Sorman-Nilsson says a basic summary of what he’ll be presenting to PacPrint 13 visitors at the first of three PacPrint Forum sessions will be ‘Don’t throw the analogue baby out with the digital bathwater’. Long a believer in combining the benefits of analogue and digital technologies Sorman-Nilsson says the key is to ‘make sense of and harness disruptive trends in innovations, generations and communications’ while not losing sight of the real benefits delivered by current products, technologies and approaches – an apporach he calls digilogue.

He says, “Looking around, it seems that some organisations are careering
recklessly into the digital future, while others feel left behind, remaining
steeped in the ways of old. Thought leaders are coming to realise that there is
an important middle ground and, most often, that’s where your customers and
clients want you to be – the place where digital and analogue converge, or what
I call digilogue.

“I don’t need to point out the benefits of physical print to anyone in
the graphic communications industry, but what is important to note is that
whatever industry you are talking about, we know there are benefits to analogue
technologies – if you like, it can be summed up by saying that digital
satisfies a customer’s mind, while analogue soothes the heart.”

In the future, he says, whatever can be made digital will be made
digital, but there remain some things which cannot, and should not, be
digitised. “Take, for instance, the retail industry, where much has been made
of the impact of online shopping. Yet while people enthusiastically research
purchases online – that’s the digital mind at work – here in Australia only
nine per cent of transactions are conducted on line, meaning more than 90 per
cent of sales are still made in bricks and mortar stores. That suggests that
the same customers still have an analogue heart which responds to the physical
environment.

“So while online is an exciting environment that can be harnessed to
great effect with the correct business model, it’s far from the whole story for
retail, just as digital communications, while offering enormous benefits, are a
long way from spelling the end of the physical, tactile and very effective
medium of print.”

For print service providers and those involved in the graphic arts,
Sorman-Nilsson says it’s a similar story. “Print is still one of the customer
experience touch points that thrill people, that speaks to their hearts as well
as their heads. Harness that strength together with the undoubted power of
digital technologies to make their lives easier, facilitate action and expand
and enhance their total experience – that is, take a multi-channel or
omni-channel approach – and it’s easy to see how what we might term ‘traditional’
print can be very fundamental and important on an ongoing basis.

Essentially, he says that those who dive into digital 100 per cent will
likely struggle as much as those who stay off the digital wave and, therefore,
disappoint their customers. The secret, says Sorman-Nilsson, is to strike the
right balance between the two.

“This is great news for business owners as they plan for the future;
while there is no question the industry is in a period of significant change,
or disruption, you don’t’ need to immediately re-equip or change direction. It’s
more about allowing convergence, about a gradual transition.”

To find out more about the digilogue approach and how international
trends will influence the future of the print and graphic communications sector

The PacPrint13 Forum Series will run at the Melbourne Convention &
Exhibition Centre from 11am to 12.30pm on May 22, 23 and 24. The day following
Sorman-Nillson’s session, a panel of industry experts will consider ‘Perspectives
on Print – The Challenges Ahead’. At the final session on Thursday May 24, Dr
Ric Charlesworth will present a session on ‘Leadership & Managing
Successful Transitions’.

The Forum sessions are free of charge to all registered PacPrint
delegates. No registration is required but, as sessions are always popular,
those planning to attend should ensure they arrive early for the sessions of
their choice. Each session will commence at 11am sharp.

PacPrint13 will run from May 21-25 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre and will co-locate
with the Visual Impact sign and display show. For more information or to
register online, go to www.pacprint.com.au

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