The post-press vendor has also revealed that there will be eight new Duplo International product launches at this, the sixth London Calling, between four and six new partners, and a small seminar schedule.
The theme of this year’s show, held 15-16 October, is ‘Without Limits’. The main aim, explained Duplo UK marketing manager Sarah Crumpler, is to provide business solutions and new application ideas rather than just showcase kit’s technical capabilities.
“The focus of shows is moving way from machines. They are always of interest but it’s ‘how do I make money from them?’” she said.
She added that the seminar schedule would consist of four sessions across the two days, which would be more “facilitated discussions”, than formal presentations.
Group commercial director Tony Lock added that machinery on view would be 50% Duplo, 50% that of partners, and that operators from print companies who use this kit would be on hand to answer visitors’ questions.
Of the eight new product launches, Lock hinted that one would potentially be “a touchscreen, PC-driven, fully automatic solution” for book stitching.
Duplo aims to attract around the same number of visitors to this year’s show as last year’s held at Somerset House, which attracted 300 people from 200 companies.
“We are not looking to grow the event year on year, we are looking to keep it the same but keep it fresh,” said Crumpler.
Of the company’s openness to experimenting with the show format to keep things fresh, she added: “We’re not worried about making mistakes- last year we decided to get people in early for a breakfast session. That didn’t work, but it’s about trying new things.”
Of the original remit of London Calling before it became a London-based event, Lock added: “The idea was that we did regional shows all over the place but we couldn’t make as much impact as we wanted to so we held the first show at the Hilton Docklands.”
The format of this year’s show has been devised, like last year’s, in conjunction with a panel of eight Duplo customers.
“We went for a completely different group of customers to last year to give us a fresh perspective; half of those eight are customers new to Duplo this year,” reported Lock.
This London Calling will also mark Duplo’s 30th anniversary year. Previous London Calling venues include the Hilton Docklands, Tate Modern, IMAX, the British Music Experience at the O2 and Somerset House.
