A Letter From Wiesbaden...
Jerry Kallman -- Tradeshow Week, 6/14/2004
Jerry Kallman, managing director of Kallman Global Consulting, recently attended the annual meeting of AUMA and delivered this report.
The elite of the German exhibition industry gathered in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, on June 1–2 for the eighth annual Assn. of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) MesseForum to examine the question, "Are German Trade Fairs Ready for the Future?"
More than 400 senior executives from the host country were joined by a contingent of CEOs from fair organizing firms in Poland, Czech Republic, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain and Hungary. Union des Foires Internationales President Ruud van Ingen was among the participants.
The program at the elegant Kurhaus in this city of thermal baths and health spas got off to a lively start when Lovro Mandac, CEO of Kaufhof Warenhaus, Germany's leading department store chain, described the dynamics of meeting consumer expectations in a rapidly changing and unpredictable selling environment. The broad lessons for exhibition organizers seemed to be: Don't shy away from innovation, don't fear change and know your customer.
Norbert Stoeck of Roland Berger and Partners, a leading European market consultancy, picked up on the same theme when discussing "Do You Have Enough Courage for New Strategies?" Both speakers alluded to the discouraging economic conditions today in Germany and coupled that with heightened consumer (i.e., exhibitor and visitor) expectations. Stoeck's advice was to step up customer relationship management, enhance nonspace revenue production and make the tradeshow a one-stop shopping experience for the professional trade visitor.
A realistic appraisal of what he termed global "hypo-competition" introduced Kurt Troll's presentation. An academic, he asserted that customers seek competence, something best demonstrated through knowledge of the problems or customers' needs. Then one must show the ability to meet those needs, followed by a willingness to customize a solution that is then presented through personal interaction.
The weighty approach to exhibition industry problem-solving was relieved by a clever vaudeville-type satire, played out on stage by an ensemble in an imaginary Trade Fair Clinic. Actors played an indifferent physician, a ditsy nurse and a thoroughly incompetent aide. Together they discussed the "abnormalities and psychoses" displayed by organizers, contractors, visitors and exhibit hall owners. No one was immune from their withering satire, which disproved my preconceived notion that Germans are all business and no humor.
When discussing how the recent expansion of the European Union from 15 to 25 members would impact the German exhibition industry, a nicely balanced panel made up of three new member-state spokesmen, one German entrepreneur and one German organizer attacked the subject. Poland's ambassador to Germany, Andrzej Byrt, said frankly, "We are hungry. We have to catch up. Our people are well-trained and motivated and our GDP is growing." Put another way, Poland is an emerging market, which can be accessed through Polish trade fairs.
Jiri Skrla, CEO of the Brno Trade Fairs in the Czech Republic, felt his country has taken its new status in stride. In partnership with Düsseldorf Trade Fairs, they are already averaging about 20 percent of their exhibitors and visitors from abroad. He expects more domestic small and medium enterprises to come aboard in the future.
Roman Sipos, commercial attaché for the Slovak Republic in Berlin, was also upbeat, all the while acknowledging that annual income and purchasing power in his country lag behind that of most EU states. However, advances are already evident in these two indicators, he said, adding that he looks forward to a time when Slovakia's chief export is not its world-class ice hockey players, but its capital and consumer goods. As an encouraging case in point, Volkswagen is now producing small automobiles in the Slovak Republic.
Representing the interests of a manufacturer, Arndt Kirchhoff was more sanguine. He sees the human resources available in Eastern Europe. Acknowledging the dearth of well-trained technicians in Germany, he welcomes the new open borders and the eager, if less productive, labor force. He predicted annual growth for his auto parts business of 20 to 28 percent, enhanced by the expanded markets the 10 new nations represent.
Ernst Raue, an early architect of CeBIT Hannover, was very positive in his outlook. He said simply, "A large market means larger trade fairs." Manufacturers in the "accession countries" will seek new foreign markets by participating in more exhibitions, he predicted. Statistics in Hannover already show substantial increases for exhibitors and square meters sold, although visitor figures from the new member states are relatively unchanged.
The consensus of the closing panel was that enlargement was good for all concerned. However, the answer to the conference theme, "Are German Trade Fairs Ready for the Future?" may have to wait two, three or perhaps 10 years for a definitive answer.
