Networking, brand identity and sales promotion
Trade fairs ... are above all one thing: a platform and meeting point between suppliers and consumers or customers.
Trade fairs ... are above all one thing: a platform and meeting point between suppliers and consumers or customers.
Whether as a small-scale customer event or a large-scale trade fair, a company's move into the public eye has one main objective: to stimulate consumer/customer demand for products or services - and ideally to put the exhibiting company in the "right (positive) light" at the same time. On the other hand, visitors appreciate the opportunity to directly compare products, solutions and services from several suppliers in one place. They can also gain a more comprehensive opinion of a product or company.
Finally, the organizer provides the exhibition hall and the most important infrastructure. For their part, organizers hope for a high utilization rate - i.e. as many square meters of exhibition space sold as possible. The trade fair organizers often work together with stand constructors or specialized companies and thus offer exhibitors a helping hand so that they can design their trade fair presentation professionally.
Trade fairs are classified according to their focus on trade visitors (business-to-business = B2B) or the general public (business-to-consumer = B2C). The latter have a very long tradition. Originally associated with a church festival (the name trade fair is derived from the Latin term Missa = church feast day), these events, also known as public fairs, still have great appeal today. Nevertheless, over the years, trade fair organizers have increasingly specialized in specific visitor segments/target groups. This goes hand in hand with the changing and much broader interests of the population. Examples of such specialized trade fairs include the IT trade fair Orbit-IEX, Suissetransport in Bern and the Swissbau construction trade fair in Basel.
Another trend in the trade fair sector is the shift from sales fairs to so-called sample fairs, which has already been completed in many places. Visitors are therefore hardly able to purchase products at the trade fair and take them home with them, but they can convince themselves of the benefits of an exhibitor's products and services on site.
Indirect successThe trade fair appearance itself is initially associated with costs, which are usually taken from the marketing budget by the exhibiting companies. The total costs of a trade fair appearance are made up of at least the costs for the exhibition space, the design of the stand and the actual stand construction, the costs for the infrastructure (water, electricity, telecommunications) and for gifts or product samples (giveaways). In addition, there are further costs such as those for the advertising materials produced for a trade fair as well as the expenses for the people required for the organization and implementation and/or for the stand personnel.
No guarantee of successWhether and how successful a trade fair is for a company cannot always or rarely be measured in Swiss francs. In the capital goods segment, the decision of a single order won at the trade fair can finance the costs of the trade fair. In the consumer segment, on the other hand, samples/product samples help with branding, which is why participation in a trade fair must be seen as a long-term investment. In most cases, it is therefore not possible to refinance a trade fair directly through participation. In addition, trade fairs are pure networking. It is not uncommon for competitors to meet at trade fairs for initial discussions about cooperation, or for exhibiting companies to revise or update their corporate strategy. One thing is certain: the direct competition that is also present at the trade fair is inspiring.
Technical terms around the trade fair business(trade)fairs
are characterized by the following key points: They take place on a recurring basis (usually annually), often last more than two days and are limited to one or one and a half weeks. Trade fair organizers differentiate thematically between public and trade fairs. New German: B2C and B2B trade fairs.
In Germany, typical B2C events are often referred to as exhibitions rather than trade fairs: A well-known example is the IAA - the International Motor Show.
The most important trade fair in an industry is known as the leading trade fair. In the graphic arts industry, this would be the Drupa trade fair, which takes place every four years.
In order to attract large numbers of visitors and probably also to make better use of the exhibition halls, trade fairs are often combined. These multi-sector trade fairs are in vogue.
In contrast to trade fairs, conferences are dedicated to a specific topic. The focus of this type of event is usually on (specialist) presentations - which are then also referred to as specialist conferences - which in turn usually take into account current developments within an industry.
The terms conference or symposium are often used instead of the term meeting. In contrast to conferences, symposia usually focus on or discuss scientific topics.
Finally, lectures are speeches to an audience and are usually part of all the events mentioned above.
The term congress refers to a meeting where the focus is usually on technical content.
Trade fair companies either rent the grounds, halls or parts thereof to guest organizers or act as organizers themselves.
The term exhibition city refers to cities that have special exhibition grounds or exhibition halls for mostly supra-regional or even international exhibitions. Swiss trade fair cities include Aarau, Basel, Bern, Bulle, Delémont, Fribourg and Geneva,
Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, Martigny, St. Gallen, Thun and Zurich.
Jürgen Franck
Whether as a small-scale customer event or a large-scale trade fair, a company's move into the public eye has one main objective: to stimulate consumer/customer demand for products or services - and ideally to put the exhibiting company in the "right (positive) light" at the same time. On the other hand, visitors appreciate the opportunity to directly compare products, solutions and services from several suppliers in one place. They can also gain a more comprehensive opinion of a product or company.
Finally, the organizer provides the exhibition hall and the most important infrastructure. For their part, organizers hope for a high utilization rate - i.e. as many square meters of exhibition space sold as possible. The trade fair organizers often work together with stand constructors or specialized companies and thus offer exhibitors a helping hand so that they can design their trade fair presentation professionally.
Trade fairs are classified according to their focus on trade visitors (business-to-business = B2B) or the general public (business-to-consumer = B2C). The latter have a very long tradition. Originally associated with a church festival (the name trade fair is derived from the Latin term Missa = church feast day), these events, also known as public fairs, still have great appeal today. Nevertheless, over the years, trade fair organizers have increasingly specialized in specific visitor segments/target groups. This goes hand in hand with the changing and much broader interests of the population. Examples of such specialized trade fairs include the IT trade fair Orbit-IEX, Suissetransport in Bern and the Swissbau construction trade fair in Basel.
Another trend in the trade fair sector is the shift from sales fairs to so-called sample fairs, which has already been completed in many places. Visitors are therefore hardly able to purchase products at the trade fair and take them home with them, but they can convince themselves of the benefits of an exhibitor's products and services on site.
Indirect successThe trade fair appearance itself is initially associated with costs, which are usually taken from the marketing budget by the exhibiting companies. The total costs of a trade fair appearance are made up of at least the costs for the exhibition space, the design of the stand and the actual stand construction, the costs for the infrastructure (water, electricity, telecommunications) and for gifts or product samples (giveaways). In addition, there are further costs such as those for the advertising materials produced for a trade fair as well as the expenses for the people required for the organization and implementation and/or for the stand personnel.
No guarantee of successWhether and how successful a trade fair is for a company cannot always or rarely be measured in Swiss francs. In the capital goods segment, the decision of a single order won at the trade fair can finance the costs of the trade fair. In the consumer segment, on the other hand, samples/product samples help with branding, which is why participation in a trade fair must be seen as a long-term investment. In most cases, it is therefore not possible to refinance a trade fair directly through participation. In addition, trade fairs are pure networking. It is not uncommon for competitors to meet at trade fairs for initial discussions about cooperation, or for exhibiting companies to revise or update their corporate strategy. One thing is certain: the direct competition that is also present at the trade fair is inspiring.
Technical terms around the trade fair business(trade)fairs
are characterized by the following key points: They take place on a recurring basis (usually annually), often last more than two days and are limited to one or one and a half weeks. Trade fair organizers differentiate thematically between public and trade fairs. New German: B2C and B2B trade fairs.
In Germany, typical B2C events are often referred to as exhibitions rather than trade fairs: A well-known example is the IAA - the International Motor Show.
The most important trade fair in an industry is known as the leading trade fair. In the graphic arts industry, this would be the Drupa trade fair, which takes place every four years.
In order to attract large numbers of visitors and probably also to make better use of the exhibition halls, trade fairs are often combined. These multi-sector trade fairs are in vogue.
In contrast to trade fairs, conferences are dedicated to a specific topic. The focus of this type of event is usually on (specialist) presentations - which are then also referred to as specialist conferences - which in turn usually take into account current developments within an industry.
The terms conference or symposium are often used instead of the term meeting. In contrast to conferences, symposia usually focus on or discuss scientific topics.
Finally, lectures are speeches to an audience and are usually part of all the events mentioned above.
The term congress refers to a meeting where the focus is usually on technical content.
Trade fair companies either rent the grounds, halls or parts thereof to guest organizers or act as organizers themselves.
The term exhibition city refers to cities that have special exhibition grounds or exhibition halls for mostly supra-regional or even international exhibitions. Swiss trade fair cities include Aarau, Basel, Bern, Bulle, Delémont, Fribourg and Geneva,
Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, Martigny, St. Gallen, Thun and Zurich.
Jürgen Franck
