Publishing On The Fly

Desktop publishing technology—and possibilities—continue to change at warp speed. Are you keeping pace?

by Sheryll Alexander (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
June 2006
 

The days of “going to the printer” are long gone—and not many tears have been shed over their passing. As you sit at your desk, creating your latest communications to your members and guests, you take for granted the accessibility of personal computers, publishing software and laser printers. these tools are the stuff of life to anyone who’s serious about producing timely and effective communications.

Desktop publishing (DTP) has transformed the way clubs and resorts need to do business—and today’s world of DTP, which includes e-marketing and Web publishing, represents a complete revolution from where the still-young industry began. Here’s an update on how properties can keep pace, even as the technology keeps evolving at warp speed.

Immediate Benefits

 

Ralph Burpee, General Manager of Cattail Creek Country Club, a private, member-owned equity club in Glendale, Md., says his in-house desktop publishing communications continue to make the club more meaningful, by bringing fresher menus and more new programs to members’ attention on a more immediate basis. Most of all, says Burpee, DTP helps to meet the changing needs and desires of his club’s membership.

“Twenty-five years ago, we were prisoners to the local printer, spending thousands upon thousands every few months to change menus, print wine lists, and publish monthly newsletters, membership directories, golf schedules and programs,” he says. “Now, we print our menus inhouse daily, and our golf, tennis and aquatics materials are in color.We aren't held hostage by a wine company that used to print our menus.”

Changing technology is also changing notions about who’s needed to execute DTP projects. Outsourcing was once the rage, as clubs that wanted the talents of a graphic artist, but couldn’t afford a full-time employee, felt that a freelance desktop designer would offer the perfect match of brains and budget.

But with desktop publishing software and laser printers becoming cheaper and easier to use by the day, many properties now find it more costefficient—and more importantly, more effective—to find and develop in-house design and production talent.

“I would recommend to every manager to take a creative look at their staff,” says Greg LeBlanc, Club Manager for Waterfall Country Club, a developer owned golf community on Lake Burton in Clayton, Ga. (northeast of Atlanta).

“Find the artist of the group,”LeBlanc says.“They are there in every club.”Once they’re identified, LeBlanc recommends sending those burgeoning artists to get training in a desktop publishing program; cost-effective courses can easily be found through local community colleges or adult-oriented night schools.

Developing this in-house talent has helped Waterfall CC “save thousands every year, [on communications projects ranging] from calendars to newsletters to invitations—even to professional signs around the club,” LeBlanc reports.

But toting up the advantages to desktop publishing extends to more than just dollars and cents. “We have not saved money,” says Cattail CC’s Burpee, stressing that increased capabilities have also led to increased and more elaborate output (see sidebar). “But we are producing a more timely, fresher, and current product, and providing greater member services.”

Time On Their Hands

 

Timing can be everything when it comes to promotion. If you give guests or members too much notice, you won’t get a good response.You can also get equally poor response from communications that go out too late.

Luckily for our generation of property management professionals, desktop publishing has significantly cut down the turnaround time for getting out printed materials.

“Many times, a manager has sent information to a printer forgetting that by the time the publication is mailed, a large part of it will be old news,” says LeBlanc. But with DTP, he says, “Our turnaround time from doing the typesetting and format in house has increased dramatically.”

E-mail has become another huge timesaving device in the printing world. “We e-mail Publisher files to the printer,” says LeBlanc. “I’ve never met the guy, but he takes great pride in his work, and will call or e-mail us if something doesn’t look right.”

This represents great strides, LeBlanc adds, from when he used to copy files to a Zip disk and then drive 30 miles to take it to the printer. One week later, he would make the 60-mile round trip journey again, to pick up the copies for mailing. “But now, if we choose to, we can have the printer mail straight from his office, as he has our addresses in his database,” he reports.

Another huge advantage of DTP’s immediacy, says Cattail’s Ralph Burpee, is that it allows him to empower each department to create their own products. For example, he says, the club’s assistant golf professional is now in charge of not only writing newsletter articles, but also creating all high-image golf products and blasting a weekly, fullcolor e-mail with color logo, members’ photos, and information about the men’s, women’s and junior’s programs.

In addition, says Burpee, the club’s food and beverage offerings are now “of a substantially higher quality, due to seasonality and timing of product.” As an example, he notes that Cattail often carries wines that sell out.With DTP, when that now happens, “We simply push a button and make that selection disappear from the list, without having to redesign the entire program.” In addition, Burpee says attendance at social functions is “incredibly” higher, in large part because of timely promotional pieces that his team has designed using DTP and sent out instantaneously via e-mail.

The future, to Burpee, will be paperless to the extent that more communications pieces will be transmitted electronically through the Internet. But he stresses that “This does not mean less communication—or even less paper.” Rather, there will be a shift in physical printing, so it won’t be a cost of—or even controlled by—the club. The club will rely on email, and the recipients will decide whether to read on screen or print out on home or office equipment. Now that’s a real publishing revolution. C&RB

 

To comment about this story, suggest topics you'd like to see covered in future issues of C&RB, or just ask a question, contact editor@clubandresortbusiness.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summing It Up

• Today’s world of desktop publishing (DTP) includes e-marketing and Web publishing, and already represents a complete revolution from where the still-young industry began.

• DTP is not all about saving money by bringing outsourced services in-house; increased timeliness and effectiveness are equally important goals.

 

• There are talented and underutilized writers and artists in every group; have you made a full effort to find out who they are on your staff?

 

Getting Published

 

We send out only four seasonal newsletters a year to update. We send out a calendar of events for the year in advance in February. We also have e mail addresses for the majority of the membership, and we send weekly e-mails every Monday to give the upcoming events and menus for the weekend. We send spa updates via e-mail and snail mail 6 to 10 times a year. We use snail mail also for state-of-the-club updates, surveys, anniversaries and birthday cards, as well as several other club operations related communications.

 

Greg LeBlanc, Club Manager Waterfall Country Club Clayton, Ga.

 

Our monthly newsletter articles are composed by individuals, assembled into a Word document, sent off premises via a vendor in Florida, designed and e-mailed back to us, which we immediately e-mail blast to our full membership and then post on our Web site. The hard copy is mailed overnight to the club, where we run it through our postage machine and send it snail mail to our members. Here’s how much volume we produce:

 

▪ 8-page monthly newsletter (750 monthly)

 

▪ 20-page membership packets (150 annually)

 

▪ 20-page golf packets (400 annually)

 

▪ 9-page tennis packets (700 annually)

 

▪ 37-page member directory (750 annually)

 

Ralph Burpee, General Manager Cattail Country Club Glendale, Md.

 

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