Page 12 - Packaging News Magazine Sep-Oct 2018

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LIVE
Packaging opens doors for
www.packagingnews.com.au
September-October 2018
The inaugural Print21
+ PKN LIVE event saw
a full house turning out to hear industry experts discuss the best ways to push back the boundaries of packaging print. Alison Leader and Jake Nelson report.
SOME 170 professionals from the packaging and print industries attended the inaugral Print21 + PKN LIVE industry forum New Frontiers in Packaging Print, curated to highlight emerging opportunities in packaging print created in large part by
new digital printing technology.
To set the context for the day, the keynote address delivered by Laura Demasi, director of consumer and social trends at Roy Morgan, focused on the ‘rise of the real’ against the backdrop of the digital age and what it means for traditional media. While Australians are spending more time on the internet than ever before, cat- egories like catalogues, magazines
and books have remained resilient, said Demasi. “It is really tempting to think that the world is digital, that’s all we do, that’s the end of the story – but that’s not true,” she told the audience. “We spend more time in- teracting with media than we ever have, and we do it right across the board – in digital and also in many traditional channels.”
The first session focused on driv- ing consumer engagement, featuring Amber Bonney, head of creative strategy at the Edison Agency, who discussed how printed packaging and POS are enhancing the shopper experience.
She said brands need to see pack- aging as a critical canvas on which
they can defy the status quo and find new ways to challenge and surprise people. The excitement, she says, should extend to marketing and so- cial media, with companies finding new ways to speak the language of their target audience.
“The duality of what a piece of packaging can be is changing the landscape,” Bonney says. “Packag- ing is about selling and entertaining, and connecting with people on a level that is more real, even if – or especially if – you are a big brand. Sustainability and ethics is also vitally important, she says, particu- larly to younger generations.
“People are wanting a sense of honesty and transparency from their
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