Messes Now Offering Database on Participants
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 5/15/2006
Two German messes are putting their shows' exhibitors — and sometimes attendees — into searchable databases that may eventually be combined across company lines.
Show managers could use the databases to sell exhibit space, and suppliers to sell services. Primarily, the idea is to keep the shows, their exhibitors and products before buyers on a year-round basis.
Messe Frankfurt's Productpilot launched in February with information on participants in five spring fairs: Heimtextil, Beautyworld, Christmasworld, Paperworld and Ambiente. The company plans to add more shows in other sectors — architecture, technology and automotive — as they take place. Productpilot bundles supplier and product information in one portal covering all sectors.
"This offers the typical functions of an established trade fair extended by the permanent availability of the Internet," said Messe Frankfurt spokeswoman Daniela Schubert. "Exhibitors can get information on the number of interested visitors on their sites and stay informed about market development."
Messe Berlin introduced its Virtual Market Places back in 2001. It contains information from 14 shows, with more than 20,000 national and international companies and more than 25,000 products and services from 180 countries — all available in 14 languages.
Virtual Market Place events last year generated more than 28 million page views and more than 2 million visits, according to Messe Berlin.
Bernd W. Schulze of Messe Berlin said discussions are underway to extend the practice to other messes. Talks with officials in Cologne and Nuremberg are nearly complete, and Duesseldorf, Berlin and Hannover have expressed strong interest.
Twenty years ago it was enough to travel once a year to a trade fair, said Messe Frankfurt Chairman Michael von Zitzewitz, but today people in a particular industry need information all year, and exhibitors can't wait for an annual show to introduce new products.
