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PRESS RELEASE: PMA Announces an Initiative to Promote Growth in the Digital Printing Market
New "Print from Digital" campaign encourages consumers to make prints from their digital cameras at retail locations, online and at home
Jackson, MI - Photo Marketing Association International (PMA) announces the launch of an industry-wide consumer and retailer education initiative designed to promote digital printing to consumers through an Internet Web site (www.prints-are-memories.com) due to launch late November 2003 as well as national public relations, advertising and mass media outlets. One component of this initiative includes a Qualified Digital Processing Center program to ensure that consumers know where to go to get their prints made and retailers are prepared to handle the consumer demand for printing of their digital files.
PMA has also announced PMA Digital AdMaker 2, a resource provided free to active PMA member retailers containing professionally produced print and broadcast advertising materials, customizable for use in local markets. This Web-based program provides free advertising ad slicks and other point-of-sale resources to help retailers promote prints from digital.
"According to recent PMA research, the number one reason among consumers for taking pictures with digital cameras is to preserve memories. But it's not a true memory unless it becomes an easily shared print," said Ted Fox, executive director, PMA. "The consumer experience of getting prints made from digital cameras needs to be as easy as getting prints from film. As an industry we need to make this process simple. We need educate consumers about their options for making high-quality prints from digital pictures. That's what this initiative is designed to do."
About Qualified Digital Processing Center
The Qualified Digital Processing Center (QDPC) program is designed to create awareness among consumers through national public relations, advertising and mass media outlets. To become a QDPC, retailers must: - Be an active PMA member
- Own and operate the equipment to process photos from digital cameras/media onsite
- Produce a print from a digital file from each piece of output equipment onsite
- Provide a Web link to the company's home page and information for a contact person on staff at each location
- Provide information on what type of media can be accepted, output size options, and specific equipment used, as well as have the ability to offer online uploading and processing
Participating Qualified Digital Processing Centers will have access to royalty-free images and copy to be used in print, TV and radio advertising, point of purchase advertising, signage, Web ads, and educational articles on printing technologies. QDPCs will also receive a color decal for their window indicating the ability to process photos from digital files as well as a review copy of The Beginner's Guide to Digital Photography for distribution to customers. PMA will direct consumers to QDPC labs through advertising, public service announcements and news programs as well as PMA's Web-based "lab finder" on the www.prints-are-memories.com Web site.
About the PMA Digital AdMaker
The PMA Digital AdMaker set of advertising tools helps promote retail businesses as well as picture taking. The PMA Digital AdMaker available online at http://admaker.pmai.org includes articles on advertising and marketing imaging-related topics from Photo Marketing magazine. The PMA Editorial Bank, in its continuing efforts to show consumers imaging possibilities, has copyright-free articles for reprint in newspapers, newsletters or any publications interested in promoting photography. Check out the PMA home page at www.pmai.org for a new feature article that is posted every month.
Three 15-second commercials present the case for preserving memories by making prints. The fourth commercial presents the case for having photo retailers print consumers' digital images. Commercials have a customizable screen at the end for retail logo, information placement and room for an announcement to be added.
The 60-second commercial presents the case for where consumers should print their digital images - at their local photo retailer. A copy of the radio spot is available on CD-ROM in mp3 format.
About PMA
For 79 years, PMA has served as an international trade association for the changing needs of the expanding photo imaging industry with more than 20,000 members in 100-plus countries, headquartered in Jackson, Mich. In addition to the United States, there are membership offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Italy, France, Czech Republic and Russia.
PMA membership is open to any firm doing a substantial portion of its business in photo imaging retailing, processing (digital and silver halide) or service work. Cooperating memberships are held by firms that manufacture or distribute products or services for the imaging industry. PMA provides more than 100 services to its members, and holds the world's largest annual photo imaging trade show, typically drawing well over 700 exhibitors and approximately 25,000 to 30,000 attendees.
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(First posted on Thursday, November 6, 2003 at 15:44 EST)
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