Page 46 - Print 21 Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

PacPrint
Exhibition experience
Visual Connections CEO Peter Harper has been involved in expos for 45 years, first as an exhibitor and for the past 15 years as the organiser. With trade shows changing even before Covid, Print21 editor Wayne Robinson asks him for insight into the pathway ahead.
Covid has cut a swath through economies and sectors within them, and nowhere more so than exhibitions. The multi-
billion dollar global business ground to a halt in March, and has yet to see any real light at the end of the tunnel on when it can re-open.
Exhibition organisers have been rescheduling, but those which were postponed until later this year, like global wide format show Fespa, have now postponed again to next year. Even the big one, drupa, had to postpone, moving its June show to April next year.
Australian expos have been just as affected as those elsewhere. The wide format show Visual Impact
had to be called off, and the big one, PacPrint, was pushed from next May to September, although this was a knock-on, the rescheduling of drupa causing the switch.
Australian print business
owners have traditionally been
big consumers of the trade show experience, with the local Visual Impact, PacPrint and PrintEx events always well attended by locals, as are the global drupa, Fespa and Labelexpo.
The person with the biggest understanding of local print trade expos is Peter Harper, CEO of Visual Connections, which organises
and hosts all the relevant local
print trade shows. With 45 years’ experience of trades exhibitions, Harper has seen the lot, or thought he had until this year.
The trade show has been a staple of the print industry for decades, but in whatever the new normal will be, will it still have a place? Harper says yes, commenting, “We strongly believe in the ongoing relevance of physical trade shows, and we are actually expecting PacPrint 2021 to have the biggest turnout of visitors for many years.
“I think people will be starved for that trade show experience. By the time PacPrint 2021 happens in September, it will be more than two years since our last show in Australia.”
Harper’s enthusiasm remains undimmed, based as it is on his vast experience. He says, “Trade shows provide an unmatched opportunity by bringing together all the industry suppliers under one roof. So, as well as being able to see, touch and assess the solutions on show, visitors can actually compare products to get a feel for what suits their business best. You can get a lot from review products on- line, but it is never as good as seeing what the machinery can do in person.
“Businesses are always keen to identify and capitalise on new opportunities and new innovations to make their businesses more efficient, more profitable and more attuned to the market of the future.”
“Most importantly, physical exhibitions provide that in-person connection which just cannot be replicated online. At PacPrint 2021, you will get to speak face-to-face with multiple suppliers. You can take the opportunity to be educated and inspired through seminars
and workshops. And you will get
to network with your friends, colleagues and industry peers – something we know most of us are really looking forward to.”
PacPrint 2021 will be perhaps the first opportunity for many suppliers to bring their new innovations
to market here in Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding
region – you can expect to see a lot of new product releases on show in Melbourne next September.
Harper says PacPrint will be ideally timed for businesses looking for ways to review their operations and offerings, rebuild to ensure they are as productive and profitable as possible, and renew their businesses to respond to a changing market
by identifying options and revenue streams and capitalising on those opportunities for the future.
The big news in exhibitions
has included the withdrawal of Heidelberg from drupa, unthinkable some may say, but the reality is that
Left
Half a century in exhibitions: Peter Harper, CEO, Visual Connections
46 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020