Trade fair 2.0: Marketplace for the digital community

The Expo Event industry association is continuing its "Pro Trade Fair" campaign. At the panel discussion on the topic of "Trade Fair 2.0" at the public trade fair BEA in Bern, new and good voices were raised that shed light on the situation of what trade fairs are and are not in the digital age. In fact, the organizers, more than in the past, are required to contribute to the success of their exhibitors and this with new strategies and the answer is digitality. In this context, SRF moderator Hannes Hug, himself a trade show expert, posed the key question to start with: "Where should the trade show go?" 

Keynote speaker Stephan Forseilles of Easyfairs Brussels cited Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) as key trends in the digital transformation of all industries. Stephan Forseilles' thesis: AI and IoT will not substitute trade fairs, but will improve matchmaking - bringing suppliers and buyers together. Therein lies the strength of "Big Data".

Walo Dalhäuser, Managing Director Events at the MCH Group said what it's all about: "The change in exhibitions has nothing to do with their importance as a marketing tool, but with the change in industries." 

How right. For example, if you look at public trade fairs such as the BEA in Bern, where the panel discussion took place, it becomes clear that the retail trade, the core exhibitor customer of public trade fairs, is undergoing a transformation that did not just start with digitization. 

If an exhibitor complains about a lack of trade show success, as was heard around BEA, then the core reason is the transformation of retail, not just that of trade shows (read our post from tomorrow, Tuesday). No trade show organizer can take the transformation in the retail trade off an exhibitor's hands. But trade shows have to accompany retailers in it. 

Markus Lauber, CEO of Messe Luzern, always an exponent with statements on the medium of trade fairs, kicked things off by saying, "Trade fair organizers must move from being organizers to marketing agencies for the industries of their trade fairs."

"In the past, the digital extension of trade shows was weak. But whoever visits a trade fair today has better prior knowledge," said Markus Lauber. Messe Luzern was among the first trade fair organizers to design new trade fairs as "digital meeting places" from the outset. Now, together with competitor Olma Messen, it has created an online marketplace for competing livestock trade shows. That's for exhibitor customers, not square footage. Meanwhile, Messe Luzern is in cooperation with two other competitors with their online marketplaces for trade fair topics.

Markus Lauber, CEO of Messe Luzern. "The personal contact is irreplaceable. But we organizers have to think about how to make it better, we have to bring more value."

Walo Dahlhäuser: "Trade fairs like a Giardina are a live experience, but for that we need digitality."

The tenor at the panel discussion was clear: Every economic sector needs a different form of trade show; pure organizing is "old economy," a business model of yesterday. Walo Dalhäuser gave an illustration: "Education is a six billion market in Switzerland. But there is no reputable trade fair platform, because the industry needs a different communication platform." 

What Stephan Forseilles said fits into this context: "Large trade shows like a CeBit are disappearing and new formats are conquering the market." If you look at Switzerland, that's exactly the change that's in full swing. And the outcome is uncertain for many trade shows.

Will technology make trade shows disappear? No. "People always crave real-time experiences in the real world," said Stephan Foreilles. A trade show is an event. The Internet hasn't changed that, quite the opposite. "Trade shows have not died any more than music would have died as a result of the new distribution channels."

But Markus Lauber said at the same time: "Even we cannot say where trade fairs will be in 10 years. But we must become more courageous". Oliver Vrieze, CMSO Bernexpo Groupe: "As a trade show organizer, openness and courage to change are indispensable. Every single trade show needs its own idea to make it work."

A look at the responsibility of trade show organizers for the success of their exhibitor customers follows on Tuesday, May 7.