Food stories: building an event at the EXPO 2015

From an exchange of glances to an intuition, from an idea to a shared partnership initiative. This is how ACIMGA built its next Content Transfer Event serving the Package Printing and Converting Business Community scheduled for October 28th in Milan.

«After the second time the phrase ‘See you at EXPO’ accompanied the handshakes exchanged by international guests at the end of the industry meeting POP Munich last December, one glance with president Marco Calcagni and vice-president Aldo Peretti was all it took, just a few minutes later, for everyone to come up with the same idea: “Next meeting at the EXPO. We can’t miss this opportunity». This is how Andrea Briganti, the Association’s general manager, illustrates the idea behind ACIMGA’s new approach to networking in its most modern form: value knowledge beyond mere representation.

The leaders immediately define the details of the event: a great supply chain event tailored to the business community and in perfect continuity with the two meetings that just a few months later in May would mark ACIMGA’s presence at Converflex. A project going beyond geographical borders and promoting discussion to learn about market and players’ needs.

The focus is on food, not just after the EXPO’s main theme: even where there is no Italian food, there is a piece of Italy almost everywhere in the world through machinery and technology wrapping, preserving and presenting food.

«Right from the initial planning stage we started designing a future-oriented meeting, not a photograph of the state of the art. We want to understand what consumers really want and what producers are developing», explains Briganti. A showcase of opportunities and advanced needs catered to by the best production solutions, in a logic rather than technological sequence. This is what any industry in step with the times must do, according to ACIMGA’s vision.

The project draft was followed by internal decision-making steps and finally execution: sitting down with a top-level partner, European House Ambrosetti. Top-level relationships and top-level competences to discuss packaging and consumer behavior trends as the crucial elements of the distribution chain. The launch of a steering committee capable of voicing all parties’ needs is another key step: European House Ambrosetti’s intelligence, MISE’s expertise through ICE agency addressing the needs of the EMEA market, the contribution of producer partners, the experience of Fiera Milano Media. All sitting at the discussion table with ACIMGA to design an event tailored for those who will take part in it.

It is remarkable and unexpected how natural it actually is to plan and build a meeting of this kind. On condition that attention remains high for the inevitable complications that will doubtless surface when it comes to defining the details. «We are interacting with the great organizational machine of the EXPO 2015 – explains Briganti – and we are careful to listen to and give room to the expertise of the people who have been working and are still working in it. They are experienced in handling the different, complex problems we are going to face».

The brainstorming titled “Food stories. The new frontiers of food”, both evocative and down-to-earth, gave rise to the unraveling of a story to develop with the main market players: brand owners, producers, companies’ case histories, experts in marketing and in the needs of Mediterranean countries. Two panels, each tackling a macro-topic – titles and participants are listed in the invitation.

The program and details are defined in just three meetings. A well-defined picture framed by a hundred organizational aspects to take care of, including identifying participants, defining the timing, giving priority access to the Convention’s pre-registrees – having an EXPO ticket – ensuring a fast lane leading them directly to the meeting room. Reception, media relations, the relationship with a large audience which, though directly affected by the topics under discussion, will not be there in the room and will need to be involved from remote locations.

«We will hear about what is already advanced and what it would be nice or helpful to have. We will try to achieve the things that are still missing», assure the organizers. Because in networking 2.0, growth and success are primarily the result of relationships.

Text by Acimga