• HP Listens to Industry, Changes MarketSplash Concept

  5/20/2009 8:16:47 AM

  HP's webinar yesterday about intended changes to its MarketSplash platform might be seen as a backpedaling act of damage control, but at least the company listened to the industry and took a different tack.

  The gist: Companies like HP should be applauded for creating programs that help drive business to its customers, as long as the service doesn't include price-setting or involvement in the actual print production process.

  The problem: HP wasn't exactly upfront about its intentions for MarketSplash when the service was immediately challenged by printers and questioned by print associations.

   

  When HP announced the MarketSplash concept earlier this year, it was called an online resource targeted at small businesses to provide "the industry's lowest prices and fastest delivery times for brand marketing services such as professional-quality design and print fulfillment." The announcement included a call for retail partnerships. The platform was to be licensed to retailers for co-branding, allowing those retailers to offer MarketSplash design and print services directly to their customers. The idea received mixed reactions from the print community, partly because HP's announcement didn't include information on who would produce the printed products sold through MarketSplash. Some HP customers questioned the company's intentions, asking if the firm was looking for a new revenue stream at the cost of losing the loyalty of print shops using HP equipment.

  Here's what happened during the webinar, which was held for members of Dscoop, but was also open to press members and analysts:

  * In the coming months, the MarketSplash  will shift its focus to help drive print to HP Indigo customers.

  * Advertising for MarketSplash.com on the open market will end, and HP will phase out the current public site over the next four months.

  * In September, the MarketSplash.com site will relaunch with resources and tools that connect content creators with print providers.

  * HP will create a referral option to help businesses locate HP Indigo customers. HP will set qualification criteria to become part of the MarketSplash print service provider network.

  Good ideas, HP. And good job for coming around relatively quickly.

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  Darin Painter

• RRD's proposes to buy Quebecor...now?

  5/13/2009 3:45:31 PM

  RR Donnelley sent a letter to bankrupt Quebecor World, indicating its interest in acquiring the Montreal-based company and presenting a proposal for a $1.35 billion cash-and-stock deal ($957 million in cash, $394.2 million in stock). RRD said it wouldn't require financing for the proposed acquisition, and therefore wouldn't need shareholder approval.

   

  Keep in mind that 1) RRD's offer comes at a time when its Q1 profit dropped 92%, and when Quebecor World is trying to emerge from bankrupcy, and 2) RRD's first move to buy Quebecor World—in a letter last August—received no response.

   

  It will be interesting to see how (or if) Quebecor responds, but my general feeling is that two ships taking in water—and looking to take new tacks for survival and growth—shouldn't collide with one another until either or both have better direction. Perhaps RRD really wants Quebecor's key accounts, and if that's the case, it underscores the need for graphic communication firms to have a better value proposition than low prices (something "key accounts" for big printers tend to covet).

   

  Can you think of a struggling company that has build a stronger future by buying another struggling firm offering the same basic products and services?

   

  What do you think about the proposed deal?

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  Darin Painter

• Reality Check: Expect USPS to Nix a Delivery Day

  5/7/2009 9:07:34 AM

  Citing the ongoing recession and an “unprecedented” drop in mail volume, the U.S. Postal Service just announced a $1.9 billion loss for its Q2, and said it likely expects to end the fiscal year Sept. 30 with a projected deficit of more than $1.5 billion. Mail volume for Q2 totaled 43.8 billion pieces, a drop of 7.5 billion pieces, or 14.7% compared to a year ago. The year-to-date net loss from operations is a whopping $2.3 billion, compared to a loss of $35 million in the same period last year.

  The USPS has tried to incentivize mail volume, including a “summer sale” for Standard Mail, which will provide eligible mailers with a rebate of 30% for mail volume that is over a designated threshold. And it's anticipating savings from realigning carrier routes, halting construction of new postal facilities, freezing USPS officer and executive salaries at 2008 levels and other measures. 

  Postmaster General John E. Potter previously had mentioned to Congress that the USPS could eliminate Tuesday or Saturday service, especially in the summer months when volume tends to be less. Such a move would require action by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, and action is not imminent. But I expect that to change before the year is over.

   

  What do you think?

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  Darin Painter

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