Delivering on the Conservative print manifesto
The Conservative Party needs a strong all-round print manager with exceptional reactive and proactive skills, its head of print and design tells Andy Knaggs.
Like boy scouts the world over, the Conservative Party is prepared. As speculation mounts over the successor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, so does uncertainty over what might happen next. Will it be Gordon Brown? If so, will he call a snap general election? Will he, or whoever takes the job, wait instead until 2009?
In common with the rest of us, Paul Sorkin can’t answer those questions, but as head of print and design for the Conservatives, he does know that he needs to be ready, and in that regard the print management deal the organisation agreed with TPF (formerly The Print Factory) in September 2006 will be a major factor in him successfully managing to fulfil the Party’s print requirements should an election be called.
It will be a challenge for all concerned, and especially for a print management supplier still in the early days of its relationship with Her Majesty’s Opposition. “What we have to do is give TPF guidance regarding what we expect, from our experience,” says Sorkin, who is based at Conservative Campaign HQ on Millbank. “We know volume-wise what’s likely to be needed at an election, as each constituency will require so much print. We just need to have templates in place, and TPF has ensured people are available to manage it and cope with the demand.
“And of course, it will absolutely turn on price. The constituencies can only spend so many pence per voter, so the more savings we can make by going through this central point the better it will be for everyone. We’re definitely better equipped to deal with a snap election with TPF in place, and after dealing with the local elections they have already had a taster of what’s to come.”
The four year contract with TPF will run beyond the 2009 election (if indeed we have to wait that long), as well as the London mayoral elections and the European parliamentary elections, so there will be ample opportunity for TPF to prove its mettle. Already it has been a steep learning curve, Sorkin relates.
“We signed the contract in September and I wanted an online system ready to show at the Party Conference in Bournemouth in October, so they had to do it in three weeks. Then we threw TPF in at the deep end with the local elections. No-one had time for a learning curve or an initiation. They have come up trumps though – they’ve really worked their socks off.”
The constituencies can use the eprocurement system from TPF to access style-approved templates to drop in local words and imagery and to purchase catalogue items. Had it not been ready for the October Conference, there would have been no real chance to demonstrate it to the entire Party until the following year’s conference. There might yet be a general election before then, so the heat on TPF must have been intense.
"Someone once said a week is a long time in politics, but to be honest these days an hour is a long time. With the media outlets we have today anything that someone says has a reaction. We have to change immediately to meet that and TPF has to react instantly."
It made the deadline though, and is also providing The Conservative Party with the savings that Sorkin, as a man of print, expects. There is an ongoing process of signing up the constituencies to the system – none of them have to use it as they operate autonomously from HQ, so TPF has proactively employed someone specifically to travel the country selling its benefits. Around 500 constituencies have so far signed up.
The supplier also has to be exceptionally reactive, says Sorkin: “Someone once said a week is a long time in politics, but to be honest these days an hour is a long time. Things change so rapidly, and with the media outlets we have today anything that someone says has a reaction. We have to change immediately to meet that and TPF has to react instantly. We are looking more at digital printing because of the faster turnaround and flexibility.”
An example of TPF’s value came when Gordon Brown made his last Budget announcement in March 2007. The Conservatives planned a PR stunt involving 99 people wearing “Gordon Brown” facemasks, and armed with red dispatch boxes and red balloons, assembled outside Parliament on Budget Day. Each red balloon represented a “stealth” tax increase by Brown over the last ten years. The stunt won good coverage on all the major TV networks as well as national press coverage.
TPF was the company that brought the whole thing together, sourcing the materials and ensuring delivery in time.
Sorkin accepts that the Party is probably a very demanding client for the print manager. While he and his two designers have print knowledge, when it comes to dealing with the constituencies, TPF will invariably be dealing with volunteers that have no knowledge of print whatsoever. “TPF really needs a good understanding of human nature, I suppose,” he says.
Prior to outsourcing the print, Sorkin was handling the buying himself. He has been in the role for eight years after a similar role at the Automobile Association, and in an attempt to bring some “brand” consistency to printed communications - posters, leaflets, direct mail etc. – for previous general elections, Sorkin had set up a literature pack for the constituencies, with a range of template pieces. The idea was to provide these to 20 printers around the country so the constituencies could use these suppliers, drop in localised words and images, and get jobs printed.
"Of course, it will absolutely turn on price. The constituencies can only spend so many pence per voter, so the more savings we can make by going through this central point the better it will be for everyone."
That worked fine but it was expensive to set up the artwork, and to have proofs going back and forth. Sorkin wanted an online system to produce consistent print with templates. He says: “That was the first driving force behind looking at print management. We could either buy our own system, costing thousands of pounds, or go to someone like TPF who could supply a system free of charge in return for doing the print.”
Sorkin recommended the print management route, and with the assistance of a consultant put together a list of ten potential suppliers, which was whittled down to three. These three were given a basket of print items, from business cards to direct mail packs, to quote on, and all three were fairly close overall in terms of price. “There was little to choose between them,” says Sorkin, “so the thing that really sold us on TPF was the customer service. They are very quick to respond to anything we want.”
He says that TPF’s manufacturing capability was not a big factor in the print manager winning the contract but it does provide benefits in turning work around. Some print has to be put out because TPF does not have the capability to produce it, but Sorkin suspects the bulk is printed in-house. He says he has no preference as long as the work is done quickly and economically.
All political parties are under pressure to maximise the use of funds raised by memberships and donors, and the savings Sorkin expects will all help the Party’s fund raisers. Thus far, he has been satisfied with the performance of TPF, in spite of his own high expectations. “They have been as good as I had hoped,” he states. “I was a little wary because it was a big leap for us, but I’m pleased with how it has gone. They did offer substantial savings and to date they have been achieving them. We won’t know until the end of the first year but I expect a worthwhile saving. We are looking at it as a four-year cycle though, with the London mayoral election and European elections to come – very big events that will tell us how well TPF has done.”
And Sorkin smiles as he considers the developing nature of the relationship between political party thirsting for power, and print manager learning fast. He explains: “We are high profile of course, and the feeling I get is that they want to be involved in helping the Party win the next election. I’m sure they take pride in things like the 99 red balloons stunt when they get noticed. TPF was involved in the Welsh manifesto and David Cameron was on TV holding up a publication; it seems to me that TPF takes as much pride from that as we do.
“You hear a change in language. Instead of saying ‘we hope you do well’, it’s now ‘we hope we do well’. They’re on board. I’m quite confident of that!”