Tarsus team expands in India

Congratulations on the new role. Tell us more?
Thank you! In 2018, Tarsus launched a new global portfolio of niche and very targeted shows, Brand Print, which focus exclusively on the opportunities offered by the branded print segment and the ways brands use print as part of an omnichannel marketing campaign. All of these shows – across the US, India, China, Mexico and Thailand, will be co-located with Labelexpo shows around the world; this means that the very first edition of Brand Print India 2020 will be held at the same time as the very well established Labelexpo India 2020 at India Expo Center & Mart in Greater Noida this October. That expansion requires additional resources of course, so my role has likewise got larger, as event director, to cover the two events. I am tremendously excited to be part of this growth and am really looking forward to seeing the events take shape this year.

Has Tarsus taken on additional staff as part of this?
Yes, since January 2020 our team has more than doubled in size! Previously, it was myself and Aakriti Agarwal, Labels & Labeling’s India and Southeast Asia editor. We now have three new colleagues: firstly, Ankush Varshney, who has joined as sales manager, and will work across Brand Print. Akansha Royal is our new marketing manager and will be working on Labelexpo India and Brand Print India. Thirdly, Akanksha Meena is deputy content editor for Brand Print.

Tell us a bit more about Brand Print India
As mentioned, Brand Print India 2020 is a recent addition to our new global portfolio of niche shows showcasing the latest technologies used in the production of print materials for omnichannel brand marketing campaigns.

This ‘commercial and large format printing’ show – and by this we mean everything that is essentially not specialist labels or packaging – targets printers specifically looking to buy equipment and services primarily for short-run and one-off printing solutions. This hugely lucrative and diverse range of products includes outdoor and indoor graphics, point of sale, point of display, fleet graphics, direct mail, brochures, collation packs, decorated corrugated displays and shipping cases, and even 3D printing.

We want visitors coming to the show knowing that they will discover how they can grow their business in this rapidly expanding market by meeting, and learning from, the leading manufacturers of machinery, materials, and everything in between, from around the world.

Why did Tarsus launch Brand Print India 2020?
We’re experiencing a seismic shift in the retail landscape around the world, and India is no exception. Retail is now its largest sector, contributing 10 percent of its GDP and 8 percent of total employment (IBEF), and is also the world’s fifth largest retail destination, as increasing numbers of well-known brands move in and battle it out on the store shelves. However, what we are also now seeing is the emergence of smaller start up brands that are less likely to have the latest technical knowledge or established, often in-house, print management function of the bigger brands, and so are looking to their print service providers (PSPs) to manage their branding needs including labeling, packaging and marketing collateral production.

This is where Brand Print India 2020 comes in, filling that knowledge gap. It offers massive potential for the printers keen to take advantage of these lucrative business avenues, and the show offers them the chance to see just what’s possible, at the frontier of new opportunity.

What are the benefits of co-locating Brand Print India with Labelexpo India?
There are a number of synergies between the two shows. Firstly, many label printers are now diversifying their business into commercial and large format printing, such as signage and promotional materials, to increase their product and service offerings. Far from this meaning less emphasis on specialist labels, investing in a new sector of brand-related print only adds to a label converter’s business, making it more attractive to its client base, who could decide to appoint them to oversee their entire digital branded print portfolio. However, the label printer might not know about marketing, and might not know how to deal with the challenges of color and brand management. The same also goes the other way for commercial or large-format printers, who may be considering diversifying into labels. So, this is where having labels and brand-related print all co-located under one roof at Brand Print India can help.

Secondly, for printers (PSPs), media agencies, and brand owners, they can discover the latest technology that goes into product labeling and packaging even before they market and sell the finished labeled and packed product to the end-consumer. This gives them a lead over the competition. We know that they are under increasing consumer pressure to make their products stand out with innovative marketing strategies. Digital marketing has been a game changer for many, but we have now reached the point where digital marketing is actually creating clutter in the digital space and consumers find the ads distracting and invasive.

This is where print is making a comeback in the branded print segment. It has always been associated with industrial printing and not ideas, but we aim to change that with Brand Print India 2020. We want to inspire show visitors with the latest technology in printing to see just what’s possible, so they can come up with creative marketing strategies and create truly unique products.

In short, taken together, Labelexpo and Brand Print India will promote the power of print.