Page 24 - Print21 March-April 2022

PacPrint
Top 10 reasons
“Online shopping has taught
us that what looks like a good fit
on a website often fails to live up
to its promise when delivered,” Harper points out, “so when you are considering significant investments, it is much better to see something
in real life to judge whether it is suitable for your purposes.
“At a trade show, you can inspect equipment in person, view it from every angle, and often see it in action through live demonstrations. You can watch the latest software or systems in use. You can physically pick up media, consumables or manufactured products, and inspect them in detail.
“This is supported by the
ability to discuss those trends
with manufacturers and product specialists who can provide a global perspective and in-depth knowledge, and help you determine which solutions are best suited to your specific business requirements.
You simply can’t do that at a
virtual expo.”
The third and fourth most cited reasons visitors chose to attend expos was to see their existing suppliers and to look for new or alternative suppliers.
“An industry expo is the perfect opportunity to arrange an in- person audience, not only with your usual rep, but with an entire team of experts who can collaborate to provide you with expert answers and ideas,” Harper says. “And, with competitors just across the aisle, you can be sure they’ll be very keen indeed to find the right solution
for your business, and incentivise investment. In short, expos put you in the box seat.”
“An industry expo is the perfect oppor- tunity to arrange an in-person audience, with an entire team of experts who can provide you with answers and ideas.”
to attend industry expos
The doors to PacPrint will finally open on 28 June, giving the regional print, wide-format, sign, display, textile, label and packaging industries their first chance in well over two years to attend an in-person trade show. In the second of our series on the importance of exhibitions, we take a look at the top ten reasons why industry expos deliver outstanding value.
Virtual events have kept the wheels of business turning over the past couple of years, but evidence would seem
to show that in-person events like PacPrint, Visual Impact and the Label & Packaging Expo, planned for Melbourne in June, deliver the best ROI – at least, according to those who have visited past shows.
Event organisers Visual Connections surveys visitors after all of its industry expos, and feedback from those visitors not only indicates that the vast majority derive significant value from those events, but much of that value is tied in to the physical nature of traditional trade shows.
Peter Harper, CEO of Visual Connections, sat down with us to go through the top ten reasons visitors rate PacPrint and its co-located shows as must-attend events, and their responses are revealing.
24 Print21 MARCH/APRIL 2022
The most common answer, Harper says, is to stay up to date with industry trends.
“There’s nothing like seeing a host of innovations under one roof to give you a feel for where technology is going,” he contends.
“In a single, focused visit – we find people generally stay for three or four hours minimum – visitors can explore advances from a range of different suppliers, across a variety of product categories and industry sectors.
“This allows them to get a clear idea of what products are in demand and what new opportunities might help them expand their offering and create valuable new revenue streams.”
Second on the list was to look
for new products and evaluate new technologies and here, again, an in-person experience helps decision- makers gather more information and more accurately assess the available options.
Above
In-person trade expos: Essential for business owners and managers
Harper says it’s worth noting, too, that in-person events provide the benefit of chance encounters and unexpected discoveries. “Because we don’t know what we don’t know, online searching or virtual events can lock us into the companies and options we’re already aware of,” he says, “but at a live event, you can happen across suppliers, solutions and connections which are not on your radar, but which can spark
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