Gent (Belgium), November 2003 – Rumours spread through the Belgian media on Friday 14 November that global megastar Madonna was going to visit Esko-Graphics in Gent (Belgium), to support the launch of a new perfume, “Provoke”, for which Esko-Graphics produced the test marketing materials such as the fragrance box, the shipping box, the POP displays etc. It was certainly a great event at Esko-Graphics in Gent, attended by invited European clients, employees and journalists. Following half a day of presentations, the British Madonna look-alike, together with the dancers, put on a “Grand Finale” that must surely be the most brilliant show ever to take place at the Esko-Graphics facilities. The day started with an introduction and live-demonstration of the Digital Converting Machine, the die-less Kongsberg DCM, which is ideally suited for automatic small-lot production of packaging and point-of-purchase displays. Among the guests was Kurt Alden of designforce (Sweden), who gave a presentation about the use of the machine in his premises. The Esko-Graphics team presented the software ArtiosCAD and the XL series of the Kongsberg sample making tables. The prototypes of about 850 point-of-purchase displays for the fictional perfume campaign “Provoke” were produced on Esko-Graphics’ Digital Converting Machine (DCM 24) to prove its value as a cost and time saving machine for short run production, opening a world of new business opportunities. A point of purchase display, a mobile and a fragrance box were sent out in a shipping box to different clients all over Europe during the past months. The test items were printed on a variety of materials with different printing systems. The Belgian agency “Le point blanc” supported the test marketing and the organisation of the very special happening. Hubert Scheir, Director of Marketing: “We are happy with the success of the event and the fact that our Digital Converting Machine received the attention it deserves, though we have to admit that this was helped by the unusual entertainer and the “provocative” activities around it!”