drupa is much more than just a global trade exhibition for the print industry - it ranks as a top international trade fair that identifies important trends, offers insights into future developments and drives inspiration. To provide participants with the best possible experience, drupa invests in top-class knowledge transfer through its five special forums - including the drupa cube. drupa will take place from June 16 – 26, 2020 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

“educate - engage - entertain” is again the slogan of the drupa cube in 2020, providing a broadly diversified and highly relevant range of content that motivates, provides valuable impulses and is interactive for visitors due to the versed lecture formats. Renowned speakers from around the world will inspire with a visionary range of topics. Bestselling author Michael Gale and internationally renowned designer James Sommerville will also contribute keynotes to the top-class program. 

With over 40 sessions - keynotes, C-level sessions, workshops, brand stories and best practice examples - the drupa cube will serve as a source of inspiration and expertise on new digital business models, with digital transformation playing a significant role. The focus will be on innovative web-to-print and packaging technologies, the potential of a platform economy with more diversified sales channels and new collaboration models, as well as the changing expectations of connected customers in a social media culture – all against the background of an increasing responsibility of the industry for sustainability and circular economy management.

“Our primary goal is to put as many ideas as possible out there which participants can successfully implement in their own companies,” said Sabine Geldermann, Director drupa and Global Head Print Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf. “We want to offer a program that meets their actual needs.”

Practical recipes for success

James Sommerville and Michael Gale, along with representatives of global brands and leading industry experts, will share their knowledge with drupa 2020 visitors. With “The Digital Helix. Transforming your organization's DNA to thrive in the Digital Age”, Michael Gale has written a guide for Michael Gale has written a guide for decision makers who want to adapt their company to digital business models. Gale's book has become an international best-seller and top brands use the digital helix algorithm of his company Inc.digital to accurately place their marketing and sales investments in digitization projects. The drupa cube will looks into the future of the industry and provides concrete recommendations for successful digital management as well as important background information to help navigate digital management. James Sommerville knows what it means to strengthen brands. The British star designer gave the Coca-Cola brand a new image in 2013, raised its design language to a whole new level and gave it the face that it still remembered today. 

“The print industry has undergone a remarkable technological transformation and can be hailed as a “best case scenario” in this respect - both in terms of changed processes and new business models,” said Michael Gale. “As we access new fields of application, acquire new technologies and capture new vertical markets, we are caught up in the maelstrom of this transition. The print industry must proactively embrace this change. Companies that go digital increase their profits up to five times faster than their competitors; companies that don’t follow this track will therefore find the going incredibly tough. Personally, I find this new market not only important but also very exciting and I'm eager to share my enthusiasm with others. In the drupa cube, we are putting the spotlight on a number of examples and solutions designed to illustrate strategies for successful corporate management.”

A program with depth

To give it a clear structure, the drupa cube program will be divided into five thematic fields. In addition to the keynote presentations by James Sommerville and Michael Gale, the Business Evolution lecture sessions will focus on global market trends, best practices in sales and marketing and innovative business models. Print Futures will be dedicated to relevant technology trends in print and packaging, along with printed electronics applications. Brand owners and agencies will also share their Brand Stories. In the fifth category, Executive Think Tanks, business leaders are invited to exchange ideas with keynote speakers. Pre-registration is required for these sessions. The complete program of the drupa cube, taking place on all days of drupa, will be available at the end of February at www.drupa.com/cube-en.