AUMA Review 2014 Download Contents AUMA_Review_2014_AUMA_Bilanz 14.08.15 11:49 Seite 3 Exhibitions...

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Publisher:

AUMA

Association of the German Trade Fair IndustryLittenstrasse 910179 BerlinPhone 030 24000-0Fax 030 [email protected]

Layout / Production:CCL, Berlin

Photos:Cover photo: Light+Building,Messe Frankfurt GmbH / Jens Liebchen

We would like to thank the exhibition companies for providing us with pictures of trade fairs and exhibition centers.Further photos: page 72

Printing:Knigsdruck Printmedien und digitale Dienste GmbH, Berlin

Printed in the Federal Republicof Germany 2015

ISSN: 1430-8983

AUMA_Review_2014_AUMA_Bilanz 14.08.15 11:49 Seite 2

Outlook 5

Exhibitions in Germany 9

Overview 11AUMA_MesseTrend 2015 15One-fifth of visitors from abroad come from overseas 17A marked increase in foreign exhibitors in Germany 19Regional exhibitions 21FKM: More expertise for trade fair planning 21

Lobbying and legal aspects 23

Trade fair visas 25Product piracy 26Sustainability in the trade fair industry 27European standardisation activities in event technology 28Expo Guide remains active 28AUMAs Brussels office 29

Institute of the German Trade Fair Industry 31

Training and continuing education 33Research 34German Trade Fair Library 36

Review 2014

r Contents


Exhibitions abroad 37

Competition at the international level 39Support for German exhibitors abroad 41Foreign trade fairs with German organisers 43World expos 45

Marketing, media and events 47

Marketing for German trade fairs 49Pro trade fair marketing 50New toolbox with trade fair tips for exhibitors 51Online communication 52Annual meeting of the trade fair industry in Charlottenburg Palace 53Participation in international conventions 54AUMA media at a glance 57

Organisation 59

Key indicators of the German trade fair industry 63

Regarding the choice of photos: Meeting at trade fairs also means discussing the products and services on display. This is what communicating at trade fairsis about. For this reason, starting on page 11, we have put together images of typical products from the trade fair programmesof all the members of AUMA who hold at least one international trade fair a year, which also represent the wide range of pro-ducts and services exhibited at trade fairs in Germany.


Outlook


The trade fair medium continues to be in demand, par-

ticularly in Germany, despite intense competition from

both traditional and digital instruments of communica-

tion. And this is abundantly verifiable. At the same time,

trade fairs and trade fair participations abroad Made in

Germany offer German exhibitors excellent export op-

portunities all over the world.

According to AUMA's research,trade fair participation is the key ele-ment of business-to-business com-munications for roughly a quarter ofexhibiting businesses, and for an-other 50% it ranks equal to other in-struments. The trade fair's positionin the companies, as measured by itsimportance in the marketing mix, islikewise stable. Some 80% of exhibit-ing companies regard trade fair par-ticipation as an important or veryimportant instrument for approachingbusiness customers. What's more, ex-hibiting companies spend roughly45% of their business-to-businessmarketing budgets on trade fairs,more than ever before.

How could this be the case at a time when digital mediaappear to be advancing as strongly as ever? Though thismay sound unusual, the reason is to be found in the un-predictability of what happens at a trade fair. Naturally,exhibitors make appointments with current and poten-

tial customers in advance of participating in a trade fair,and many visitors naturally plan the time they spend ata trade fair in great detail, but only to a certain extent.And the result of this is that things can be discovered ata trade fair that one may not even have been looking for.This is the case for visitors who find products or suppli-ers that they never had in their sights before. It is equally

true for exhibitors who, for exam-ple, are approached by persons whoare interested in cooperation orin working in the company. It israther seldom that this sort of thinghappens by using online media,where informational content isusually oriented to the specificobject of a search at the moment orwhat a person may have beensearching for in the past. It is some-times astonishingly difficult to dis-cover the future online. And tradefairs still have a remarkable advan-tage when it comes to creating mar-ket transparency in certain sectors.It is, of course, relatively easy togain an overview of potential sup-pliers online. But this is far fromsaying that the quality of these

companies or their products can be reliably evaluated.The trade fair visit, with its contact with real persons andreal products, usually results in a substantially clearerbasis for decision-making.

7

Review 2014

r OutlookWalter Mennekes, AUMA Chairman


tes what a real contact can accomplish today and in thefuture, and it underscores that the range of functionstrade fairs can perform is far from being exhausted.

A powerful duo: trade fairs and Made in Germany r Forthe German economy, and for medium-sized compa-nies in particular, the Made in Germany brand is asimportant as ever. There are three ways in which exhi-bitors in particular benefit from the impression of highquality standards that the words Made in Germanyevoke. For one thing, small and medium-sized busines-ses are able to take advantage of high-quality world tradefairs that are practically on their doorsteps.

These provide an opportunity for first contacts with in-ternational markets, and with excellent cost/benefit re-sults. Moreover, German-organised trade fairs inforeign venues offer medium-sized companies directaccess to the individual foreign markets in the qualityto which they are accustomed.

Finally, joint participations organised by the FederalMinistry for Economic Affairs and Energy at foreigntrade fairs under the Made in Germany banner exertsa strong pull on visitors, because Made in Germanystands for excellent quality at fair prices the world over.This is an excellent selling point, especially in distantor less-tapped markets.

Choosing an occupation via trade fairs r Trade fairs con-tinue to grow in importance as a means for the variousindustries to approach potential future employees. Thespectrum ranges from contacts with students at high-tech exhibitions to pupils who go to regional trade fairsto learn more about skilled trades. Where else but at atrade fair would it be possible to have the experience ofsuch contacts? Because interested parties may becomepersonally acquainted with employees of a company.The design of the stand may convey an impression ofwhat sort of self-image the company has. And one cansee first-hand what a company produces, how it does so,or how it offers services. And if the skilled trades are thefocus of interest, people can watch practical demonstra-tions by others, or perhaps even put one's own abilitiesto the test. An aid to decision-making could not be muchmore comprehensive than that. This vividly demonstra-

8

Outlook


Exhibitions inGermany


buyers from abroad. On the other hand, many countriesin the EU continue to experience stagnation or consis-tently low rates of economic growth. In addition, theyear 2014 saw a considerable increase in the number ofregions engulfed in military conflict from Ukraine tothe Middle East to Africa. This is having an impact oninternational trade as well, and on business at the inter-national trade fairs in Germany. The number of tradefair participants from these regions, whether exhibitors

or visitors, has been compara-tively stable so far. Significantdeclines in 2015 are possible,however.

Among visitors to Germantrade fairs there is generally aremarkably high level of satis-faction with the way trade fairsaffect their business. Accordingto a 2014 study by AUMA, visi-tors achieve to a quite consider-able extent the objectives theyset for themselves. Accord-ingly, many visitors are alsowilling to recommend trade

fair attendance to others. In addition, there has been afurther slight increase in German exhibitors' invest-ments in the quality of their trade fair participations,and this trend will in all likelihood continue in 2015.

Overview

The developments seen in international and national

trade fairs in Germany were reflective of highly hetero-

geneous economic conditions in 2014 including weak

growth in Europe, a low euro exchange rate and inter-

national crises. Nevertheless, German trade fairs were

able to hold their own against international competi-

tion, and overall they achieved slight increases in key in-

dicators.

The economic situation in Eu-rope is increasingly reflective ofthe actions taken by the Euro-pean Central Bank. These posea number of medium-termrisks, but they have also hadtangibly positive effects, espe-cially for the German exporttrade. Although the German ex-port trade is currently experi-encing a rate of growth that issignificantly lower than it wasjust a few years ago, it is profit-ing at the same time from theeuro's low exchange rate, par-ticularly against the dollar, asthis has lowered the price level of German products innumerous markets outside Europe. This developmenthas had positive impacts on German trade fairs as well,such as increasing interest on the part of visitors and

11

Review 2014

r Exhibitions in Germany

Stone+tec

Nuremberg

(Nrnberg Messe

GmbH)


The trade fairs experienced on average a 1.5% increasein the number of exhibitors, which, however, was en-tirely attributable to the steep rise in the foreign parti-cipation figures. These increased on average by 5.2%,while the number of domestic exhibitors decreased by3.1%. Tapping the potential of non-exhibitors and con-vincing newly-formed companies early of the benefitsof trade fair participation should therefore be amongthe main tasks of German trade fair organisers. Standspace increased by 0.3%, a solid result considering thestiff competition for corporate marketing budgets. Thenumber of visitors also proved to be stable on average,increasing by 0.3%.

Results by exhibition type r The 104 capital goods fairsshowed above-average results in a comparison of tradefair types. The number of exhibitors increased on ave-rage by 2.1% compared with previous events, with anexceptional 7.3% increase observed in the number offoreign participants. The number of German exhibitors,on the other hand, shrank by 2.9%. The restraint shownin investment activities in certain sectors has evidentlyinduced some exhibitors to reconsider the often expan-sive scale of their trade fair presences. On the otherhand, growing numbers of foreign providers have beenconverging on the German market, which in many re-spects is becoming more price-sensitive. Stand space inthe capital goods fair sector increased minimally by0.7%; the number of visitors remained virtually constantwith a decline of 0.8%.

Review 2014 r Against this background of less stableconditions, the 176 international and national trade fairsheld in Germany recorded a slightly positive result com-pared with previous events. This was not necessarily tobe expected, especially in light of the fact that competi-tion among instruments of communication has gene-rally been on the rise.

12

Exhibitions in Germany

drupa Dusseldorf

(Messe Dsseldorf

GmbH)


Overall result in 2014 r Overall, AUMA registered a totalof 330 exhibitions in Germany with 232,000 exhibitors,8.3 million m of exhibitor stand space and 15.6 millionvisitors. The 176 international and national trade fairs re-corded 9.72 million visitors. A total of 179,645 exhibitors,102,665 of them from other countries, presented them-selves on 6.82 million m of stand space. In addition,AUMA gathered the results of 154 exhibitions with regio-nal visitor catchment areas.

The 44 consumer goods trade fairs managed to pick upspeed overall: the +1.2% result for exhibitor participa-tion once again reflects both a sharp 3.3% increasefrom abroad and a 3.4% decline in the number of Ger-man exhibitors. However, this trend has been going onfor some years already, especially because of the declin-ing number of German producers of consumer goods.The trend in stand space, which increased by 0.4%,failed to keep pace with the number of exhibitors. Wor-thy of note is a further slight increase in the number ofvisitors by 0.4% after a 1.6% increase in 2013. These re-sults appear to confirm the general effectiveness of con-sumer goods fairs, about which doubts have beenexpressed here and there in the past.

The 19 international and national public exhibitionsheld their position with a 0.5% increase in exhibitorparticipation, which reflected both weaker domesticparticipation (-3.2%) and a marked increase fromabroad (+6.3%). Stand spaces were somewhat smalleron average (-1.4%). Visitor numbers grew by 0.6%, aquite remarkable result considering that competitionfor the consumer's free time has been stiff.

The nine trade fairs devoted primarily to services contin-ued to come up somewhat short. A 1.3% decline in ex-hibitors was only partially offset by a small increase of0.5% in stand space. Visitor figures for these events, cov-ering subjects such as tourism, finances, marketing andIT services, remained constant on average.

13

Review 2014

enertec Leipzig

(Leipziger Messe

GmbH)


Outlook for 2015 r The relatively robust performance ofthe German economy and the consistently strong accep-tance of the trade fair medium give reason to expect thatthe international and national trade fairs in Germanywill continue to experience a slightly positive trend in2015. Taking all events together, however, this trend willpresumably only range between 0% and 2%. Thisshould hold true for both exhibitor and visitor figures.

Such prospects for a positive trend in individual tradefair results are consistent with the results of a surveyconducted by AUMA among trade fair organisers aspart of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research's(IW) survey of associations, which included AUMA. Ac-cording to this survey, trade fair organisers expect totalturnover to be somewhat higher for all domestic and in-ternational business activity in 2015 than in 2014, onceadjusted for fluctuations in the trade fair schedule. In-vestments by trade fair companies are expected to in-crease slightly on average this year; a sizeable minorityare planning to invest at the same level, while only a fewplan to invest less. The number of employees will re-main approximately the same, with a sizeable minorityplanning to increase the number of their employees;only a very few plan to lower it.

At the end of 2014, most organisers believed that thegeneral mood in the industry was similar to that at theend of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. Nearly all majortrade fair organisers consider it to be stable in compar-ison to the previous year; only a few consider it to besomewhat worse.

These events collectively encompassed 52,602 ex-hibitors, 1,507,321 m of exhibitor stand space and5,887,966 visitors. The former group of special suprare-gional trade fairs has been integrated into the categoryof international and national trade fairs.

According to preliminary calculations, German tradefair organisers achieved just under 3.5 billion in sales,somewhat more than in the previous record year 2012,when sales totalled 3.4 billion. In 2013, a year with arelatively weak trade fair schedule, the figure was 3.2billion. The growth achieved against 2012 is not attrib-utable to an increase in leased space in Germany, how-ever. It is the result of increasing international businessactivity and domestic business segments less associatedwith trade fairs. But the strong domestic internationaltrade fairs continued to constitute the core business forall of the large and medium-sized companies.

14


Agritechnica

Hanover

(German Agricultu-

ral Society DLG)


to increase their trade fair budgets, while only 7% wishto spend less. If larger companies give greater empha-sis to the trade fair medium, that sends an important,positive signal to smaller companies. Companies thatincrease their trade fair budgets do so to raise customerawareness, firstly by increasing the number of partici-pations, and secondly by improving the quality of theirparticipations, for example through larger investmentsin stand construction and design. The survey of ex-hibitors also revealed that the number of trade fair par-ticipations will largely remain the same. 19% of exhibitorsintend to take part in more trade fairs in Germany,

AUMA_MesseTrend 2015

Over the next two years, a third of exhibiting companies

in Germany plan to invest more money in trade fair par-

ticipation than in 2013/2014; only 14% want to spend

less. Nearly half plan to invest the same. These figures

come from a survey of 500 representative, selected com-

panies, conducted by TNS Emnid in November 2014 on

behalf of AUMA.

Exhibitors are obviously optimistic as they prepare fortheir next trade fair participations. Major companies es-pecially plan to invest more in trade fairs. Almost 40%of exhibitors with more than 125 million in sales wish

15

Review 2014

sdback Stuttgart

(Landesmesse

Stuttgart GmbH)


companies evidently attach more importance to directdialogue with the customer in these uncertain times,which of course is the essence of what trade fair parti-cipation is about.

The position of trade fairs as an instrument in the mar-keting mix has again improved: 81% of the exhibitorsasked (previous year: 79%) consider trade fairs to be im-portant or very important in their B2B communications.Only their own websites are considered more important

while another 19% intend to participate in fewer; 59%wish to keep the same number of trade fair stands.Many more companies are relying on continuityabroad: three quarters want to participate in the sameamount in 2015/2016 as in 2013/2014, while 12% wantto have more trade fair stands and 12% fewer.

Considering the growing number of internationalcrises and uncertainties about economic developments,this result was not necessarily to be expected. Many

16


hanseboot Hamburg

(Hamburg Messe-

und Congress

GmbH)


One-fifth of visitors from abroad come from overseas

Almost 550,000 potential customers came to Germany

from non-European countries in 2014 in order to

gather information at trade fairs or prepare to do busi-

ness. Thats over a fifth of a good 2.6 million interna-

tional visitors to Germanys trade fair venues.

South, East and Central Asia was by far the best-repre-sented overseas region with around 210,000 visitors,followed by the Middle East (90,000), North America(80,000) and Latin America (65,000). The high-quality,strongly international offerings of German trade fairs

as a permanent basis for communication (88%). Havinga field sales force is considered to be important or veryimportant by 76%, while for direct mailing this figurestands at 47% (previous year: 53%). Advertising in thetrade press and company-organised events both camein at 40% each, as in the previous year.

Trade fairs: for many of central importance for commu-

nication r Companies were asked for the first time howhigh trade fairs generally ranked in importance in theirmarket communications. At least a quarter stated thattrade fairs are central to their market communications;slightly less than 50% regard trade fairs as ranking equalwith other important instruments. Only around 25% re-gard trade fairs as a complementary instrument. Thesestatements very clearly reflect the important role tradefairs play in business-to-business communication. Thetrade fair industry can therefore look to the future withconfidence.

This is further underscored by the rise in trade fair ex-penditure in proportion to the total business-to-busi-ness marketing budgets. In 2015/2016 this share willbe 45%, which is higher again than the figures for thepast five years, which were between 40% and 44%. Thisfigure is now approaching 50% for capital goods ex-hibitors.

17

Review 2014

I.L.M Offenbach

(Messe Offenbach

GmbH)


(160,000), France and the UK (145,000 each), Switzer-land (140,000) and Belgium (130,000). The USA andthe Peoples Republic of China (65,000 each) as well asIndia (35,000) were the top countries outside Europe.

It should also be noted that many visitors from neigh-bouring countries also attend German trade fairs forpersonal reasons, while nearly all overseas visitors at-tend for professional reasons.

The results for the individual countries are partly basedon estimates, as numbers of visitors from each countryare not determined at all trade fairs.

are obviously a powerful incentive for potential cus-tomers to travel to Germany even from a long distance.For many buyers, it is clearly not enough to find out in-formation via online media, for example.

The European Union continues to be the primary visitorregion of origin, with around 1.7 million potential cus-tomers, above all due to the strong cross-border eco-nomic interrelationship with Germany. Meanwhile,approximately 380,000 visitors came from non-EU Eu-ropean countries, above all Switzerland, Russia andTurkey. In 2014, the greatest numbers of visitors camefrom the Netherlands (245,000), followed by Austria

18


Anuga Cologne

(Koelnmesse

GmbH)


The trend across the Middle East is uneven. While theUnited Arab Emirates had a marked increase at +9%,Iraq in particular, but also Israel as the region's leadingexhibitor in terms of volume, fell considerably behind.A number of EU countries participated at above-aver-age rates. Seven per cent more exhibitors came fromthe UK, 11% more from Poland, 17% more from theCzech Republic, 13% more from Portugal, and 12%more each from Finland and Greece. This demon-strates both the ever increasing interconnectedness ofGerman industry with neighbouring states and thegrowing efforts of Southern European countries to in-crease their exports. Among Europe's non-EU coun-tries, the stability of participation figures from Russia

A marked increase in foreign exhibitors in Germany

The number of foreign exhibitors at German trade fair

venues increased in 2014 by more than has been seen

in the last seven years. The 176 international and na-

tional trade fairs recorded an increase of 5.2% compared

with previous events; a higher figure has not been

achieved since 2007, which saw an increase of 5.3%.

There can be little doubt that the strong demand-driven

market in Germany, where demand is high on the part

of both industry and consumers, is partly responsible.

But it would be safe to assume also that the high num-

ber of foreign visitors to German trade fairs plays a key

role in the decision to exhibit in Germany.

It is worth noting that nearly all continents have con-tributed to this result. Participation from South, Eastand Central Asia, for example, increased by almost6.5%, very nearly as expected. But 4.7% more exhibitorscame from other European countries as well, along with5% more from Latin America and Australia/Oceaniaeach and 4.2% more from North America. The increasefor Africa, however, was 1.5%, considerably below theaverage. From the Middle East there were even 5%fewer exhibitors.

Among Asian countries, the 12% increase from thePeople's Republic of China stands out. After a briefweak phase with a 3.5% increase in exhibitors in2013, Chinese industry is once again placing a strongemphasis on export marketing through trade fairs. Butother countries, such as India (+11%), Indonesia(+10%), the Philippines (+19%) and Vietnam (+17%),also recorded increases in the double-digit range.

19

Review 2014

Opti Munich

(Gesellschaft fr

Handwerksmessen

mbH)


exceptions, however. From North America, the USA(+4%) and Canada (+7%) recorded increasing rates ofparticipation in Germany.

Among the North African countries with their frequentinternal political tensions, some, such as Egypt andTunisia, had stable rates of participation, while others,such as Morocco, had declining rates. South Africa lostabout 10% of its previous exhibitors, while Kenya addedthem at the same rate. Otherwise, the rates of partici-pation from most of the Sub-Saharan countries re-mained at a relatively low level.

Australia and New Zealand each participated at a some-what higher rate than previously; both countries arealso the only ones in their region with a broader rangeof trade fairs. The other countries concentrated heavilyon the tourism sector, as they have in the past.

At 13,494, the People's Republic of China had the mostexhibitors at international and national trade fairs in Ger-many, followed by Italy with 11,800. These were followedby the UK (5,907), France (5,904), the Netherlands(5,694) and the USA (5,450). Next up were Spain (4,212),Austria (3,896), Taiwan (3,800) and Switzerland (3,450).

Austria was represented at the most trade fairs, partici-pating in 168 events, followed by Switzerland (167), theNetherlands (161), France (157), Italy (156) and the UK(155). Among non-European countries, USA took thelead, participating in 144 trade fairs, followed by China(125).

despite political tensions is noteworthy, as is the 13%increase from Ukraine. Turkey, Europe's largest non-EU exhibitor after Switzerland, recorded an increase ofjust under 4% against previous events.

Latin America was characterised more by modest ratesof increase or even declining rates, as in the case ofBrazil; Argentina (+13%) and Columbia (+21%) were

20


Spielwarenmesse

Nuremberg

(Spielwaren-

messe eG)


FKM: More expertise for trade fair planning

Certified trade fair figures are of considerable impor-

tance to exhibitors in Germany: A representative survey

in 2014 revealed that 53% of exhibiting companies re-

gard the certification of data relating to visitor profiles

as important.

Accordingly, the 51 German membersof the FKM (Society for Voluntary Con-trol of Trade Fair and Exhibition Statis-tics) offer considerable amounts of data that provideinformation about the visitor's industry, his function orhis region of origin. In 2014 alone, 161 visitor profiletests were offered for the trade fairs.

The FKM has stepped up its communication efforts inorder to increase awareness of this service. Since autumn2014 it has been publishing the online newsletter FKM-Knowhow, which covers what one can learn from thevisitor profile data, how trade-fair terminology is defined,and how the FKM operates.

Regional exhibitions

The exhibitions with a regional visitor catchment area saw

a slightly positive trend in all indicators. A comparison

with 2013 shows that this market segment has improved

again somewhat.

For the 154 listed exhibitions in 2014, AUMA regis-tered on average 1.4% more exhibitors (2013: -0.6%)compared with the previous events. It is evident thatmore companies are seeking contacts with regionalbusiness partners or private customers. The increasein exhibition space by 2.0% (2013: +1.6%) underscoresthis trend.

The number of visitors increased again by 0.9% (2013:+1.0%). This is indicative of a trend towards growingacceptance of regional exhibitions for private or tradevisitors. The easily navigable market for regional prod-ucts or customers is clearly an interesting addition tobusiness at the national or international level.

The organisers' increasing investments in regionaltrade fair design, participant quality and service are ob-viously eliciting the rate of return they have aimed for.5,887,966 visitors were registered at the 154 regionalevents. A total of 52,602 exhibitors booked 1,507,321 m2

of stand space. Included in the calculations were tradefairs organised in 2014 by members of AUMA andFAMA and listed under AUMA's regional category.

21

Review 2014

Zellcheming

Frankfurt

(MESAGO Messe

Frankfurt GmbH)


Target groups include not only exhibitors but also con-sultants, stand construction companies, associationsand the media. In addition, numerous members referto the FKM certification of their events on the tradefairs' websites or in printed products. This has furtherincreased the prominence of the FKM-certified logoin the exhibition industry.

In 2014, German organisers had the exhibitor, spaceand visitor statistics certified at 203 trade fairs and ex-hibitions. Altogether, 51 German and two foreign tradefair organisers belong to the FKM; two members leftthe organisation in 2014. The two foreign guest mem-bers, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council andthe Verona Trade Fair Company, have had 17 tradefairs audited in total.

International trade fair transparency r Together withother European auditing organisations, the FKM parti-cipated in publishing the Euro Fair Statistics brochure,which is produced by UFI, the Global Association of theExhibition Industry. It contains the audited statistics forsome 2,500 events in 2013. Twenty-two countries tookpart. The FKM is also involved in UFI committees forthe improvement of trade fair transparency at an inter-national level, such as the Associations' Committee andthe Auditing Meeting. In addition, it maintains bilateralcontacts with auditing organisations in other countries.

22


IFAT Munich

(Messe Mnchen

GmbH)


Lobbying andlegal aspects


AUMA referred the results of the survey to the ForeignOffice and used them to formulate requests, such asthat embassies do away with the letter of invitation, atthe forum on visa issues held during the conference ofambassadors. In addition, AUMA will continue to di-rect the attention of the individual embassies and con-sulates that received negative feedback in the survey tothe trade fair visa procedure, and make every effort tobring about an improvement in the procedure.

Information on the topic of trade fair visas is also avail-able online at t auma.de/en/ Legal matters.

Trade fair visas

In July 2014 AUMA conducted a survey among represen-

tatives abroad of the German trade fair companies con-

cerning the visa-issuing practices of German embassies

and consulates. An important point of the survey was

whether trade fair visitors and exhibitors are still being

asked to submit letters of invitation.

Although the German Federal Foreign Office made itclear in a circular issued as early as the summer of 2013,that letters of invitation from trade fair organisers arenot required, nearly one in three of the foreign repre-sentatives who were asked reported that embassies, con-sulates or visa application centres were still demandingletters of invitation from the exhibition companies. Rep-resentatives in China and India are especially likely toface problems in this regard. But in some cases the ap-plicants themselves are responsible for problems in ob-taining visas: missing documents or late applicationfilings are the main sources of such problems.

On the whole, however, it is encouraging that 40% ofthose who were asked reported that the situation ingeneral has improved in recent months. The increasein outsourcing application acceptance to visa applica-tion centres and the inclusion of biometric data in par-ticular have shortened waiting times and enabledapplicants to avoid long-distance travel just to attendthese appointments in person.

25

Review 2014

r Lobbying and legal aspects

Eurobike

Friedrichshafen

(Messe Friedrichs-

hafen GmbH)


DPMA's previous trade fair activities and pointed out pos-sibilities for cooperation between the DPMA and tradefair companies. The DPMA and trade fair companieshave already maintaining joint stands on a regular basisat some trade fairs. But because these are more likely toreach the target group of visitors but not that of exhibi-tors, the DPMA sends mobile task forces to the trade fairsto inform exhibitors of their property rights and of themeans that are available for their enforcement.

Product piracy

The German Patent and Trademark Office in Munich has

decided to step up its activities at trade fairs and to fur-

ther develop its cooperation with the trade fair compa-

nies and AUMA.

AUMA invited a representative of the German Patent andTrademark Office (DPMA) to appear as a speaker at theannual AUMA working group for legal and administra-tive matters. The speaker presented the responsibilitiesof the DPMA to the participants, which in this case in-clude, in particular, preventive strategies in the battleagainst product piracy. He went on to describe the

26

Lobbying and legal aspects

Creativa Dortmund (Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH)

IFA Berlin

(Messe Berlin

GmbH)


AUMA is also a member of the Sustainable Develop-ment Committee of the world trade fair associationUFI. The Committee offered an award in 2014 forBest measurement tool for effective results. The win-ner was the Edinburgh International Conference Cen-tre (EICC). The topic for the next award in 2015 will beInnovative cost savings in the value chain. Partici-pants in the AUMA working group for technology andlogistics also discussed current sustainability measuresat their trade fair venues. A special focus has been laidon the systematic collection and processing of energydata, optimisation of lighting systems, reducing heatconsumption, and significantly increasing the propor-tion of energy derived from renewable sources.

Sustainability in the trade fair industry

Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are

buzzwords that companies in every sort of industry make

frequent use of for public relations purposes. The Ger-

man trade fair industry appears to be rather more re-

served in its approach to the topic. How do things stand

with sustainable entrepreneurial activity in the local

trade fair industry? What options does the industry have,

and what are the difficulties it must confront?

AUMA explored these questions in its contribution toNachhaltiges Veranstaltungsmanagement (SustainableEvent Management), a publication of the German Fe-deral Environmental Foundation (DBU). In short: allGerman trade fair venues are continuing their effortsto systematically implement their internal sustainabi-lity strategies and sustainable operating procedures asa part of their regular modernisation measures. The in-dustry has little interest in so-called greenwashing,however, and often considerably more is being donethan is communicated to the outside world.

27

Review 2014

domotex Hanover (Deutsche Messe AG)

Security Essen

(Messe Essen

GmbH)


Expo-Guide remains active

In 2014 scarcely a day went by on which AUMA did not

receive questions from exhibitors who had mistakenly

signed an order for entry in the online directory of ex-

hibitors Expo-Guide.

AUMA has been advising affected exhibitors for manyyears now and is therefore acquainted with the Expo-Guide methodology. Exhibitors get a letter before thetrade fair in which they are asked to review companydata for the online exhibitor directory Expo-Guideand to complete or correct an enclosed order form.Only in the small print on the order form is a clausestating that the entry costs 1,271 per year for a periodof three years. AUMA advises those affected to refusethe payment requests and not to pay the invoices. ToAUMA's knowledge, Expo-Guide has never yet takenlegal action against non-paying exhibitors.

Under the heading Legal matters at auma.de, AUMAprovides information, help and an extensive summaryof the case law on the topic of fraudulent entry offers.

European standardisation activities in event technology

As early as 2013, the specialist groups concerned de-

cided, following advice from DIN, to petition the Euro-

pean standardisation institution CEN (Comit Europen

de Normalisation) to set up a European committee for

standardisation work in the field of event technology.

This was accepted in spring 2014 by a majority of the

33 countries represented in the CEN.

The inaugural meeting of the new technical committee,CEN/TC 433 Entertainment technology Machinery,equipment and installations, took place on 13 August2014 at the DIN in Berlin. Its goal is to develop stan-dards for machines, technical installations and equip-ment that are used in places of assembly, stage areasand production facilities for events and theatre produc-tions. The standardisation work applies to all machinesand technical installations that are used to lift, lower,hang, move or carry loads (such as curtains, structuralsystems or lighting equipment, film/video and soundequipment). Safety-related requirements for construc-tion, installation, testing and rules for safe use also arecovered.

The supporters of this standardisation project are dif-ferent associations operating in these sectors includingAUMA.

28


Frankfurt Book Fair


extent the implementation of EU sanctions at the na-tional level are being evaluated by the EU institutions,Wolfgang Behrendt explained that the member statesare given a certain amount of latitude when it comes toimplementation.

Concerning the MERCOSUR IPR SME Helpdesk,Paolo Baldan reported that the Helpdesk will be respon-sible for all of Latin America from the middle of 2015.

AUMA's Brussels office

At the end of January 2015, the 15th AUMA Round Table

Brussels took place. One topic was the EU sanctions

against Russia. Representatives of German trade fair

companies and of leading German industrial associa-

tions engaged in dialogue on EU topics and directed

their questions to speakers from EU institutions and Eu-

ropean trade associations.

Gnter Lambertz, director of the DIHK's Brussels office,and Freya Lemcke, AUMA's representative in Brusselssince November 2013, began by presenting the changesin the new commission's structure and its workingmethods. They were followed by Alexandra Bhne fromDIHK Brussels, who provided an overview of the Enter-prise Europe Network (EEN), which offers consultingservices for small and medium-sized companies.

Robin Ratchford from the European Commission's Di-rectorate-General for Trade spoke about trade agree-ments between EU and non-EU countries. Heemphasised that, as a rule, the trade fair industry wasbeing taken into account in all trade agreements as partof the service economy. Wolfgang Behrendt from theEuropean External Action Service, Russia Division,then provided an overview of developments in Ukraineand the EU sanctions against Russia. AUMA explainedthat there is continuing demand from the Germaneconomy for trade fair participation in Russia. The Ger-man Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energyis at present reviewing every federal government-sup-ported trade fair participation in Russia for compatibil-ity with the sanctions. On the question as to which

29

Review 2014

FIBO Cologne

(Reed Exhibitions

Deutschland

GmbH)


rights protection, can be used, for example, at tradefairs to inform exhibitors and visitors about topics re-lating to internationalisation.

Barbara Weizscker, General Secretary of the EEIA (Eu-ropean Exhibition Industry Alliance), summarised theAlliance's activities. She reported that numerous con-tacts had been made with representatives of the EUCommission. For this reason, she said, now is a goodtime to approach the institutions of the EU with any re-quests the trade fair industry might have. Finally,AUMA informed the attendees of new developmentsconcerning the right of withdrawal for purchase agree-ments made at trade fairs, trade fair visas and food sam-ples at trade fairs. In addition, AUMA described thepossible effects on the trade fair industry of the mini-mum wage law that recently came into effect.

For small and medium-sized companies interested ininternational expansion to Latin America, the Helpdeskoffers training courses and workshops in addition togeneral information, videos and e-learning modules.This service, which also includes intellectual property

30


EuroBLECH

Hanover

(Mack Brooks

Exhibitions Ltd.)


31

Institute of the German Trade FairIndustry


In addition, the Institute of the German Trade Fair In-dustry offers lectures and seminars for student groupsand trainees to impress upon the next generation theimportance of trade fairs, and of Germany as a tradefair venue, along with AUMA's activities.

Training and continuing education

A large number of training and continuing education

opportunities are available to the industry. AUMA works

closely with numerous providers. It also supports trade

fair consulting for young, innovative companies.

Commitment to the industry's next generation r AUMAregularly promotes and supports events that organiseactivities aimed at the industry's next generation.AUMA takes an active role as sponsor or patron, andactively contributes with lectures, workshops and po-dium discussions. The conventions are aimed at trai-nees, students, agencies, service providers, teachers,lecturers and other people with an interest in the tradefair or event industry. In 2014 AUMA took part inMEET Hamburg and Forum VIA in Muenster. Theseevents include industry exhibits, location tours and eve-ning events.

In addition, the Institute of the German Trade Fair In-dustry organises practical projects to be completed bystudents and/or trainees. On 12 June 2014, during theMEXCON event convention in Berlin, AUMA extendedan invitation to a podium discussion on the topic Gen-eration Y and its future prospects in the event indus-try's labour market. AUMA was assisted by six traineeevent managers from Berlin's OberstufenzentrumHandel 1 school.

33

Review 2014

r Institute of the German Trade Fair Industry

EMO Hanover

(German Machine

Tool Builders

Asoociation

VDW)


Research

AUMA_MesseTrend 2015 exhibitor survey r The AUMA_MesseTrend, an annual survey of exhibiting Germancompanies, was conducted for the sixteenth time in au-tumn 2014. Once again TNS Infratest asked 500 repre-sentatively selected companies about their trade fairactivities (for details about MesseTrend t page 15).

AUMA study on consumer exhibitions as a leisure oppor-

tunity r Roughly half of the German population over theage of 14 (48%) at least occasionally visits consumer exhi-bitions to find out about the latest products or services fortheir hobbies or households. Consumer exhibitions rankhigh in importance when it comes to organising one's freetime, as a source of information and for shopping, espe-cially in light of the fact that exhibitions are not availablewhenever or wherever one might wish. That was the con-clusion of a representative survey of 1,000 persons publis-hed in 2014 which AUMA commissioned from TNSEmnid. The analysis was performed by the Leipzig Gra-duate School of Management.

Consumer shows enjoy the highest level of acceptanceamong 30- to 59-year-olds, 54% of whom make use ofthis type of events at least occasionally; that figure is41% among 14- to 29-year-olds and just under 45%among those over 60 years of age. For 73% of visitorsthe theme of the event is the central consideration whenthey decide to attend an exhibition, followed in impor-tance by the atmosphere of the event (36%), access toinformation and advice (29%), and infrastructure (27%).These priorities on the part of visitors also show organ-isers and exhibitors where they can best apply their ef-

Teaching responsibilities at universities and technical col-

leges r Two of the Institute of the German Trade FairIndustrys most important aims are to integrate thetopic of trade fairs into general economics study pro-grammes and to expand the network to include moreuniversities. For this purpose, numerous teaching re-sponsibilities were taken on across Germany in 2014.

The various topics covered ranged from AUMA's tasksand functions to developments in the trade fair marketand research results, to the importance of trade fairs inmarketing, and to the Trade Fair Benefit Check.

AUMA also speaks to visitor groups from universitiesand technical colleges in Berlin, and introduces themto the German Trade Fair Library.In addition to thelectures, AUMA regularly compiles work and study ma-terial for universities and technical colleges, which isused in seminars and may be cited in trade literature.

34

Institute of the German Trade Fair Industry

Light+Building

Frankfurt

(Messe Frankfurt

GmbH)


Study on the behaviour and profiles of trade visitors r

Most visitors to German specialist trade fairs achievethe objectives they set for themselves. In total, 72% saidthat they have done well or very well in achieving theirobjectives, while another 23% report that they havedone so to at least some extent. Just 3% state that theyhave not achieved their objectives at all.

These are the results of a study on the behaviour and pro-files of trade visitors to German exhibitions that wascommissioned by AUMA's Institute of the GermanTrade Fair Industry. For the study, trade fair organisersprovided the results of trade visitor surveys for nearly 190events. This meant that the study had interviews with163,000 visitors to German trade fairs to draw upon. TNSInfratest took charge of the secondary analytical evalua-tion. This was the most extensive study of its type.

forts to make the exhibitions even more attractive. At-tracting more young visitors is also at the top of theagenda. Consumer shows face stiff competition fromother recreational or shopping options. This is borne outin particular by the survey of non-visitors, a group thatcomprises 52% of the German population over the ageof 14. Seventy-five per cent of non-visitors state that otherleisure activities are more interesting, and 70% findshopping in the city centre more attractive.

35

Review 2014

Eunique Karlsruhe

(Karlsruher Messe-

und Kongress

GmbH)Boatfit Bremen (Messe Bremen GmbH)


German Trade Fair Library

For anyone looking for information on the subjects of

trade fairs, conventions or events, the German Trade Fair

Library in Berlin offers an extensive range of services.

The library helps students, teachers and other interestedparties find suitable publications and answers to questionsrelating to any aspect of trade fairs, conventions, or livecommunication in general. Its proximity to AUMA's var-ious departments and contact persons offers the oppor-tunity for a direct exchange of information.

The German Trade Fair Library, which AUMA has beenbuilding up as a special library since 1997, now com-prises some 8,350 media resources, including 900 sci-entific degree theses. AUMA was again most successfulin reaching students and instructors in the field of tradefair and event management with this service facility in2014. But consultants, journalists and employees ofevent organisers and trade fair service providers also vis-ited the library or submitted research questions. Alto-gether, some 280 visits were counted in 2014 and, as inthe year before, more than 600 research questions wereanswered. The number of loans increased threefoldagainst 2012.

On the whole, the results of these trade visitor surveysattest to how highly effective German trade fairs are.Visiting trade fairs in Germany brings great benefitsthat motivate further visits and recommendations toothers. Generally speaking, the high importance of rec-ommendations is one of the key findings of this study.This holds true not only for the recommendations oflong-time visitors to colleagues or acquaintances. Rec-ommendations are also an important source of infor-mation on which to base a decision to visit a trade fair.One third of visitors became aware of a trade fair as aresult of a positive reference from a colleague or ac-quaintance. Next in importance, at 25%, was informa-tion from the exhibitors. Seventeen per cent soughtinformation on the internet beforehand; 15% becameaware of the trade fair through an article or advertisingin current media, 14% through trade press.

36

Institute of the German Trade Fair Industry


Exhibitionsabroad


with 27), Spain is in sixth place with 18 trade fairs. OtherEuropean countries with numerous competing tradefairs include Switzerland (12) and the Netherlands (10).

German trade fairs' main competitors in Europe r Of allthe competing trade fairs, two thirds take place in Eu-rope, predominantly in EU countries. Twenty per centof competing trade fairs are held in the USA, while

Competition at the international level

The world economy grew by 3.3% in 2014 against the

previous year. Newly industrialised countries and devel-

oping economies experienced growth of 4.4%, while the

developed economies grew as a group by 1.8%. These

figures are based on calculations by the International

Monetary Fund (IMF). For 2015 the IMF expects global

economic growth of 3.5%. In the eurozone a slight rise

in economic output (1.2%) is predicted for 2015, while

growth of 3.6% is predicted for the USA. Despite a some-

what weaker economy, the newly industrialised coun-

tries continue to develop at an above-average pace. For

many exporters, China continues to be the most impor-

tant market in Asia. These trends are also having an im-

pact on the various trade fair markets.

For a number of years now, AUMA has been monitor-ing foreign trade fairs competing with events in Ger-many. It therefore asked all organisers of internationaltrade fairs in Germany who their most important com-petitors were abroad. Worldwide, some 340 competingtrade fairs of particular relevance were identified. Ger-man trade fairs continue to see substantial competitionin the developed markets. Over a four-year period(20102013), during which all of the international tradefairs in Germany and abroad took place at least once,there were 71 trade fairs in the US, 54 in Italy and 54 inFrance that were in competition with the internationaltrade fairs in Germany. After the UK and China (each

39

Review 2014

r Exhibitions abroad


to underscore their leading position in the 2010 to 2013cycle. The competing foreign trade fairs had 69% of thenet exhibition space, 79% of the exhibitors and 81% ofthe visitors of the average trade fair in Germany. Ac-cordingly, the three most important indicators for a no-tional average competing foreign trade fair are asfollows: 35,643 m2 of net exhibition space, 925 ex-hibitors and 58,045 visitors. It should be taken into ac-count that the international and national trade fairsegment in Germany comprises more than 200 events,whereas the foreign competitors mentioned belong toa relatively small top bracket in their own countries.

every seventh one is held in Asia, including the MiddleEast. There were no significant shifts compared withthe previous year, although the competing trade fairsin France, the Netherlands and Spain mentioned abovedid decline in number somewhat.

Two thirds of foreign trade fairs are capital goods fairs,one quarter are consumer goods fairs for trade visitors.The other events are consumer goods fairs for the gen-eral public and service fairs. Although internationalcompetition has been trending upward, the interna-tional and national trade fairs in Germany continued

40

Exhibitions abroad

Hong Kong

Convention and

Exhibition Centre


AUMA constituted the basis of the programme. Twenty-eight participations were added for the first time, elevenfewer than in the previous year.

In 2014 the German pavilion at Arab Health in Dubaicontinued to be the trade fair participation with the mostparticipants (273). Once again the largest German parti-cipations, as measured by occupied space, were the Ger-man pavilions at the CPM Collection Premiere Moscow international fashion fair in spring (7,146 m2) and au-tumn (5,962 m2).

The heaviest concentration of the 245 completed par-ticipations continued to be in South, East and CentralAsia with 110 German pavilions (44.9%), followed bythe European states outside the European Union (55participations), the Middle East with 27 and NorthAmerica with 24 participations. Latin America, with

Support for German exhibitors abroad

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and

Energy's 2014 foreign trade fair programme has once

again made a key contribution to the success of German

exports, particularly in difficult and distant regions. The

involvement of industry associations in the selection of

trade fairs ensures a demand-oriented and efficient use

of resources.

The 2014 foreign trade fair programme at a glance r Of the270 participations (2013: 287) that the Federal Ministryfor Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) included in itsforeign trade fair programme for 2014, 245 participationswere realised. The excellent 91% realisation rate of pre-vious years was achieved yet again. The main reason forthe smaller number of inclusions in the schedule is that,with financial resources remaining constant, rising costshad to be kept under control in various regions of theworld.

The number of participants declined in 2014 by 294 ex-hibitors, to 7,154 exhibitors (-4% against 2013). Occupiedspace in all German pavilions together amounted to147,810 m in 2014 (2013: 159,906 m2). The average Ger-man pavilion with company participation counted about30 exhibitors on 546 m2 of stand space. Based on thesefigures, average exhibition space per participant (inclu-ding participants in information centres) was approxima-tely 18 m2.

The 2014 foreign trade fair programme supported exhi-bitors from 64 industries. Participation applications, mostnotably from industry associations, coordinated by

41

Review 2014

COSMOPROF

Worldwide,

Bologna


German pavilions online r Since the beginning of 2015the internet portal for German joint participations at fo-reign trade fairs, located at t german-pavilion.com, hassported a fresh new look and a new design concept. It of-fers an overview of the export-oriented German compa-nies that participate in international trade fairs under theforeign trade fair programme of the Federal Ministry forEconomic Affairs and Energy, and the Federal Ministryof Food and Agriculture. Contact information, productsand exhibitor profiles are brought together on a singlepage so that users can find the information they are loo-king for with just a few clicks.

Programme for food and agriculture r German exhibi-tors from the agricultural products and food sectors re-ceive support abroad from the Federal Ministry of Foodand Agriculture (BMEL). With a budget of 5.3 mil-lion, the ministry was involved in 22 foreign trade fairsin 2014, seven of which were in South, East and CentralAsia and another seven of which were in Europeancountries outside the European Union. German exhi-bitors were able to take part in three BMEL participati-ons in North America, and another two in the MiddleEast. There was one such participation each within theEuropean Union, in Latin America and in Africa. Since2014, AUMA has taken charge of coordinating the in-terests of the industry with a procedure similar to thatlong practised with the foreign trade fair programmeof the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs andEnergy.

only thirteen German pavilions, suffered another de-cline in the number of participations compared withthe previous year. Import restrictions, which have beenin force in Brazil for some years now, are being en-forced more vigorously. This has had an impact on theinterest of foreign companies in trade fair participation.

Forty-two countries, 39 of them outside the EuropeanUnion, were represented in the BMWi foreign tradefair programme for 2014, as in the previous year. Thelargest number of participations took place in China(55) and Russia (39), followed by the USA with 23, theUnited Arab Emirates with 20 and India with 17. Thenumber of participations in China therefore increasedonce more against the previous year (2013: 49). Forcyclical reasons there were, on the other hand, far fewerparticipations in Russia, with 39 German pavilions,than in 2013 (Russia in 2013: 50).

42

Exhibitions abroad


Foreign trade fairs with German organisers

German trade fair organisers have again stepped up their

event organising activities abroad. In 2014, 21 AUMA

and FAMA members conducted 303 trade fairs outside

Germany based on concepts modelled on the standards

of leading international trade fairs in Germany. That was

26 more than in the year before.

Because of the high number of new trade fairs, but alsobecause of the growth in existing events, remarkable in-creases in the key performance indicators were achieved.About 3.7 million m2 of net exhibition space (2013: ap-proximately 3 million m2) were used by more than124,000 exhibitors (2013: approximately 109,000). At 7.3million, the number of visitors remained nearly constantcompared with the previous year (7.4 million) despite anincrease in the number of events labeled with GTQ (Ger-man Trade Fair Quality Abroad). This was attributableto a cyclical decline in the number of consumer shows.

2015 foreign trade fair programme r The BMWi's fo-reign trade fair programme for 2015 was discussed andsettled on in spring and autumn of 2014 in the workinggroup for foreign trade fair participation at AUMA by theassociations and leading organisations of German indus-try, the competent federal ministries, and other institu-tions of the federal government. Further participationswere subsequently added at the beginning of 2015.

The foreign trade fair programme for 2015 comprises248 trade fair participations. 42.5 million has beenmade available for this. The largest number of partici-pations are once again planned for China, with 52 Ger-man pavilions altogether (including seven in HongKong). Following in second place with 33 planned jointstands is Russia. The United Arab Emirates (23 partici-pations), the USA (21 participations) and India (18 par-ticipations) are likewise important target markets in the2015 foreign trade fair programme.

43

Review 2014

New York

Javits Center

Swisstech, Basel


Three consumer exhibitions in 2014 were the most vis-ited GTQ events: Auto China (850,000 visitors), theCDMS Chengdu Motor Show (674,500) and theWuhan Motor Show (452,000 visitors). Behind thesethree consumer shows, bauma China, as the first capitalgoods fair, took fourth place as ranked by the numberof visitors with 189,732 attendees.

Trade fairs in China dominate the GTQ calendar: with90 trade fairs, China's share of all registered trade fairswas 30%. Its share of the key figures was even morestriking: 56% of the net exhibition space (= about 2 mil-lion m2), 50% of exhibitors and 63% of visitors. TheGTQ trade fairs held in China therefore once againturned out to be disproportionately large in 2014.

With 45 trade fairs, which is 15% of all events, moreGTQ trade fairs were held in India in 2014 than in Rus-sia. Trade fairs in India accounted for a disproportion-ately small share of the key figures, however. India'sshare of exhibition space was over 4% in 2014 (approx-imately 160,000 m2), its share of visitors was just under5%, and its share of exhibitors was around 6%.

Trade fairs in Russia amounted to 12% of the GTQ cal-endar for 2014 (37 trade fairs), two trade fairs fewer thanin 2013. The indicators therefore declined slightly. Rus-sia's share of the total figures was a good 12% for space(almost half a million square metres), around 13% for

The trade fairs with the most exhibitors once again tookplace in China. 5,036 exhibitors were represented at the2014 Automechanika Shanghai. The number of ex-hibitors at the Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Autumn Edition reached 3,844. There were more than3,000 exhibitors at bauma China (3,098) and CHI-NAPLAS (3,068). These four trade fairs were all held inShanghai. They were followed by the Guangzhou Inter-national Lighting Exhibition in Canton (2,621 ex-hibitors) and the CIHS China International HardwareShow in Shanghai (2,610 exhibitors). Outside China, thetrade fair with the most exhibitors was PRODEXPO inMoscow (2,289 exhibitors).

44

Exhibitions abroad

Prolight+Sound,

Guangzhou


World expos

EXPO 2015 r Under the guiding theme Feeding thePlanet Energy for Life, a major world expositionopened its gates on 1 May 2015 in the Italian metropolisof Milan. The EXPO management is expecting some 24million visitors by 31 October 2015. 145 countries areparticipating in the Expo, including 93 nations that haveset up their own pavilions to show what they can con-tribute to sustainable global nutrition.

In keeping with the guiding theme of EXPO 2015, Ger-many is demonstrating its effectiveness and skill-find-ing solutions in dealing with issues relating to climateprotection and the transition to sustainable energy. Thefocus in the German pavilion is on the topics of land-scape, agriculture and lifestyle. The Federal Ministry forEconomic Affairs and Energy commissioned a consor-

the number of exhibitors and around 7% for visitors. Theeffects of the conflict in Ukraine and the ensuing sanc-tions on trade fair size have been relatively slight so far.

Turkey and the USA were represented with 19 trade fairseach in 2014. Nineteen trade fairs also took place inBrazil in 2013; in 2014, owing partly to cancellations andpartly to cyclical effects, there were only 10 events.

19 AUMA and FAMA members intend to hold 312 tradefairs on all continents in 2015. China remains the mostimportant market for German organisers with 43 tradefairs; India (43) and Russia (42) are nearly equal as meas-ured by the number of GTQ trade fairs. There are plansfor 22 trade fairs in Turkey, 17 in the USA, 15 in theUnited Arab Emirates, 13 trade fairs in Brazil and 9 inJapan. Thailand, despite a political crisis, is representedwith seven planned trade fairs, South Africa with six.

45

Review 2014

German Pavilion

for EXPO 2015,

Milan

LASER INDIA, Bangalore


tium of the companies Milla & Partner in Stuttgart,Schmidhuber in Munich and Nssli Deutschland in Roth(near Nuremberg) to design the German pavilion. MesseFrankfurt is in charge of organising the EXPO pavilion.

EXPO 2017 r Kazakhstan became the first Central Asiancountry to have its capital city, Astana, chosen as the venuefor a so-called small world expo. Numerous nations andorganisations will devote themselves to the guiding themeof Energy for the Future from 10 June to 10 September2017. The organiser expects roughly 5 million visitors.

EXPO 2020 r The Emirate of Dubai in the United ArabEmirates will host EXPO 2020. This is the first time inthe history of world expositions that an Arab countrywill be the host. It is planned to run from 20 October2020 to 10 April 2021. This decision was made by theBureau International des Exposition (BIE) in Paris inNovember 2013. With the guiding theme ConnectingMinds, Creating the Future, Dubai was able to prevailover its competitors Yekaterinburg, Izmir and SoPaulo. The EXPO site is to be built near Dubai's airportin the direction of Abu Dhabi for around 4.8 billion.Twenty-five million visitors are expected, 70% of themfrom abroad.

Large world expos are held every five years over a periodof six months.

46

Exhibitions abroad

German Pavilion

for EXPO 2015,

Milan


Marketing,media andevents


Trade Fairs Made in Germany was also made avail-able on all information stands at exhibitions listed inthe foreign trade fair programme.

Trade Fairs Made in Germany brochure r The increa-sed use of the online content through links all over theworld has resulted in a decline in requests for printed in-formation. The brochure was published in a print run ofjust under 80,000 copies in German, English, Spanishand French. In addition, more than 65,000 copies havebeen produced in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese,Greek, Farsi, Korean and Russian in cooperation with

Marketing for German trade fairs

In addition to the international marketing efforts of

German trade fair organisers, AUMA is promoting Trade

fairs made in Germany all over the world and, under

the label GTQ (German Trade Fair Quality Abroad), the

trade fairs of German organisers abroad.

Information on German trade fairs r Detailed informa-tion, such as statistical data, on trade fairs conducted byGerman organisers is once again in strong demand. Justunder 200 requests from diplomatic missions and Ger-man chambers of commerce abroad, as well as from fo-reign diplomatic missions in Germany, were answeredin 2014. These were predominantly requests for specialanalyses of statistics on foreign exhibitors and visitors tointernational trade fairs in Germany.

The number of links to information provided byAUMA, especially to the quadrilingual trade fair data-base, remained as high as ever. Roughly 250 institutionsaround the world, including, for example, German em-bassies and general consulates along with Germanchambers of commerce abroad, refer on their websitesto t auma.de.

In all, more than 550 multipliers of information aroundthe world use information from AUMA on Germanyas a trade fair venue in their brochures or online con-tent, particularly the foreign representatives of Germantrade fair organisers, German diplomatic missions andGerman chambers of commerce abroad. The brochure

49

Review 2014

r Marketing, media and events

Trade Fairs in Germany 2014

Information NetworkNumber of Offices

Australia/Oceania

11

Europe(Non EU)70

MiddleEast37

NorthAmerica

25

LatinAmerica

52

Africa38

EU178

South-East-Central-Asia140


Pro trade fair marketing

Trade fairs offer companies a complete market overview,

display product innovations and bring key decision-

makers together. Those are the statements in the new

advertising campaign that AUMA is placing in the daily

press and the business press, for example. This is a con-

tinuation of the pro-trade fair promotional campaign

that first got under way in 2007.

AUMA supports German trade fair organisers in theirmarketing to promote trade fairs as a marketing instru-ment with numerous measures and creates additionalattention. A central focus of the Success throughTrade Fairs advertising campaign is the strengths spe-cific to the instrument of trade fairs.

The campaign is targeted especially at small andmedium-sized companies with the objective of motivat-ing them to participate in trade fairs. The main focus

German chambers of commerce abroad and other part-ners. The brochure is also available as an e-paper in Rus-sian. An informational flyer in Japanese promotes anonline database in English.

In addition to dates for international and national Ger-man trade fairs along with their focus and statistics, thepublication contains basic information on Germanytrade fairs venue. It emphasises the advantages of Ger-many trade fairs, such as internationality, professiona-lism of the organisers and top-notch infrastructure.

Promotional film Trade Fairs Made in Germany r Withits location in the heart of Europe and excellent infra-structure, Germany, the world's leading trade fairvenue, offers ideal conditions for presenting innovati-

ons. At trade fairs, where peoplemeet and talk to one another, newideas emerge and economic sectorsreceive critical stimuli. These are themessages of the two-and-a-half-mi-nute-long promotional film TradeFairs made in Germany.

It is primarily available to the infor-mation agencies for German tradefairs abroad. More than 400 copieswere ordered in 2014. The film isavailable as a DVD in nine languageversions.

50

Marketing, media and events


New toolbox with trade fair tips for exhibitors

Trade fairs have lost none of their importance even in

the online age. Many exhibitors are pursuing even more

trade fair objectives today than they were a few years

ago. But maximum trade fair success is only to be had

with thorough preparation using the right tools.

For this reason, AUMA developed a new, freely-availa-ble website, t toolbox.auma.de, in 2014. It providestips, check lists, trade fair data, and the updated TradeFair Benefit Check. Four mutually independent toolshelp exhibitors prepare their trade fair participations.

is on the decision-makers in management and in de-partments dealing with sales, marketing and trade fairs.The Success through Trade Fairs campaign displaysthe term trade fair, which is equated with the typicalaspects of trade fair participation and supplemented byarguments promoting the benefits of trade fairs. Thethemes for 2014 were success, communication, cus-tomers and innovation.

In alternating locations all across Germany, large-scaleposters were to be seen on ICE train platforms, andposters bearing motifs of the campaign travelled on therear surfaces of trucks. Other componentsof the campaign included banner advertis-ing on online portals along with GoogleAdWords. In addition, AUMA placed text-stopper ads in national dailies and businessweeklies.

Trade fair organisers with AUMA member-ship made considerable use of the advertis-ing motifs for their trade fair cataloguesand customer magazines.

51

Review 2014


Online communication

Trade fair data and dates, industry data, practical tips and

information about trade fair markets are offered on the

AUMA website. The portal all about trade fair planning

everything from trade fair research to success monitoring

available to all interested parties free of charge.

Data relating to some 5,000 trade fairs in Germany andabroad are available in the AUMA trade fair database.In 2014 the website logged about 2.36 million pageviews and some 490,000 visits. Two thirds of its totaltraffic is attributable to the trade fair database, inclu-ding its use in English, French and Spanish. For mostof the trade fairs in Germany the database contains, inaddition to dates and key performance figures, precisedata on visitor profiles that show potential exhibitorsand visitors which trade fairs are the ones where theywill be most likely to achieve their objectives. The tradefair database also offers approximately 5,000 addressesof organisers, service providers, public authorities,trade fair organisations and audit firms for trade fairstatistics in Germany and abroad.

MyFairs trade fair data to go r AUMA trade fair datahas been available for use on mobile devices since 2010.In addition to the iPhone application an Android ver-sion has been available since 2015. With MyFairs userscan search for trade fairs by location or region, title, date,organiser or industry. MyFairs is available for free fromthe App Store in German and English.

The Messe fit section serves as a guide through everyphase of trade fair preparation and follow-up in 10 com-pact and clearly laid-out steps. In the Trade Fair Plansection, users can compile their own selection of tradefairs and put together a personal trade fair plan alongwith statistical material. The Trade Fair Benefit Checkincludes financial aspects of trade fair participation.This software allows exhibitors to compare the costs andbenefits of trade fair participation to determine whethersuch participation will pay off. Instructional videos inthe Trade Fair Benefit Check Trainer make thingseasier for newcomers and explain the programme.

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Annual meeting of the trade fair industry in Charlottenburg Palace

AUMA invited the trade fair industry to the annual

industry meeting scheduled for 27 May 2014, this time

in Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin.

Walter Mennekes, chairman of AUMA, welcomed theroughly 400 guests, among whom were representativesof trade fair organisers, contractors, and exhibitingcompanies along with associations, politicians and themedia. The trade fair industry and trade fair organisersin Germany are not doing badly, many, in fact, aredoing well, he stated. But German industry could usea few more euros for the foreign trade fair pro-gramme, said Mennekes, appealing to the govern-ment. The goal is a substantial budget increase in the

Blog r Since 2013 AUMA has hosted a blog on whichmembers can comment on developments and experi-ences relating to trade fairs and trade fair participations.But it also provides insight into the work of the tradefair association. The objective of the blog is to promotedialogue with all of the partners who shape the trade fairmarket, particularly exhibiting companies, event orga-nisers, trade fair visitors and service providers. To datemore than 100 contributions have been published.

Twitter r More than 1,200 tweets were sent over the Ger-man- and English-language Twitter channels. By the be-ginning of 2015 the number of followers had increasedto just under 1,130, a large number of whom were tradefair organisers, associations andindustry organisations, mediarepresentatives and providers oftrade fair services.

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Review 2014


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Participation in international conventions

2014 UFI convention in Bogot r The annual conventionof the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry(UFI) took place in Bogot from 29 to 31 October 2014with more than 300 participants. AUMA was represen-ted by Dr. Peter Neven, Managing Director of AUMAand Deputy Chairman of the Associations' Committeeof the UFI, Marco Spinger, Director of the Global Mar-kets division, and Olaf Banse, AUMA correspondent forLatin America. Latin America is not one trade fair mar-ket but is divided into many regional markets with fourcountries of primary interest: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina

medium term, as budgetary stagnation would put jobsin medium-sized exporting business in jeopardy andultimately weaken the Made in Germany brand.

In the previous members' meeting, AUMA chose twonew board members: Dr. Isabella-Afra Holst, SeniorVice President Strategic Marketing at Software AG,Darmstadt, as a representative of Federal Associationfor Information Technology, Telecommunications andNew Media (BITKOM), and Dr. Roland Fleck, Manag-ing Director of NrnbergMesse GmbH, who replacesformer board member Peter Ottmann, Managing Di-rector of NrnbergMesse GmbH.

New at the AUMA board: Dr. Roland Fleck (left) and Dr. Isabella-Afra

Holst with AUMA chairman Walter Mennekes

Andrs Lpez Valderrama, new UFI president,

and Dr. Peter Neven, AUMA managing director


AUMA was represented by Marco Spinger, Director ofAUMA's Global Markets division. At ASPERAPI's re-quest he explained the efforts of German exhibition or-ganisers and exhibitors in Asia, with a special focus onthe ASEAN countries.

CEFCO China Expo Forum in Kunming r Under the mottoInitiation Cooperation Win-Win, the China ExpoForum for International Cooperation (CEFCO) took placefrom 15 to 17 January 2015 in Kunming, the capital ofthe province of the same name. More than five hundredrepresentatives of the Chinese trade fair industry and fo-reign trade fair organisers and associations took part inthe event. The convention was organised by the ChinaCouncil for the Promotion of International Trade(CCPIT) in conjunction with UFI and the American tradefair associations IAEE and SISO. AUMA was representedby Marco Spinger, Director of the GlobalMarkets division, who explained the fo-reign strategy of German trade fair or-ganisers in an international discussiongroup. German trade fair organisers seeChina as Asia's most important tradefair country by far, next to Thailand andIndonesia in the ASEAN region. Anot-her target region is Brazil, but othercountries on the Latin American conti-nent are as well.

and, increasingly, Columbia, said the new UFI presi-dent and head of the exhibition center in Bogot, AndrsLpez Valderrama, in summarising the trade fair indus-try on the subcontinent. Even important trade fairs inthis part of the Americas are visited predominantly byinterested parties from the region, he reported. Onlygradually would trade fairs develop that would appeal tovisitors from other Latin American countries. Of criticalimportance for the development of the trade fair indus-try is the training of professional trade fair managersand, in many cases, bringing about an increase in mo-dern exhibition capacity, he said. The convention inclu-ded an extensive programme of lectures and discussionsunder the motto Fit for Competition.

In addition, numerous committee meetings took place,among them the regional chapter and the Associations'Committee, in which Dr. Peter Neven was re-elected tohis position as Deputy Chairman. The next UFI conven-tion will take place in Milan from 4 to 7 November 2015.

Indonesian Exhibition Forum r On 12 June 2014 the In-donesia Exhibition Forum took place in the Jakarta Con-vention Center. Some 100 representatives of the tradefair organisers, service providers and government insti-tutions active in Indonesia took part in the trade fair se-minar organised by the exhibition industry associationASPERAPI. The one-day lecture and networking eventdemonstrated the level of interest among trade fair orga-nisers and exhibition venue operators as well as on thepart of the country's competent tourism ministry in fur-ther development of the domestic trade fair market.

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Review 2014

Marco Spinger, director of AUMAs Global Market division explains the foreign

strategies of German exhibition organisers


given by exhibition and marketing experts from acade-mia and the professional world. Best-practice examplesand new perspectives intended to give impetus to thetrade fair industry rounded out the event.

AUMA was represented by its managing director Dr.Peter Neven and the managers Bettina Rosenbach andChristine Zander.

International Trade Fair Seminar in Salzburg r The 46th In-ternational Trade Fair Seminar took place in Salzburgfrom 28 June to 1 July 2014 with some 130 trade fair pro-fessionals from Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.The Trade Fair Seminar is an annual event that brings to-gether members of the Austrian organisers' association,the Swiss association Expo-Event, and the Association ofGerman Trade Fair Organisers (IDFA), and rotates amongthese countries. The programme included lectures on awide range of topics that went beyond trade fair operations,such as body language, healthy nutrition, borderline expe-riences and leadership. Taking part from AUMA were thedirectors Harald Ktter and Marco Spinger and the mana-ger Heike Schttle. In 2015 the 47th International TradeFair Seminar will take place in Leipzig.

UFI Education Committee r On 30 October 2014, BettinaRosenbach, manager at AUMA for training and conti-nuing education, was elected Vice Chair of the UFI'sEducation Committee during the UFI Congress in Bo-got. The Chair is Dr. Enrica Baccini of the FondazioneFiera Milano. The committees task is to promote inter-national training and continuing education in the tradefair industry.

International Summer University 2014 r From 4 to 6June 2014, the International Summer University forTrade Fair Management (ISU) took place for the sixthtime in Cologne. Seventy participants and 13 speakersfrom 17 countries took part in the event, which was sup-ported by the University of Cologne's Institute for theExhibition Industry in cooperation with the Global As-sociation of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) and AUMA.It was hosted by Koelnmesse. Under the title Visitor(R)evolution, the visitor was the central topic of thelectures, workshops and discussion groups: how is hisinterest aroused, how does one approach him, how doesone satisfy him, how is his behaviour changing?

Also discussed were the four identified megatrends inthe trade fair industry: globalisation, community ma-nagement, digitalisation, and sustainable growth werediscussed throughout the three-day event in the lectures

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r Promotional film: Trade fairs made in Germany

The promotional film highlights the strengths of tradefairs as a medium and the quality and effectiveness ofGerman trade fairs. The DVD, which lasts 2 minutes,includes the German, Chinese, English, French, Japan-ese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish language versions.

r World expo architecture

Dreamed, planned, built demolished. By Dr. ThomasSchriefers. Publ. AUMA. Rasch Verlag, Bramsche. 432pages. Published in German 2015. 78.00.

r AUMA_Online

AUMA provides the following information online: aglobal trade fair database in four languages, tips for ex-hibitors, information on funding programmes, key per-formance indicators for the sector, training, research,German Trade Fair Library. Available on t auma.de.

r MyFairs - The Trade Fair Data Manager as an app

AUMA Trade fair database to go. Available in Germanand English free of charge. For iOS 7 and Android 4.4or higher.

r MesseMediaGuide 2015

Information for the media: trade fairs, organisers and ex-hibition sites in Germany with contact details. 116 pages.Print and PDF versions. Published annually in German.

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Review 2014

r AUMA media at a glance

AUMA media

r Review The German trade fair industry

Overview of the trade fair activities by German businessand the work of AUMA as the German trade fair indus-try association. Published annually in German (May)and English (August).

r The German trade fair industry:

facts, functions, outlook.

AUMA_Statement, 5th revised edition. Published inGerman and English in 2013.

r Portrait: AUMA Serving the trade fair industry

Information on the work, organisation and members ofAUMA. Published in German and English in 2015.

r German trade fair industry figures 2015

Published 2015 in German and English.


r AUMA_Toolbox

All aspects of trade fair participation for exhibitors. 10steps to achieving success at trade fairs. How to makethe most of the AUMA trade fair database incl. TradeFair Benefit Check and check lists t toolbox.auma.de

r AUMA_Trade Fair Benefit Check

Software for planning, calculating and evaluating par-ticipation in a trade fair. Available free of charge in Ger-man, English, French and Spanish. With instructionalvideos introducing how to use the software. Version2.3, published 2010. Only on the Internet: t auma.de

Other AUMA publications are available att auma.de / English / Downloads & Publications

AUMA media

r German Trade Fair

Quality Abroad

Directory of trade fairs held abroad byGerman organisers. Titles, dates andorganisers of around 315 trade fairson all the continents. Published annu-ally in November in German and Eng-lish.

r Trade fairs made in Germany

in 2015/2016

International and national trade fairsin Germany with dates, areas of focus,statistical data and index. Published an-nually each autumn in Arabic, Chi-nese, English, French, German, Greek,Korean, Portuguese, Russian andSpanish.

r AUMA_practice: Successful participation

in trade fairs part 1: The basics

Detailed information for exhibitors from choosing atrade fair to assessing success brochure with largenumbers of images and PowerPoint presentation. Pu-blished in German and English. January 2014. Only onthe Internet: t auma.de

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Organisation


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