3D printing offers many possibilities, but marketers should focus on people rather than technology

But how will this impact on the evolution of traditional print media?

Before proclaiming the answer to the future of any medium, it’s wise to step back and understand the people we want to connect with. Here are a few principles to guide marketers through the evolution of one of the world’s oldest mediums.

Forget technology: focus on people

With the advent of smartphones, tablets, social media and various tools to consume content, people have turned away from mass media to become their own ‘cultural curators’ – picking and choosing content, experiences and services at a time of their choosing. Such multiple devices give people many ways to ‘filter’ brands out of their lives. So brands must earn the right to be considered.

Marketing is now less about what companies say, but what they do. Or, more saliently, what they help customers do. People no longer wish to hear a brand say it’s innovative; brands should help people innovate for themselves. So it’s not about products aiding performance, but brands empowering consumers with tools that improve their own performance.

Equally, marketers can no longer interrupt a person’s day with a message. It’s inconsistent with society’s desire to manage their own experiences. Brands must move towards engaging people in activities they find interesting in venues of their own choosing.

It’s not enough to simply convey a message; brands must connect on a human level by tapping into behaviours people are already comfortable with. This finds people where they are, in a way that provides something useful, engaging and interactive.

Technology can open up the reading experience

Scholar Walter Ong spent his life assessing the cultural and educational impact of the shift from orality to literacy. In working out the many significant differences between ancient oral culture and the print culture we inhabit, he astutely stated: “Print is only comfortable with finality… (it) encourages a sense of closure; a feeling of finality which has reached a state of completion”.

This was evident in people’s behaviour when printed material became prevalent. Discussions with and between readers were commonplace (yes, social media existed before the internet). Until Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press circa 1440, reading material was often created only once and physically passed between people living in close proximity. ‘Marginalia’ (handwritten annotations in wide margins) were an influential force as books evolved.

Fast forward to now. We once again have the opportunity to fashion ‘open’ reading experiences. By intelligently using technology, content can be given even more dynamism than ancient shared scrolls. As print material converts into digital, interesting features like shared notes, group discussions and dynamic personalised content become possible.

From advertising finished products to printing bespoke products

Unlike conventional mass-production, 3D printing enables the efficient production of customised items when and where they’re needed, reducing material and shipping costs whilst saving on wasteful surplus.

3D printing’s impact on print advertising and retail experience is unchartered territory. Imagine ordering a gift from a print ad and making it on-demand courtesy of the 3D printer freshly purchased from Maplin? Or walking into a shop and instantly creating a custom product?

Staples Easy 3D offers such a service in Belgium and the Netherlands. Customers upload a model file for printing to Staples’ Office Centre. Once finished, the model will either be shipped or collected at the nearest store.

Brands can harness 3D printing to create tailored experiences. In August 2012, Disney’s Princess Experience invited Disneyworld guests to have their faces scanned to create a mini-me Disney princess figurine; a perfect illustration of how 3D printing can capture imaginations and generate personalised experiences.

From prototypes to part replacements, 3D printing has real value. If companies don’t make product blueprints and codes available to customers, their competitors may beat them to it. Advertising will shift from the promotion of finished products to selfprinted model designs.

This is only the beginning. It is imperative to act now. As with social media, early adopters will be better placed to innovate and define the market.

Technological development versus human behaviour

Human behaviour changes more slowly than technology. So brands should reflect on what will motivate people to use their new and impending products. Such a humanised focus is more likely foster products of genuine value and use, whilst shielding brands from leaps in technological development.

The trouble with getting caught up in shiny new things is that it’s too easy to forget the timeless old things. Your customers are people… and people haven’t changed radically.

As 600 years of the printed word have shown, whether it’s disrupted by television or 3D printing, traditional print has the potential to stand the test of time. But only if we as an industry can exert an influence that ensures the printed page adapts to serve evolving human behaviour and expectation.

After all, the best way to predict the future is to invent it.