The PMA 2013 Convention will be concentrated on a full day of presentations on the Thursday prior to the Digital Show opening, with another half day on Friday morning.
There are no overlapping sessions, and seven out of nine core PMA presentations feature photo industry suppliers, retailers or consultants addressing specific photo industry issues.
‘Following guidance from the Australian PMA executive, the theme “Keys to specialty retailing success” has been the overall direction for speaker selection and content,’ explained Peter Rose, PMA Australia director.
‘I doubt if there has been a more important time for all of us to be “opening our minds” to new ideas,’ he added.
The core PMA program will run on Thursday and Friday and then branch off into sessions for schools photographers (PPSA), and picture framers (PPFA) whose trade show, Art & Frame 2013′ is being held next to The Digital Show at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
Following formal welcomes by the great and the good, the convention kicks off at 8.45am with a session shared by John Swainston (Maxwell International) and Gary Lamb (GfK Australia) looking at opportunities in The Australian Imaging Market.
Next is a panel session, Supplier and Retailer Opportunities and Challenges, featuring retailing executives Nic Peasley (Ted’s Cameras) John Paxton (Paxtons, Camera House) and Paul Shearer (Camera House) and suppliers Marc Radatt (Olympus) Jason McLean (Canon), James Murray (Nikon) and David Marshall (Fujifilm).
(In reality, the line between retailer and supplier is not so distinct any more. Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and Olympus all retail to consumers in various forms, while Camera House has plans to distribute ProMaster accessories into the Australian market! KS)
One of the few ‘outsiders’, Darren Vowles (Online Marketing 101) will lead the next session on The Future of Online Marketing, followed by New Zealand’s Chris Wilkinson, (First Retail Ltd) exploring new trends in Marketing for Specialty Stores.
Juanita Miell (The Friedman Group), will address high-performance retailing skills in a presentation titled Your Staff…Your Greatest Assets.
Another panel session – What is Working, and What is Not in Output – finishes off the Thursday presentations, with participation by Rob Tolmie (ex-Photo Create); Michael Warshall (Nulab Group); Paul Atkins (Atkins Technicolour); trail-blazing independent retailer Phil Gresham (Fotofast); Michelle Tuddenham (Canon); and Geoff Hunt (Momento).
There are three sessions on Friday morning: Those who make it to the conference on time (8.15am) will hear Glynn Lavender (Creative Photo Workshops) and Ellyce Griffiths (Camera House) address how and why to run exhibitions, photo education events and photo trips. The executive director of the ARA, Russell Zimmerman will then present an overview of Changes in Specialty Retailing and the main program will be rounded off by consultant and valued Photo Counter contributor Peter Budd (Budd Consulting, Photo Direct) with a session titled Build A Better Business.
The PMA Best Value Pass, which allows access to the main PMA program plus PPFA and PSPA sessions is $295 for PMA members ($245 for early bird registration before July 31) and $395 for non-members.
A PDF file of the PMA 2013 Convention program will be emailed to members next Monday, June 24.
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