Call for Presentations

Thank you for your interest in presenting!

Dscoop Phoenix, Imagine will not be your traditional conference. Experiential and fast-paced, it focuses on how end-users are using print. New this year, the conference experience will include our traditional Dscoop community and some of the world’s most high-profile and successful brands and award winning creative agencies. This is indeed the entire communications eco-system.

Please read through all the information and guidelines.

Important Dates

• Friday, October 14, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. ET: Call for Presentations Closes
• Week of December 15, 2016: Accepted Presenters Notified
• February 1, 2017: Papers and Presentations Due

Suggested Topics

We’re looking for dynamic sessions covering any innovative technology, MIS, workflow, packaging, label, shrink, trends in the market. More importantly, this year sessions will include brands and marketers in the audience and we want to specifically share success stories, how to sessions and “show and tell” sessions.

Feel free to bring your customers and let them show off their work and campaigns. Afterward, let them experience the conference and the Imagination showcase. Can you imagine the conversations as you discuss what is possible with them on their future campaigns?

Show off you and your customers’ creative world. How are you using HP digital print in a creative, unique, innovative and useful way? We’re particularly interested in breakout sessions and panel discussions covering the following topics:

• Big data and how to use it effectively
• New possibilities with digital print and finishing
• What to look for in a PSP
• The new demand on manufacturers
• Digital print marketing campaign “Show and Tell”
• The impact of digital print on ROI
• Trends in the market
• Designers and decorators using digital print in innovative ways
• E-commerce and the millennial generation
• Personalized customer engagement — different stokes for different folks
• Customer retention — you can’t improve what you don’t measure
• How to transform your business to stay relevant in a fast paced world
• How to get your teams to innovate, be creative and to execute
• How to move fast and be agile
• How to change the game in a competitive market
• Developing future leaders for your business
• Using technology to improve your customer service (CRM, workflow, visibility)
• Developing a culture of passion
• Can social media attract new business — how do you measure it?
• How to demystify work flow
• What has been your greatest failure — what did you learn?
• Mastering collaboration in your business
• Sharing wins and losses with your team
• Keeping your sales force focused
• How do we and should we get into a new vertical market
• Keeping up with quality control
• How do we acquire the best people in the industry and keep them

For those of you who are new to speaking or have never attended a Dscoop conference before, never fear — as long as you are passionate and knowledgeable you’ll be fine! We love first time speakers and provide a great deal of support as you get ready for the stage.

Session Details

Sessions will be offered in 15, 30 and 50 minute durations. We recommend you plan on leaving the last 5 minutes of your session time for questions and discussion.

Tips for a Successful Submission

1. Your session must demonstrate or be related to Digital Printing and preferably tie to HP technologies and be relevant to the Dscoop audience.
2. Show and tell, not just tell.
   • Attendees love examples, samples and stories.
   • Best practices, successes and areas you would improve are all important.
   • Show and explain.
3. Clearly express the key takeaways for the audience. Ask yourself, what are the most important things that they need to know or get from this presentation and make sure you give them those.
4. Provide a call to action at the end of the session — links to websites or other locations for digging in deeper.
5. Highlight solutions not problems.
6. Plan on using as few slides as possible. We lose people with slides unless they are fun!
7. Your session must not include any proprietary or confidential information, and you must have permission to submit any material that you have obtained from others.
8. Architect your title and abstract to be specific and exciting, but be very specific on expectations as to what the session will cover and make sure to deliver that.

Set Expectations with a Title and Abstract

A session needs a title and the title should be clear about the topical focus of the session. The abstract elaborates on and provides details on that title. Be explicit on what you plan to present in the session and address what you plan to show. For technical sessions, it’s a good idea to let people know if there are assumptions about knowledge of a particular topic and if the content is targeted at novices or experts.

For example, if you were giving a session on baking a cake, don’t simply say “This session will cover how to bake the best cake you’ve ever had!” Be specific. Focus on what you’ll show rather than the outcome in order to set expectations on what content will be covered in your session. A better alternative would be something like, “In this session, we’ll cover the basics of how to select the best ingredients, make a schedule that includes prep work and order of operations, and finally walk through the recipe.” Our biggest issues shown in surveys are where the abstract and the content of the session missed the mark.

What to Expect

Proposals go through multiple evaluations. The first round of evaluation will be “blind” — meaning that the content committee will only review the session details, and not to the information of the person submitting. During the review process, you may be contacted for more information about your proposal. All who submit a proposal will hear from us with the decision by the date listed above. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of submissions we are unable to provide specific feedback. If your proposal is approved, you will begin a multi-step process of review and feedback. These check-ins help both new and experienced speakers stay on target for session delivery and insure the best session possible.

It’s simple to apply:

1. Review the Dscoop education topics and guidelines listed. Consider if you have a unique story, show or experience you would like to share.
2. Consider your topic and how it addresses users’ educational needs, including end users of print, such as brands, creatives, agencies, decorators and print consumers.
3. Complete the application form by Friday, October 14, 2016. The form comprises biographical information plus:
   • Your presentation title
   • A short description of your proposed session (500 characters or less) and brief learning objectives
   • An overview of your experience with the subject matter

Guidelines

Applicants are permitted to submit an unlimited number of presentation proposals during the call for presentations. Two presentations per presenter conference-wide. No sales pitches or product demos, please.

Questions?

If you have questions about speaking at Dscoop Phoenix Imagine and the call for presentations, please contact Dscoop Education Manager, Mike Jones, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or +1 310.489.4817.