Reinventing the real experience

Personal contact between business partners is going to be more highly valued. As a places for dialogue and sharing information， trade fairs offer fresh inspiration and ideas.

Customer fairs， in particular， are already faced with heavy competition from a plethora of shopping，event and leisure alternatives. This competition is further fueled by modern digital communication instruments. \"The exhibition format must equip itself for the future if it is to compete against alternative communications instruments in the predatory marketplace\"， says Dirk Deumeland， senior director of the Leipzig exhibition service provider Fairnet， who sees many opportunities and approaches for live experience：\" The event character of fairs will clearly prevail in the future，\" of that he is certain. Consumers’changing receptive behaviour is making communication formats that offer live events more attractive. Changing consumer needs are transforming traditional product marketplaces into a complex service with \"experience\" as an added value factor， he says.

But are there any further findings and trends to support this statement and should companies reinvent the \"real experience\" for their live communication？ And does that mean for future exhibition concepts？ Live communication still has the potential to grip people on every level and instill lasting messages. In that respect， fairs， especially， have a strong advantage over the digital world，which they will be able to deploy to greater effect in the future：\"Multisensory\"-They activate and engage all the senses of the visitor. Stimulation of the senses in keeping with the brand will play a key role. Because the more evenly the senses are stimulated， the greater the chance of that sensation being remembered long term. In contrast to the largely lonely online shopping experience， lice communication offers a product and brand experience that is distinguished by interaction and communication. Communication concepts must interpret fairs as an experience platform for all the senses， which can be used for direct customer dialogue.

Personal contact between business partners is going to be more highly valued. With such prospects， fairs will continue to play a powerful role as a place of dialogue and exchange of fresh inspiration and ideas. Sampling is better than browsing： Consumers will always experience the urge to try out brands and products in the flesh even if other aspects of daily life are digitized. The rapid rise of digital and interactive media offers countless possibilities for live communication formats which， when professionally implemented， created harmonious experience worlds.

By combing real and virtual words， live communication can increase the entertainment factor in situ：Video films or 3D visualization can present exhibits that look almost real having to put them on the exhibition stand.

For specialized sectors such as marine engineering or machine manufacturing in particular， implementing virtual-sensorial worlds will enhance the trade show appearance， creating a better visual impression and improving interaction with the visitor.

As the use of virtual-sensorial worlds already shows， new media must be used effectively to enrich and not replace the in-situ experience. Fairs supply the content， which， only when enhanced cross-medially， achieves full coverage. In this respect， the mobile internat is one of the most important innovation drivers. Smart phones and tablet PCs mean that digital contents are always present. With communications technologies such as location-based services， augmented reality and near field communication， new opportunities for interaction and networking beyond the physical exhibition stand are emerging.

Interfaces are providing the connection between the real world and the digital world so that digital and interactive contents can be integrated into trade show appearances， making it easier and simpler to use online content. These interfaces will help turn mobile exhibition systems into digital experience platforms.