May brings new life! Also for us because two years of pandemic-induced restricted trade fair business are drawing to a close and the whole industry has its foot on the accelerator again in spring 2022 with events and trade fairs! This is the message we are now sending out into the world with other German trade fair companies.
The age of in-depth digital communication has made one thing clear: business needs in-person trade fairs and events again – according to a survey of trade fair association AUMA exhibiting companies are missing out on business opportunities because of a lack of networking and customer canvassing without events. Hospitality, food service and retail have also experienced a drop in revenue. Prior to the pandemic the events organised by Messe Düsseldorf alone produced an annual, national boost to buying power of around EUR 3 billion, as confirmed by figures of the ifo Institute – at EUR 1.88 billion the city of Düsseldorf accounted for more than half of this. Trade fairs are efficient sources of innovative ideas, they promote informal contacts while serving as an inspiration at the same time. The appreciation of personal encounters will grow and new customers will be won over. Because all our partners, exhibitors and visitors have one thing in common: they want to have live encounters again because these cannot be transformed to the digital – as the Covid era impressively confirmed.
The campaign #MesseMonatMai / #TradeFairMonthOfMay links exhibition centres
Now the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry AUMA sends out a powerful signal for the re-start of live communication with a connected campaign across Germany. It starts on 1 May 2022 and besides us numerous other trade fair locations will also be participating such as Koelnmesse or the fairgrounds in Dortmund and Essen.
#MesseMonatMai (“Trade Fair Month of May”) – the motto of AUMA’s umbrella campaign – marks the kick-off to a summer full of exciting, innovative trade fairs held across all of Germany. During the 31 days of this “merry month” the industry will close ranks to flag up its diversity and highlight the relevance and significance of the exhibition business in a wealth of industries. To this end, the campaign motif featuring real people, genuine emotions and authentic images plus informative and entertaining videos will be incorporated into the communication activities of the individual trade fair locations thereby creating synergies. This generates broad exposure and maximum reach.
Messe Düsseldorf celebrates #endlichwiederMesse / #finallyTradeFair
In the #MesseMonatMai (“Trade Fair Month of May”) proclaimed by AUMA, Messe Düsseldorf is also kicking off a large-scale integrated communication campaign under the hashtag #endlichwiederMesse / #FinallyTradeFair. With BEAUTY/TOP HAIR, ProWein and EuroCIS Messe Düsseldorf opens a successful trade fair year and celebrates the re-start jointly with its employees, customers as well as trade fair enthusiasts in its corporate communication and project channels.
With this in mind our communication team has extended the AUMA umbrella campaign to include its own motto #endlichwiederMesse / #FinallyTradeFair. Commenting on this, Wolfram N. Diener, Messe Düsseldorf CEO, explains:
“Finally trade fairs again: under this motto we are sending out the message of our re-start into the world with a large-scale, integrated communication campaign. We want our customers to know we will provide them with valuable business platforms again – largely free of Covid restrictions. We want to flag up to our shareholders and politicians the benefits of our trade fairs for the business locations Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany – and that we continue to depend on a favourable, stable framework.
This also encompasses the joint communication of the North Rhine-Westphalian trade fair companies – a historic move not seen before. Together with Koelnmesse, Messe Essen and Messe Dortmund we are making the industry visible and strengthening the sense of community under the umbrella of AUMA in May!”
The campaign comes alive on all channels of Messe Düsseldorf and will be featured in very diverse formats. It will be integrated in the portals, in the magazines of the individual trade fairs and in the Corporate Blog and covered in Newsletters as well as on the Intranet. An additional logo will also be incorporated into the communication.
Here addressing our colleagues personally and directly is centrestage – who will be updated direct via mailings. By sharing, liking and commenting on the content they can actively support the campaign.
At this early stage the move has already met with much approval from all sides. Stephan Keller, Lord Mayor of the state capital Düsseldorf and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Messe Düsseldorf, stresses:
“The pandemic years have revealed to us both the benefits and limits to digital communication. The economy was made aware of just how valuable personal networks, chance encounters and physical brand and product experiences are.”
Hendrik Wüst, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, also welcomes the re-start:
“For many years Messe Düsseldorf has been a showcase for the economic performance and innovative power of North Rhine-Westphalia. Now it can finally give proof of its excellent reputation as an organiser of outstanding trade fairs again.”
Varied content with a clear message
Kicking off the campaign in May will be a graphic in which employees hold up signs featuring the hashtags #MesseMonatMai and #endlichwiederMesse /#FinallyTradeFair. With this personal and sympathetic imagery we link the two campaigns.
Other PR and digital measures also include a collage of photos depicting MD employees in situations echoing their various areas of responsibility thereby highlighting the diversity of the trade fair world.
To conclude the campaign in late May a graph is planned to display the key facts and figures (like number of visitors, number of exhibitors, countries, square metres etc. of all trade fairs held). Here, too, the individual exhibition centres as well as AUMA will be highlighted to achieve the greatest impact possible and express our joint solidarity.
Like the campaign idea #MesseMonatMai? Why not tell us what you associate with #endlichwiederMesse / #FinallyTradeFair and if you’re looking forward to it? We can’t wait to hear your comments and feedback.
