The Bracknell Print Room has become the inaugural member of The Big Print Network (TBPN), Innotech’s new ambassador programme for wide and grand-format print businesses. The Berkshire company, which has been operating since 1977 and is now in its third generation of family ownership, will receive early access to new Innotech products, exclusive promotions, VIP event invitations and marketing support, while benefiting from resources to help promote Innotech materials to its own customer base.
The Big Print Network is free to join but each applicant goes through a vetting process to make sure every member adds value. Bracknell Print Room didn’t just pass that test. The company played a direct role in shaping what the programme would become.
Bracknell Print Room is a print agency offering large format, small format, trade printing and full print management from its premises in Berkshire. The business also runs a retail showroom where customers can walk in and discuss projects face-to-face. It handles everything from banners and floor graphics to outsourced promotional items like embroidered caps and printed pens and putting together complete exhibition packages under one roof.
Simon Lewington, CEO at the Printroom Group says, “My dad started the business in 1976 and employed my granddad. The company turns 50 next year, and we are a true family business, with six more family members working here.”
More than just a supplier
Bracknell Print Room has worked with Innotech for many years, but it was a conversation between Simon and his Innotech sales rep that planted the seed for The Big Print Network.
Simon suggested, “You’re doing all this marketing to all these print companies, but surely you want to market to my end user. Using your resources and then marketing to my end user would be a powerful way to promote your products. If you’ve got stock in your warehouse, send some over at a discount. I’ll put it in my showroom and let my customers know that I’m using your products.”
That thinking helped shape the programme. Simon recognised that Innotech’s marketing was aimed at printers, when the real opportunity was giving those printers the tools to sell to their own customers.
“No one cares about a roll of self-adhesive media. But show them a picture of an elevator wrapped in graphics and they go, that’s what I want. They don’t know what the material is. They just know they want graphics on their elevator, or graphics on their floor.”
Selling the finished product, not the raw material
A central part of the TBPN offer is access to Innotech’s marketing assets. Members can use product photography, videos and promotional material, branded with their own logo, to sell to their end customers. Simon sees this as one of the biggest practical benefits.
“We spend a fortune on marketing and designing assets. If our supplier is already doing that, why would they make me create another one from scratch? If they’ve done the work for me, let’s get it on social, let’s get it sold and we can stick our logo on it. Everyone benefits,” he says
Simon continues, “Someone else might end up with the same advert, but if Innotech are going to invest time and money making a range of different assets and videos for a wallpaper, and then give different printers different elements, why not? We stick our logo on it. We get it on our website. We get it out. Doesn’t really matter if another company’s got the same one with their logo on it,” he continues.
Early access and new products
TBPN members get first sight of new Innotech products before they reach the wider market. For a business like Bracknell Print Room, which stocks its showroom with Innotech hardware and media, that advance knowledge has a direct commercial application.
“If they make a video on a product, say for example, they’ve got a new wallpaper coming out. Innotech can say, look, we’ve got this new product and we’ve got all these assets for it. Stick your logo on it, go and sell it. That’s perfect for us and represents great value in our partnership,” Simon explains.
A network built on trust
Simon also sees value in being connected to other vetted print businesses through the network. If a machine goes down or a job requires a capability he doesn’t have in-house, knowing that Innotech can point him towards a trusted peer takes the risk out of outsourcing.
“There’s enough work out there for everyone. And if you’re outsourcing print, you don’t always know who you’re giving it to. Your reputation is on the line. So if Innotech are going to recommend someone, they’re not going to recommend someone who isn’t up to the job. It would reflect badly on them as well,” he says.
What Innotech asks in return
Membership of The Big Print Network is a two-way commitment. Members display the TBPN badge on their website, share a minimum of two Innotech-related social posts per month, tag Innotech in projects made with its materials and provide feedback when asked. Membership is reviewed annually.
Kieran Dallow, Head of Customer Experience and Marketing at Innotech, says, “The Big Print Network isn’t about how much someone spends with us. It’s about finding businesses that are passionate about what they do and giving them a platform to shout about it. We want members to see this as a two-way relationship, and in return we’ll back them with greater access to information, events and offers.”
For Bracknell Print Room, the motivation is simple. The products they print on are only interesting when you can see what they become. Rolls of media in a warehouse tell nobody anything. A wallpapered shop interior, a branded elevator wrap, a set of floor graphics in a reception area? That sells itself.
Simon Lewington concludes, “You’ve got to find ways to stand out. Nobody gets excited about rolls of media in a warehouse. But what gets produced from those rolls? That’s a different story. That’s what you want to show people.”
