Canon Middle East, the official printing and imaging provider of Expo 2020 Dubai, has hosted its annual Partners’ Conference for the Middle East and Turkey region at the Expo 2020 site. The 2021 edition themed ‘ New customers, new world’, concluded recently, highlighting the importance of adopting digitalization to stay relevant among e-citizens and consumers of the modern era.’

In the first face to face event held after two years, Canon celebrated its partners in the region who joined in-person or virtually, for being resilient, agile, and maintaining business continuity amid the global challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020. The event also provided a platform to discuss and explore the business opportunities and prospects for future collaborations emerging with digital disruption, hybrid work model, and initiatives for sustainability, among others, as well as appreciate the efforts of Canon’s business partners.

The conference also addressed the shifting patterns in consumer behavior as a response to increased digital consumption and underlined the importance of innovative solutions to ensure a sustainable future. It also underlined the upward trend in online sales, different brand engagement initiatives for delivering exceptional customer experience, and changes in the shopping trends among customers.

The annual partner conference additionally highlighted CMET’s vision ‘Lifetime Imaging Partner’ and its mission to strengthen the brand portfolio of Canon while providing value-added services to customers. Canon’s regional management also shed light on the brand’s strategies and roadmap for 2022, and discussed the initiatives planned for the region aimed at defining the brand’s path forward in the post-pandemic era.

Venkata Subramanian Hariharan, Managing Director, CMET, stated: “The pandemic has remarkably changed consumer behavior, and we are keen on implementing innovative initiatives and fostering collaborations that will better serve the requirements of the consumers in the digital era. In line with reimagining our business to deliver a positive customer-centric experience, we intend to focus on further developing our partnerships, deepening customer relationships. We also seek to boost brand awareness, and identify new routes to the market, as we expand our brand portfolio in 2022.”

“CMET is also committed to implementing its growth strategy to address the dynamic digital market landscape and consumers of the digital age, engage closely with customers in the region and address their rapidly changing requirements while remaining adaptable and flexible,” he added.

The discussion held at the hybrid conference was joined by a panel of experts including Nayla Al Khaja, first female film director in the UAE; Maha Moussa, creative video producer at TikTok and Sunil Pandita, Director-Production at United Printing & Publishing. The session was moderated by Jessy El Murr,an independent communications consultant, Senior Journalist & Host and Certified Media Trainer The panelists shared insights on new-age digital tools; creative industries in the digital age; consumers of the digital era; the emergence of e-learning and virtual conferencing solutions; remote work models and the multiple ways in which the pandemic accelerated the digital transformation in various sectors.