"Trade show organizers must evolve into the experience business"

Expodata: What is flexible working? What is the transformation behind it?

Viktor Calabrò: We see flexible work as a holistic approach. It's no longer about defining work as the driving element for life. But conversely, life becomes the dominant indicator of how I want to shape my work. But there are many issues that discourage workers from working temporarily because flexibility takes on a negative connotation. You could describe our approach this way: We develop flexible work without side effects.

How can trade fairs be transformed? Is that even desirable? And who would benefit from it? What is your message to the live communications industry?

It's not primarily about digitizing everything. Digitization alone is not added value, but finding the right bridge between digital and offline. In the future, I'll go to a trade show in exactly the same way as I go to the movies; it's a different form of entertainment, sales are completely in the background. Trade show organizers will have to evolve from the real estate business to the experience business. 

This is how modern work works at Coople

Will you personally still be attending trade fairs as a visitor in five years' time? Or even as an exhibitor with Coople? 

I can imagine live presence in a sponsorship context. Experiences by inviting customers to the event. These are settings where emotions are created and thus associated with a brand. Here, it's no longer a matter of pushing the scenery, but of creating a story around a brand. For us, that meant: Freeride = freedom. At Coople, you can work in this kind of environment instead of just hauling cement bags around a construction site. 

A full version of the interview can be read in the Expodata Live Communications print edition of April 11, 2019.