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“You don’t hear people talking about the ‘print buyer’ any more – now they are part of the strategic procurement team.” This is the opinion of Adare chief executive Robert Whiteside. Indeed, Adare’s own procurement director is also a board director, which shows the significance of what the role brings to the firm.

The changing face of print buying is something Adare has taken on board. In March last year, Whiteside kicked off the transformation of the firm with a £119.5m MBO deal, followed a year later by a total rebrand which brought all of the group’s subsidiaries, such as Lexicon and Carwin, together under one identity.

It has also made new kit investments and won lucrative, high-profile contracts from the likes of Evian, Heineken, Securitas and a three-year contract win from gym chain Fitness First worth over £5m.

In January, Adare announced, as part of the rebrand, that it would sell its franchise arm On Demand Communications comprising Kall Kwik, Prontaprint and Irish educational publisher CJ Fallon.

Whiteside says that bringing these businesses under the same umbrella would have “diluted” their status. “The franchise model was successful for the brands, but does not align
with the new shape of Adare and it’s new strategy.”

Stronger together
For the rest of the firms brought in line with the rebranding, there has been no loss of identity. “They have been screaming out for it for years,” says Whiteside. “The strengths of each company are now combined, enabling Adare to progress as a whole.

“The recent changes mean that at every touch point our clients have with their current customers, we are able to offer a large range of services via multimedia,” Whiteside adds. “This will range from traditional print management to corporate or marketing literature, packaging and electronic media forms such as SMS and email.”

Whiteside emphasises that he believes the future of print management is in embracing all forms of multimedia communication. This has inspired the rebrand and seemingly the sale of some of the firm’s subsidiaries. “We have come a long way since last March in terms of direction, structural change, objectives and the development of a total marketing and corporate communications proposition to bring to the market.”

The company also defines itself very much on a global scale. It spends around £70m (€100m) outside the UK, which includes firms across Europe as well as those from further afield including China and Argentina.
Recent wins, such as the Heineken marketing and print contract, also confirm its status on an international level. Heineken’s headquarters being in close proximity to Adare’s Wimbledon office also may have helped to secure the deal. However, head of marketing for Heineken Chris Duffy assures that choosing Adare to work on marketing requirements such as posters and point-of-sale display units was far more than just a geographical choice.

“It was also important to find a personality that matched with us, and it was very apparent even from our
first dealings with the team that this was the case.”

With a sizeable portion of Adare’s £150m annual turnover attributed to digital, it is clear that Whiteside
is keen to keep up with newer technologies. “Digital is the way forward – its growth has been exponential. There is a growing demand for one to one marketing and a trend towards outsourcing this,” notes Whiteside.

“This is definitely a growing area for which marketers have a ravenous appetite.”