Schawk, Inc., a leading provider of brand development and deployment services, enabling companies of all sizes to connect their brands with consumers, just concluded its first-ever BLUE Users Conference October 24-25, 2012, at The Catalyst Ranch in Chicago, IL.

The conference, whose inaugural theme was Accelerating Brand Success, enabled users of BLUE, Schawk's robust enterprise-level SaaS (software as a service) platform, to share user best practices across industries and disciplines, gain insights from forward-thinking keynote speakers, and preview new product features and a roadmap for future enhancements.

Thirty-five leadership-level BLUE users from global consumer products companies, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies and retailers gained a first-hand peek into the unveiling of BLUE's new business intelligence module and new features added to its copy management and online proofing modules.

User Case Studies were shared by BLUE champions and pioneers in the field of artwork and workflow management technology: Ken Kaminski, Merck Consumer Care's executive director, global packaging and creative services; Marian Vitale, Unilever's regional artwork process manager; and Carrie Golvash, H.J. Heinz's senior manager, brand design and packaging.

Keynote Speakers from Schawk, Inc. included Eric Ashworth, president, who presented Re-Thinking Brand Performance: The Broader Business Impact of 'Brand,' and Stephen Kaufman, chief technology officer, on The Goldilocks Paradox: Finding the 'Just Right' Solution. Lynn Dornblaser, director of innovation and insight at market intelligence giant, Mintel, completed the team of keynote speakers, presenting Accelerating Innovation: Faster is (Usually) Better.

Carrie Golvash, senior manager, brand design and packaging for H.J. Heinz, commented: "We welcome the opportunity to participate in an event such as the BLUE Users Conference because it helps move the industry forward as well as our own thinking. It challenges everyone in the room to re-think their perspective which is invigorating."

"We believe that there's great value to providing an organized forum where users of BLUE can meet and share their product experiences with their counterparts at other companies. It also gives them the opportunity to share their insights with Schawk about their constantly evolving business challenges and how BLUE can evolve to help them accelerate brand success," said Scott Strong, senior vice president, global managing director of Schawk Digital Solutions.

Schawk Digital Solutions operates within the marketing eco-system to help global CPG, Retail and Life Sciences clients accelerate brand success by delivering global visibility and insight into the business processes that drive the execution and management of their brands efficiently across media worldwide. We do this through the continuous development, reinvestment and deployment of BLUE, our robust enterprise-level software as a service (SaaS) platform. BLUE has been deployed to more than 65,000 users worldwide.