To develop suitable hybrid concepts

Fu Bingbing

Messe Berlin has been organizing international trade fairs and congresses since 1822. It organizes more than 100 regional， national and international in-house and guest events each year. Besides the leading international trade shows ITB Berlin/Asia， International Green Week Berlin， IFA， InnoTrans and Fruit Logistica Berlin/HongKong. Its international programme of trade fairs mainly covers a wide range of events - be it the food， travel， logistics， healthcare IT or consumer electronics–Messe Berlin’s portfolio has many highlights to offer. On this edition of our Column， we’re very honored to have invited Martin Ecknig， CEO of Messe Berlin for our today’s exclusive interview to share with us his insights into the current industry dynamics during this uncommon period.

Martin Ecknig tells the reporter that Messe Berlin is celebrating 200 years of trade fairs in Berlin this year. 1822 was the year of Berlin’s first industrial exhibition， and today’s company has followed in those footsteps. As the state-owned trade fair company， Messe Berlin designs， markets and organizes hundreds of live events every year. Its broad portfolio includes the global brands and leading trade fairs IFA， InnoTrans， ITB， FRUIT LOGISTICA and the International Green Week， as well as major conferences and outstanding events.

In addition， Messe Berlin also offers its own events on the Asian market. These include ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA， which will be usually held in Hong Kong in Sept， ITB Asia and ITB China. With around 90 offices abroad， Messe Berlin markets its events in over 170 countries. Messe Berlin strives to be an outstanding host to visitors at all of its events，

to provide the best possible business impetus and to ensure fair conditions for everyone.“The anniversary falls in a difficult period of our history. However， looking back we also see that the concept of trade fairs and congresses has withstood the test of time. ” sighs Martin Ecknig.

“Even now， we find that people want to meet at events rather than be alone in front of a screen. As Berlin’s largest host， we have the right answers to make a big contribution to the industry in the future. After two years of the pandemic the desire to meet in-person again on the grounds is greater than ever. We see proof of this everyday in Berlin. In April 2022， FRUIT LOGISTICA was the first leading trade show on Messe Berlin grounds， bringing together over 40，000 quality buyers and trade visitors from around 130 countries，and more than 2，000 exhibitors from 87 countries.” Martin Ecknig shares with the reporter.

“It is almost as though there had never been a pandemic–both the exhibitors and the trade visitors reported a positive experience at FRUIT LOGISTICA. If you check our calender for this year’s events， you can see that many companies share our optimistic view on the future of the exhibition industry. The exhibition center is well booked. Many long-time customers are returning. The business is alive.” adds Martin Ecknig.

“Before joining Messe Berlin， I have been working with Siemens， such allows me to spent almost half of my professional life in China. During this time， I got to know and love Chinese culture and could witness the tremendous growth and development. The Chinese market plays an important role for Messe Berlin.”Martin Ecknig comments frankly with the reporter， “The importance of China for the international exhibition industry is already great and will continue to grow strongly in the future. That is why our leading trade fairs also have subsidiaries in China. On the other hand， our leading fairs back home in Berlin， as well as many new events we are going to establish， will be very attractive for Chinese companies and institutions.”

Martin Ecknig points out that IFA has a reputation as a global， unbiased and high-quality platform for brands. The event offers flexible and highly customized solutions to participants across industry， retail and media. As before， the concept still combines b2b and b2c elements， which makes it possible to showcase products and brands in a uniquely engaging context， both as an industry showcase and as a reality check for innovation in front of real consumers. Therefore， the show is essential for experts， public as for media. Based on the current assessments and predictions of the global situation， IFA 2022 has the potential to be the first truly global trade show for the CE-Industry since the start of the pandemic， offering industry， retail and media extremely high visibility and relevance.

“The industry has a strong desire to return to an inperson event， and we are committed to making that a reality in Berlin this September in a safe and successful manner. The future of our industry will be hybrid. The pandemic was a catalyst for the digitization of the industry. Even though the heart of our events still beats live on site. The digital extension for a larger， international audience will remain. And that’s a good thing. Our task will be to develop suitable hybrid concepts that fit our different formats and respective target groups.” says Martin Ecknig.

Martin Ecknig states that Messe Berlin， as a state-owned trade fair company， has benefited from government support during the pandemic regarding to the policy supported by the government. Messe Berlin has made a significant contribution to the city’s fight against the pandemic. It set up all vaccination centres in Berlin.

“As we all see that the latest relaxations of restrictions on Covid19 were a clear political signal， which gives us more room to manoeuvre. As an industry， we urgently needed planning certainty. We are in intensive dialog with the political leaders in Berlin to clarify the framework we need to run our business. Our mission is hosting the world.” reveals Martin Ecknig.