Barnet was the 2012 winner of the $15,000 GAMAA Industry Overseas Internship Program says the he used the money to broaden his experience and look outside of his own backyard, make new connections and discover the innovative practices that are being used to drive print sales in the US.

Barnet was in particular impressed by the workshop from Seth Godin, Bernet’s marketing mentor. He says, “The workshop attracted people from all over the world, and from various industries. It was a fantastic opportunity to speak to people from different cultures and situations and to find common ground on change and innovation.”

Barnet says, “Seth was inspiring. He says we are in the connection economy, where we’ve never been more connected and never more disconnected. Everyone is working in silos. In this environment you need to build trust and connect with people. This is the opportunity for everyone no matter what the industry is. We need to create a business market where there are fewer players and avoid the race to the bottom based on price.”

“The US print industry doesn’t have all the answers, but there are businesses doing some great work crating tools for multi-channel communications. I’ve come away with a host of ideas that I’ll be sharing with the GAMAA members next year.” Barnet concludes.

Adrian Fleming, president, GAMAA says, “The GAMAA members are looking forward to hearing in detail about Peter’s experiences and the outcomes from the Grant tour. The focus of the GAMAA Grant is to explore new ideas that will inspire and to share these outcomes with the wider industry for a sustainable future.”

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