"Trade shows must gain relevance"

A record number of visitors probably wanted to hear Jennifer Somm explain how she intends to lead Bernexpo Groupe into the future. Jennifer Somm's first thesis was: "Digital disillusionment is important. Disillusionment was evidently beneficial for us."

What she meant by this: "Trade fairs must become more relevant. Bernexpo is not interested in becoming digital as quickly as possible. Our added value will continue to come from our core business in the future." She also said: "In the future, we don't just want to exhibit at trade fairs, we want to act live and digitally." But there is no general recipe. Each trade fair has to be treated separately in digital terms. The example of Ornaris: According to Exhibition Director Muriel Mangold, Ornaris is too small for its own digital marketplace (Werbewoche.ch reported).

New alliances in the trade fair industry

"If you define yourself as a digital company, you have to see yourself as an open system," continues Jennifer Somm. Competitors can also suddenly become interesting. "Frenemies are the alliances of tomorrow."

Frenemies? Friends and enemies, in other words. The term has recently become a recurring theme in the trade fair industry (see the post on Medtech.plus at Messe Luzern). Competitors are forming alliances, at least online, where there used to be competition.

The Expo Event Swiss LiveCom Association's Breakfast Clubs, led by Daniel Wyss from Messerli (pictured with Jennifer Somm), are a success despite the early morning time. Jennifer Somm's conclusion at the end: "Transformation is created through scope, not digital actionism." Think!