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TL&L: Dear Martina, especially in conventional industries and businesses, people tend to think in stark contrasts. Often it's either this OR that, like design vs. technology – but what usually makes for a successful concept is the right mix of things. So: what should the potential exhibitors and visitors at Packaging Innovations 2017 expect from the new show theme, ‘design meets technology’?
M: With ‘design meets technology’ we want to say that Packaging Innovations will cover all aspects of packaging development - from the idea conception to the finished product.
Where some might envision only smoke and mirrors and others see dreary machinery, it turns out that the production process is a highly sophisticated dance between innovative technologies and appealing trends and creations. Unveiling a product – coaxing it out of its container – has become an emotionally charged experience, which is why the right balance of design and functionality has grown in importance: the job of packaging is also to inspire and delight the end-user.
Just this past June, we ran a very successful special event concept in the Fischauktionshalle. It all centres on packaging as emotional communication medium linked with the topics of art, lifestyle, convenience and technical expertise.
In Berlin, the focus is on design and branding for luxury and prestige products, as well as print for packaging and finishing techniques.
Together with our partners - the trade association POPAI, Creativ Verpacken, PrintCity Alliance, Harper's Bazaar - we're able to offer our exhibitors and visitors a varied program of design technology.
Updates on our exhibitors and to the show programme are posted regularly on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, as well as on our website.
TL&L: On the subject of humans & machines: the fusion of traditional handicraft and innovative technology, creative design thinking and systematic algorithms, as well as offline and online tools – just this past year, these ideas have increasingly crept into the consciousness of the masses. Not to mention such topics as the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Fashion in the Age of Technology" or Bread&Butter with its trendsetting new fashion design tool by Zalando and Google. Which exhibitors stand to benefit from these leading-edge events and shows – and most importantly, how?
M: These things really expose the need for new event experiences. ‘Pop-up-isation’ – meaning the combination of exclusivity with limited editions and the exquisite presentation of products with meaningful content – creates a unique interaction with the brand. Offline and online worlds meet in the middle and are inextricably linked.
And true to our promise of ‘multi-sensorial brand experiences’, in 2016 we’ve already tested this concept in our Pop-Up area: It demonstrated tangibly the seductive power of packaging and showed how much innovation was behind it.
"Unveiling a product – coaxing it out of its container – has become an emotionally charged experience, which is why the right balance of design and functionality has grown in importance: the job of packaging is also to inspire and delight the end-user.”
This is where you could find, among others, the ‘Karl Knauer Champions Lounge’, where prominent brands were presented in award-winning packaging, including Bacardi/Bombay Sapphire (28 global awards for packaging), LVMH/Glenmorangie, Alpirsbacher Bier, Senft, Lindt, etc.
And then the innovative Mumm Art Collection showed how to cleverly drape what's inside. In the limited MUMM Artist edition with Alex Trochut, Constantia Flexibles raises taste to a fine art. The goal was to beam the brand's value right onto the store shelf. In the Pop-Up Showroom, visitors could personally test the three varieties and verify for themselves how limited-edition packaging turns the contents into a collectible; they could also ask experts why visual authenticity is so important nowadays.
In 2017, we'll continue this discussion in Berlin with our Luxury Packaging Showroom.
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"A pop-up area curated by Harper's Bazaar provides brands and suppliers from all the most relevant lifestyle areas the opportunity to present their goods and packaging exclusively and interactively.”
A pop-up area curated by Harper's Bazaar provides brands and suppliers from all the most relevant lifestyle areas – ranging from cosmetics and indulgence to fashion & accessories through to interiors – the opportunity to present their goods and packaging exclusively and interactively. In this part of the show floor, packaging becomes a storyteller and transmitter of value, exuding with emotion, authenticity and tradition. Whether subtly or entreatingly, it highlights the opulent appearance of luxury and prestige goods.
Packaging is a very special touchpoint that promotes a lasting relationship with the target audience. All innovative companies, service providers and brands can profit from participating in this unique exhibit in Berlin next year.
TL&L: The move to the Arena Berlin raises a variety of new opportunities. That also has an effect on the kinds of visitors who will be enticed to attend. Martina, take a quick look into your crystal ball: which visitors will fall under the spell of next year's event?
M:The show will appeal especially to designers, brand owners, product managers and packaging professionals. We were delighted to welcome all of these to the last Packaging Innovations at the Fischauktionshalle. Among them were also a lot of visitors from the food, cosmetics and consumer goods industries, like Alnatura, Beiersdorf AG, BASF, Bell, Brown-Forman, Caterpillar Motors, Carl Kühne KG, Edding, Edeka, HP, J.J. DARBOVEN, Johnson&Johnson, Lufthansa-Technik, 3M, Montblanc, mymuesli, Novo Nordisk, Pelikan, Porsche, STABILO, Rügenwalder Mühle, Scholz & Friends, Tschibo and Unilever.
In terms of design, Berlin is a rising star and a top destination for visitors from all around the world. But it's not just the international communities that make this location exciting, it's the creative potential that's already there.
Start-ups, innovative SMEs and international global concerns are all based in Berlin; they use the city as a test lab. And some 700 consumer goods manufacturers are headquartered in the region, employing over 100,000 workers and producing about €24 bn in revenues. That's why we're expecting the top creatives and innovators, not only from Germany but all across Europe.
TL&L: Last year, for the first time, Packaging Innovations embarked on a media cooperation with Harper's Bazaar. The limelight was focused on exciting lecturers from the fashion, branding and cosmetics industries, who debated the role of packaging at the interface of design, sustainability and luxury. In what form is this partnership planned to continue next April? What controversial topics and activities can visitors look forward to?
M: This year, the Harper's Bazaar roundtable was hot on the trail of ‘sustainable luxury and the luxury of sustainability’. The talk with Barbara Kraus raised quite a buzz. High-level experts including Tobias Phlebs (Brand Union Germany), Andrea Karg (founder and artistic director of the ALLUDE cashmere fashion label), Steffen Seifarth (cosmetics industry) and Markus Lingemann (OFF Office) shed light on the topic from various angles.
In Berlin, we'll work with Harper's Bazaar to launch the exclusive Luxury Packaging Showroom. With the help of a design agency specialised in the areas of retail consulting, retail design and interior design, we're expecting to develop an attractive programme and a visually stunning backdrop. After all, the focal points are going be ‘Store of the Future’ and ‘Smart Revolution’. So, this is where design will have to join forces with technology in order to create something great.
Find more exciting news about the Packaging Innovations in the official Event Diary.
