Berghs students package life-saving aid for UNICEF

BillerudKorsnäs and Berghs School of Communication have been working together since 2010 with the purpose of encouraging students’ creativity and generating interest in packaging solutions among the designers, communicators and decision makers of tomorrow. The collaboration started out as an annual contest and has now developed into an integral part of the full-time Graphic Design and Account Management programmes at Berghs.

This year’s edition of the contest, PACKCHALLENGE:15, will take place during September and October. Students at Berghs are now facing an exciting creative challenge – how can you best package an emotion that inspires more people to help UNICEF in its charity work around the world?

UNICEF’s mission is to reinforce children’s rights. Its work is financed entirely through voluntary contributions from private individuals and companies. One way of raising funds is to sell what are known as field products, such as vaccines, water purification tablets, school materials and mosquito nets.

The products are sold online and through shops in connection with specific campaigns. In recognition for their contribution, donors receive a gift card that they can then choose to give away as a Christmas or birthday present. The students’ assignment is to come up with a packaging solution that communicates the benefits of giving, how the money is used and encourages support of UNICEF.

The solution will:

-     Be simple to understand and easy to buy.

-     Give the sense that it contains something tangible.

-     Be suitable for different types of shops.

-     Feel good to buy and valuable to receive.

-     Be relevant throughout the year.

-     Be fibre-based to some extent.

-     Be cost-effective to produce and distribute.

Innovation and the use of new technology will be rewarded, provided that it adds value and is relevant.

The students are required to present their solutions on 29 October.

“Berghs School of Communication is one of the best communication schools in the world. This partnership is very important as it provides us with a valuable injection of new ideas while giving students insight into the packaging challenges of tomorrow. Supporting UNICEF’s work feels worthwhile and extremely relevant,” says Jimmy Nyström, Business Development Director, BillerudKorsnäs.

“UNICEF has a long history of working in innovative ways where we use new technologies and materials to increase the effectiveness of our field work and reach out to vulnerable children the world over. Our organisation is completely dependent on voluntary contributions, which is why it is equally important for us to find innovative ways to increase donations. PACKCHALLENGE is a fantastic initiative and we’re really looking forward to the results of the students’ work,” says Andreas Eriksson, Director of Communication, UNICEF Sweden.

Berghs School of Communication was named Cannes Future Lions School of the Year in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015.

Read more about PACKCHALLENGE:15 at www.packchallenge.se

For further information, please contact:

Ingeborg Ekblom, Director of PR, UNICEF Sweden, +46 (0)70 995 59 16, ingeborg.ekblom@unicef.se

Pål Pettersson, Programme Director Communication Design/Graphic Design, Berghs School of Communication, +46 (0)70 254 02 39, pal.pettersson@berghs.se

Thea Tyvi, Course Director, Berghs School of Communication, +46 (0)70 529 66 32, thea@tyvi.se

Jimmy Nyström, Business Development Director, BillerudKorsnäs, +46 (0)70 383 24 42 jimmy.nystrom@billerudkorsnas.com

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world leading provider of primary fiber based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production units in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 21 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com.