Konica Minolta UK has been awarded the ‘Tech for Good Award’ by the coveted 2020 Better Society Awards
Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Limited (Konica Minolta) has been awarded the ‘Tech for Good Award’ by the coveted 2020 Better Society Awards. The award recognises its work with The Big Issue magazine in becoming the first street newspaper to implement augmented reality (AR) using its genARate app, to provide a new way to access content, raise awareness of poverty, homelessness and social exclusion in the UK, and support vendor sales.
Konica Minolta was announced as the winner at a virtual awards event held on 2nd December, which recognised commercial companies who are helping create a better, more equal, ethical, and sustainable world for all.
We are proud to have been recognised by the Better Society Awards 2020, for our work supporting The Big Issue. Konica Minolta is an organisation that is not only committed to supporting its employees, customers, partners, and wider society but also ensuring that technology is used to make a difference.
The project initially came about following an inspiring conversation between a The Big Issue magazine vendor and a member of the Konica Minolta team. It prompted the team to think about how it could help the organisation and its vendors combat some of the challenges it was facing as a traditional print publisher.
With more publications being distributed freely on the streets, consumers preferring to consume content via digital channels, and potential customers glued to mobile phones walking past vendors, The Big Issue and its vendors were feeling the pressure.
Selling the magazine has given our vendors structure, a sense of purpose and dignity. It was really important for us to find a way to engage and empower a wider audience through digital channels, whilst not compromising on our physical vendor model.
With the assistance of Konica Minolta, The Big Issue was the first street newspaper to implement augmented reality. Utilising the genARate AR app, publishers can overlay video, animations, or 3D models onto printed materials to create rich media communications that provide an exciting draw for the audience.
Rob adds, “People don’t tend to associate AR with a social enterprise like The Big Issue. We used AR in several editions to shift this perception and demonstrate how technology really can make a difference, in all parts of our society. Konica Minolta also provided the magazine with support and strategic advice on how to embrace digital transformation for the future. Undoubtedly the ability to converge its print and digital business, and give greater opportunity for readers to share content, has also delivered additional commercial benefits to the organisation by extending the reach, impact and influence of The Big Issue”.
A full list of the Better Society Awards 2020 winners is available here.
About Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe
Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, based in Langenhagen, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan. Konica Minolta enables its clients to champion the digital era: with its unique imaging expertise and data processing capabilities, Konica Minolta creates relevant solutions for its customers and solves issues faced by society. As a provider of comprehensive IT services, Konica Minolta delivers consultancy and services to optimise business processes with workflow automation. The company further offers its customers solutions and managed services in the field of IT infrastructure and IT security as well as cloud environments. With regard to its office printing solutions, "IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Print Transformation 2020 Vendor Assessment" stated that Konica Minolta is "recognised globally as a leader in print transformation". As a strong partner for the professional printing market, Konica Minolta offers business consulting, state-of-the-art technology and software and has established itself as the production printing market leader for more than a decade in Europe (InfoSource). Its Business Innovation Centre in London and four R & D laboratories in Europe enable Konica Minolta to bring innovation forward by collaborating with its customers as well as academic, industrial and entrepreneurial partners. For its innovative service approach that complements their devices perfectly, Konica Minolta was awarded the prestigious ‘"Buyers Lab PaceSetter Award for Serviceability and Support 2020/2021" by Keypoint Intelligence. Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe is represented by subsidiaries and distributors in more than 80 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With approximately 10,000 employees (as of April 2020), Konica Minolta Europe earned net sales of over 2.34 billion in financial year 2019/2020.
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