FINAT Congress and Label Competition 2012

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FINAT, the world-wide association for the self-adhesive labels and related products, introduces the entry and participation details of its annual international label competition and the provisional programme of its congress which will take place in the Hilton Hotel in Athens, Greece from 6-9 June 2012. FINAT also reveals the winner of the congress logo contest of this year's edition.

Congress 2012 Theme: Sustainable labelling – now is your chance!
"In today’s developed society, businesses are increasingly embracing a corporate approach that goes beyond the single dimension of company profit," says Kurt Walker, FINAT President. "Awareness is growing that short-term profit maximization cannot be achieved without taking into account a company’s corporate responsibility towards the environment, the community in which it is operating and the people it employs. ‘Sustainable entrepreneurship’ is aimed at maximising ‘PPP Value’: People, Planet and Profit. In this concept, the scope of entrepreneurship is broadened from the ‘here and now’ to the ‘there and then’."
That is why under the title 'Sustainable labelling - now is your chance!', this year's congress takes a specific look at the various aspects associated with the buzzword ‘sustainability’ for the labelling industry. It will highlight the perspective from one of the leading customers of our industry, demonstrate how to combine economy and ecology when designing packaging and labels, and allow the opportunity to share and discuss best practice with industry leaders and entrepreneurs in different areas of corporate sustainability. In addition the congress will bring inspiration from the Live8 (Live Aid) experience and will present an outlook into our common future from a leading futurologist. And it will give participants a first hand opportunity to learn about the latest trends and developments affecting the European self-adhesive label industry. The full programme will be released in due course.

Thirty Second International Label Competition: Final Call for Entries
FINAT converter members and other label printers that are not yet affiliated to FINAT and who have not yet entered their labels are encouraged to do so before the March 9 deadline. The FINAT label competition recognises and rewards achievements in terms of both end use/marketing impact and print and converting quality. The awards will be presented to the winners during FINAT's Congress in Athens.

This year the competition is separating all wine labels from the mainstream categories irrespective of printing process used. This means that there are three drinks categories and one food category. This trial has been prompted because wine labels by their very nature are usually aesthetically pleasing and very decorative and the quality of design and printing quality has improved considerably over the years. The intention is to allow other end use categories to have a greater chance of winning an award. This principle has also been applied to the cosmetic entries where all cosmetic labels will be entered in the cosmetic category irrespective of printing process used allowing more scope for labels entered in the pharmaceutical and other related categories.

In recent years the FINAT awards competition has seen a considerable increase in the total number of entries with the figures hovering around the 300 mark with almost two thirds of the entries to be found in the Marketing/End Use Group.

In the 2010 competition a label from the Wine/Spirits category won best in show with wine labels taking several of the printing process awards. Again in 2011 a wine label won best in show and another was awarded the jury prize. In both competitions wine and drinks labels also won the Sets of Labels category. Of course wine labels will not be excluded from winning the ultimate award but the new classification will level the playing field somewhat. Almost certainly we will see the wines and spirits label up in the top awards again in this year’s competition. There has been a significant trend in food labels to more realistic illustrations of food products. This is driven to some extent by the brand owners demanding more differentiation of their products on the supermarket shelves. It has been proven that realistic looking packaging and labels placed at consumer eye level increases sales by up to 10%. The same research indicated that more men buy wine by design than price. Whereas women tend to purchase based initially on price and secondly by design.

FINAT Congress Logo Contest: and the Winner is ...
In order to encourage the next generation of graphic designers, FINAT has for the past four years organised a congress logo competition. Several colleges and universities from the host country Greece were invited to submit entries from their students on the theme 'Sustainable Labelling - now is your chance'. More than 120 entries were received from 2 teaching establishments. The Vakalo Art & Design College and the Akto College both located in Athens.

The standard of entries was very high and bodes well for the future of the graphic design industry especially in Greece. It was very difficult to make the final decision as many of the entries showed some really original ideas in their designs. The final award was made to Georgios Karanikas from the Vakalo Art and Design college. He produced a very simple one colour design depicting the meander, a design often seen round the walls of ancient Greek buildings. His idea was to show, in a stylised way, two hands interlinking and collaborating together illustrating the international, multi-cultural character of the FINAT Congress. The judges were impressed by the simplicity of design using only one colour and the concept behind the design.

For all information: www.finat.com