A New Perspective - Visual Connections Set to Deliver in 2025

Visual Connections has a big year ahead, with the PacPrint and Visual Impact expos set for Sydney in May, and a wide range of other industry initiatives also on the go. We spoke to the association’s new Executive General Manager, Karren Challoner-Miles, to find out what the year has in store.

As the association which represents the industry’s suppliers, Visual Connections' mandate is to ‘support a sustainable future for the industry’, and it does so largely by creating exhibitions, events, content and other initiatives that support the sector’s businesses to prosper and grow.

Karren Challoner-Miles
 

For Karren, the opportunity to join the association comes at a time of accelerating change across the sector. That creates a number of challenges but, she points out, also generates new opportunities, and she seems keen to draw on her extensive experience in business strategy, sales and marketing to build on the association’s strong base with new ideas and initiatives.

“For industry associations in such a dynamic space it’s always a constant process of review and reassessment to make sure what we offer keeps pace with change and continues to deliver the best value to members and the wider industry,” she concedes.

“While I’m keen to maintain the strength and stability Visual Connections has achieved, I’m not afraid of change. One of the most exciting things about this job for me is that I can bring a fresh perspective to the table, and it’s exciting to see this already resulting in some new ideas.”

Under her direction, the team is already reviewing and refreshing the association’s value proposition with a view to delivering more tangible benefits to the industry’s suppliers, while ensuring they maintain a strong focus on the initiatives which provide such important support to the industry as a whole.

“Many people are aware of the flagship industry expos that Visual Connections runs, but as I’ve discovered since joining the association in December, there’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes, with the team not only tasked with running and supporting a suite of industry initiatives, but also delivering value for our 100-plus supplier members,” she says. 

“What was immediately clear to me is that Visual Connections not only creates platforms to inform and resource the industry, but plays a very important role in creating opportunities to connect people, and to support and strengthen the relationships which underpin success. 

“This year, with PacPrint and Visual Impact coming up in Sydney in May, a key focus for the team will be exhibitions, which are still rated as one of the most effective opportunities for B2B connection – but you can expect to see us working towards some new initiatives, too.”

PacPrint is organised by Visual Connections, who also co-host the event with the Visual Media Association. The industry’s flagship exhibition, it co-locates with the Visual Impact sign, wide-format and graphics show, and the Label & Packaging Expo, providing information, ideas and inspiration for businesses across the entire sector.

This year’s iteration will run at the Sydney Showground from 20-23 May, and Karren says the team has been busy signing up exhibitors – most of them Visual Connections members – and creating a show which will deliver the best value to both exhibitors and visitors.

“Last PacPrint in Melbourne saw more than 100 exhibitors showcase their latest innovations to well over 6,000 visitors. With more than $50 million in business transacted, it’s clear that it provided a strong platform for suppliers, and an enormous boost to the sector by driving the investment that will equip industry businesses for ongoing success and profitability.

“We know the same will be true of PacPrint and Visual Impact 2025, with a broad showcase of innovations in equipment, systems, media, consumables and services, and the opportunity to learn from industry experts at the daily PacPrint Seminar sessions.”

The seminar program was still being developed as this issue of Digital Image [Textile Magazine] went to press, but will include important insights from industry leaders, presentations on new trends and technologies, and panel sessions tackling some of the industry’s most pressing challenges, including sustainability and the influence of AI.

“Our members are at the forefront of meeting those challenges as they deliver the innovations industry businesses need to survive, and thrive, and it’s exciting to be working with an association of people who live and breathe change and progress,” Karren says.

“No doubt those challenges will also drive changes in what we do, and I’m keen to see where it leads us. Whatever the year holds, we’ll be driven by what our members, and the industry, needs from us to support their success – now, and into the future.”