This year’s viscom düsseldorf spelled out an alphabet of brands: V as in venerated insurance providers, I as in international brands, S as in sporting goods providers, C as in consumer goods, O as in organisations and public administration, and M as in media. In short: viscom.
Whether they were insurers and financial service providers like AXA, HUK Coburg and Commerzbank, major retailers like Lidl, Kaiser’s Tengelmann and Migros, or sporting goods companies like adidas – they all came to Europe’s Leading Trade Fair for Visual Communication.
But the exhibitors in Hall 8a, the ones interested in the big brands, weren’t the only ones who got their money’s worth: companies in Hall 8b, the location of major industry players in digital printing and advertising technology, also saw excellent traffic throughout the event. Organiser Reed Exhibitions counted a total of 10,338 trade visitors, a quarter of them from outside Germany, and 307 exhibitors from 30 countries (prior year: 10,064 trade visitors and 325 exhibitors).
“More and more, viscom is developing into a trade fair that delivers everything brands, marketing decision-makers and service providers need to advertise their products and stage them in a multimedia-driven setting”, says Hans-Joachim Erbel, the CEO of Reed Exhibitions Deutschland. Reinforcing that notion is viscom Director Petra Lassahn: “Visual communication is an element of a 360 degree communication strategy, which needs to be laid out across all channels – regardless of whether it’s printed, packaged or installed at the POS or OOH – because it no longer works in isolation.”
Categories ran the gamut from classical advertising technology, illuminated advertising and textile finishing to digital printing, packaging and displays to print-to-web solutions and digital signage. Whether it was oversized interactive holograms, gesture-controlled product systems in the supermarket, or fluorescent satin carpets and labels with embossed or printed details – there are fewer and fewer technical limits to the variety of products on offer.
Presenting innovations and best practices from every segment, the viscom world of inspiration was once again the hotspot and centrepiece of all this action. The special area provided an additional opportunity for companies to showcase technologies, products and services, from processes to materials and designs through to the finished product – all embedded end to end in the process chain. The site of matchmaking events, the designers’ treff and Lunch & Learns, the area was the place for networking and knowledge sharing. A total of 96 lectures revealed insights into the trends of the sector.
World premieres and innovations
Once more, the viscom world of inspiration as well as numerous product premieres at the exhibitors’ stands turned the trade fair into a place of innovation. Providing further evidence of that fact were the large number of products and projects that won one of the industry awards presented at viscom. They ranged from powerful displays to new printing machines and materials. No less than 80% of visitors said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the innovations exhibited at viscom. They should be credited for injecting an invigorating breath of fresh air and helping to create the wonderful vibe at viscom. Following the sector’s rather lacklustre economic performance recently, many companies now forecast the market to come back to life, at least in the medium term. Only 13% of companies expect business to slow down even more, according to the independent survey on the economy conducted at the trade fair.
These expectations were reflected at the trade fair itself, with one in two visitors coming to Düsseldorf with specific intentions to buy or invest – a quarter of them looking to spend more than €50,000.
The next viscom frankfurt is scheduled to take place from 2 to 4 November 2016.
For detailed information about the award winners and for print-ready images, please go to www.viscom-messe.com.
Source: Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH
