Keep It Simple: Memory Trends, PMA & Ali!!

January 31, 2008

I rarely go to the Scrapbook shows since I get overwhelmed with all the product choices. I leave that stuff to Christine & the others. This trip was different. The scrapbook industry is growing but in a different way than the scrapbook stores are ready for. Digital scrapbooking is becoming BIG. I went to Memory Trends which joined the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) this past year to see how TM could survive and thrive with this new way of scrapbooking.

I attended a seminar about incorporating digital scrapbooking into a traditional scrapbook store. It wasn't as enlightening as I had hoped. Really what it comes down to is that in order for scrapbook stores to survive they MUST start incorporating digital but no one knows HOW to do this. Right now there is not a single store that sells to both types of scrapbookers. I did get to meet Renee Pearson, who wrote Digital Design for Scrapbooking. I told her about a class idea I had to teach Photoshop Elements and photo organizing. She said she would love to come teach at TM!! By the way, I did get her autograph ('cause she's a celebrity).

So I started walking the convention floor (12 football fields of space). All the big names were there, Canon, Kodak, Pentax, Sony, Nikon and others I had never heard of. HUGE booths!

Way bigger than you ever see at a scrapbook convention. It was also mostly male dominated and business professional clothing. Needless to say, three women in jeans really stuck out from the crowd!

I also attended a seminar by one of my favorite scrapbook celebrities, Ali Edwards!! She talked about how important it was to build a community within the walls of a store. Inspiring. Of course the best part was getting to meet and talk with her at length after the seminar. Of course I got her autograph (with her latest book) and of COURSE I got my picture taken with her!!

She is the equivalent of an Oscar winner in the scrapbooking world! The best part though is that I ran into her an hour or so later and we chatted some more. I REALLY want her to come to TM to teach but right now she is staying close to home to be with her son. Still, I thought I saw a twinkle of interest in her eye when I mentioned how close we were.... there is always hope.

I met Jody Hunt from My Mind's Eye and told him my ideas of how a scrapbook manufacturer could take advantage of the digital market and sell to both. This idea could go far... I'll have to wait and see.

I met John from Shutterfly who does all the creative stuff for the company. I told him that they need to update their photo book templates and he asked me to call him with my suggestions. He also told me about the partnership between Shutterfly & CK. Interesting stuff going on out there...

The best find though is a product called RocketLife. It was created by a company that does computer graphics for movies (Star Wars, Titanic, Back to the Future). This software application is amazing. It's a combination between a Shuttferfly photo page and photoshop elements. It takes all of the guess work out of the design part of the page. There is some back-end software that does facial & location recognition and can sort the photos accordingly. The best part is once the pages are created you can still move, resize, add & delete photos from the page! It's the only software on the market that allows for drag & drop as well as customization - awesome!! I am going to follow-up with this company and see how we can incorporate what they do into the store. When the owner, Mike, learned of my background with software education he asked if I might be interested in training others in how to use it! Another opportunity.

It was a whirlwind 48 hours, I left learning a lot about the photo industry and how much both industries NEED each other. Now if I could just figure out how to make it work... that's the million dollar question...