In this article, we talk to Clare Porter of Bespoke Group who is a marketing partner for the FuturePrint Virtual Summit and are also providing some content within Young Guns in Print Programme on 12 October and also the virtual networking partner for each networking session that takes place around 1 pm BST every day next week. Read on and find out more from Clare.

Why has your business made the decision to participate in the second FuturePrint Virtual Summit?

The FuturePrint team have been friends and associates of The Bespoke Group for many years now. When they approached us to support the event in June, it seemed like a worthwhile and exciting initiative to get the industry talking and connecting in these challenging times. The success of this first event proved that they had created something really valuable, that engaged many different markets, businesses of all sizes and across the supply chain. So when they told us there would be another event, we were more than happy to get involved again to further support Marcus and Frazer, the wider print community and once again, connect with our industry peers.

Who will be representing you at the FuturePrint Virtual Summit and what is their responsibility and experience?

Miguel Afonso will be speaking during the Young Guns session on the first day of the event. The session is ‘How to increase your visibility in a digital world’.

He’s an established and talented Account Director at The Bespoke Group with a keen eye for strategic PR and marketing campaigns that deliver results. Account Director, Claire Russell-Jones and I (Clare Porter, Associate Director) will also be involved with the Young Guns discussion and will be hosting the networking sessions each day.

Claire has extensive experience spanning the different areas of PR and Marketing and the graphic arts industry, having worked at The Bespoke Group for 14 years, and as such, always executes highly creative and effective programmes for her clients. I started my career at The Bespoke Group almost 13 years ago and like my colleagues, have worked across, and gained valuable knowledge in, a number of industry sectors and lead many successful PR and marketing activities for my clients. This wealth of experience between us will, I’m sure, mean that we can share some interesting and inspiring information during our session on the 12th October.

Can you provide a brief overview of your chosen topic and why it will be of interest and relevance to Summit attendees?

Claire and I will be asking Miguel to provide some insight on how companies can maximise traditional PR and marketing activities but with an increased focus on digital platforms this year and for the foreseeable. While traditional PR and marketing tactics remain effective, the COVID-19 crisis has left a large event-shaped hole in our marketing calendars and accelerated our dependence on digital communications. As such, now is the time to revaluate your digital marketing strategy and ensure your brand maintains or even increases, visibility despite the challenges we’ve faced in 2020.

How do you see the market developing in the next six months, and what will be your focus?

From a PR and marketing point of view, I would say that we are going to continue to see digital communications feature more prominently in campaigns as businesses, and agencies like ours, continue to come up with new ways to get messages heard and encourage sales. Regardless of what happens with COVID-19, face-to-face events may not return to ‘normal’ for a while yet as confidence in travel and in-person interaction is rebuilt, so we need to keep innovating and finding virtual ways to connect with customers and promote products and services.

For more information from Bespoke contact Clare Porter