teaches a greater lesson that print businesses should take to heart. It’s not a “cheerleading print” story at all.

Ackman Sells Stake in J.C. Penney

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/ackman-moves-to-sell-stake-in-j-c-penney/?hp&_r=0

The hedge fund manager William A. Ackman moved on Monday to sell his roughly 18 percent stake in J. C. Penney, nearly two weeks after he resigned from the board amid an unusual public battle with his fellow directors.
Penney filed a prospectus with regulators giving notice that Mr. Ackman’s firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, planned to sell its 39.1 million shares. The retailer, which will not receive any proceeds from the sale, did not list an expected selling price.