It was a thrill to see the Masking Tape Exhibition in Hong Kong this week. It really has changed how I see masking tape forever.
On show are extraordinary works of art from many different people, representing many different interests and techniques.
Here is this humble stationery item we have in our businesses that in some countries is used by artists to create inspiring works.
Okay, plenty of the masking tape they use is different to the packaging tape we sell. However, it is called the same thing.
Here is an example of masking tape in one retail business I visited. This display faces you in one of the entrances of the business.
And the range you can see in the photo is around a quarter of the masking tape range they carry.
While some businesses in Australia sell tape like this, not many do from what I understand. It is a specialty interest, one that could be served by enterprising newsagents who source a broader mix of tape and cater to the interests of the maker movement and local artists who make for fun and pleasure.
What struck me about the Masking Tape Exhibition in Hong Kong was the passion for this craft and how logical it is for some in our channel to be connected to this hobby.
Our future is all about seeing things differently, very differently in fact. There is no future in the traditional for any of the product categories for which newsagency businesses are known. We have to seek out different products and opportunities and we have to do this in a way that is related to but then quite different to what has been traditional for us.
One way to get into this head space of seeing opportunities beyond the traditional is to put ourselves into situations where we see possibilities like I have seen this week with masking tape.
No, I am not saying everyone should jump on the masking tape craze. There is no one-size fits all for our channel any more in any category. I am saying – be open to unexpected opportunities that may work in your neck of the woods.