I head up the professional print 
business for Canon in EMEA. 
I’ve worked in the digital print sector 
for more than 25 years,
helping print businesses to implement 
digital technologies 
and maximise their potential to develop their products 
and grow their revenues.
I’ve been with Canon for 16 years now, 
and I’ve been involved with the 
imagePRESS family 
right from the very start, 
when we launched the first product back 
in 2006. 
I like to think that original product 
really helped print professionals 
to see digital differently. 
So I’m really excited to see us 
introduce the latest member of
the imagePRESS family
and to talk about why we think its 
capabilities 
are so important for print businesses
who are planning for their future.
I’ve been part of many product
launches during my time at Canon, 
and this virtual event format is 
certainly a big departure from the 
norm for all of us.
I definitely look forward to the day 
when we can be with you 
in person again. 
but it’s impossible not to talk 
about COVID-19 right now. 
I do promise not to talk about the 
‘new normal’.
But there’s no doubt that it’s impacted 
every business  
and forced some rapid changes of 
direction.
In the professional print space some 
markets have been hit hard, 
while others are thriving.
It’s certainly made it really important 
to find new ways to connect with, 
and sell, to customers. 
Businesses are evolving fast and you 
need to be tuned in to what your 
customers are doing, 
and the role that print needs to play 
for them, today and in the future.
So for me, the question always has to 
be - how can we at Canon help? 
My team and I have been really focused 
on how we can guide you, 
our print customers 
to develop positive strategies that 
are going to help you succeed 
as we look ahead. 
One important way for us to support you 
is to help you interpret 
what’s changing in your customers’ world
and how that might impact you. 
Using Canon’s resources to commission 
good market intelligence 
that can really help inform the way you 
think about your business.
If we can help you to understand the 
challenges that brands are facing, 
we know that you can bring your 
individual creativity 
and skills and develop the products and 
services that your customers
want from you.
So we’ve been having in-depth 
conversations with print buyers
from businesses all over Europe, 
the Middle East and
Africa over the last five months. 
We’ve spoken to more than 200 senior 
marketing decision makers, 
with a whole range of communications 
budgets. 
We’ve been asking them what their 
pain points are, 
how they’re using print together 
with digital channels to reach their 
audiences, and what more they 
want from their print partners. 
This research happened between March 
and June this year, 
so it’s given us a really fresh view of 
how marketing is being re-shaped
post- COVID.
Now we’re bringing our findings 
together in a brand new 
Canon Insight Report, and we’ll share 
this with you in the coming weeks.
What I can already tell you today is 
that a few themes emerge very clearly.
Your customers have some real challenges
to communicate complex messages
to their audiences.
They struggle to choose the right 
channels and get the right level of
return on their marketing investment.
Tried-and-tested marketing tactics 
aren’t necessarily working, 
or even available right now. 
As we’re seeing ourselves, there are 
fewer opportunities to engage with
customers in person. 
At the same time, consumers’ sense of 
digital fatigue is growing after months 
living behind our screens. 
Brand owners tell us they’re worried 
about falling response rates to
email campaigns, which is a massive 
challenge. 
They need their campaigns to be quick 
and agile, 
which is where digital often wins.
But they also need to be more creative, 
targeted and personal to engage people 
and motivate spend. 
And marketing budgets are under 
pressure. 
This means campaign assets need
to work hard, 
and have a measurable impact on 
customer engagement and sales.
Success ‘post-COVID’ will not come from
doing what they always did. 
And the same applies to you as 
their print partners.
I think we have a unique opportunity 
to stand back now
and work together to build on the value 
you as print service providers 
can bring to brands,
informed by what they’ve told us 
they need..
Buyers have a huge appetite for ideas, 
for creative inspiration. 
They’re telling us that they don’t 
have all the answers themselves. 
They want expert guidance from their 
suppliers on how to make campaigns
effective, have more impact with their 
audiences, and increase response rates. 
They know that multichannel campaigns 
that integrate print are most 
effective for them.
They also know that great print can 
often represent their brand better
than digital.
It has more authority, and in a world 
where digital is everywhere, 
print differentiates.
But they need your help to prove it, 
and to maximise the return on every
Euro they spend on print in their 
marketing mix. 
We’re here to help you act on this 
knowledge
and have more proactive conversations 
with your customers.
We’re building out our business development 
programmes to give you more 
support with this,
and to give you the advice you need to 
put these insights into action in your
own individual way. 
As your technology partner, 
we think that capable, versatile digital
production technologies 
are absolutely key to your success.
We’re here to make you as productive 
and efficient as you can be.
But we’re also with you to share ideas. 
About how you can use our technologies 
to create new products, add value,
and do more for your customers and 
grow your margins.
We believe that this latest addition to 
our imagePRESS family 
can help you reach new heights with 
your business.
