Visitors and jury agree: Best trade fair stand

“EuroShop 2017 was a big success. I would like to thank all of the employees in front of and behind the scenes, who once again turned our vision ’From start to success’ into reality. Their intensive and months-long engagement has paid off,” concludes FAIRNET authorised officer Dirk Deumeland. For its trade fair appearance, FAIRNET has consistently developed its brand relaunch (which was presented in summer 2016) with the slogan “Borders redefined!”. The imagery of the new campaign was translated into a brilliant sea world. Intensive blues and greens, along with colourful sea creatures, dominate the visual environment, and surprise with special effects. Projections on diffuser film with a backlit wall suggest an environment of continuous gentle movement. Rising air bubbles enhance the impression of a deep and endless ocean and a trade fair stand that is alive. The texture of the floor also added to the overall impression, creating the feeling of stepping on sandy ground when entering the stand. Counters with a washed-out wood look and integrated aquariums with water plants, and another counter featuring the same design for hospitality purposes, completed the inviting reception area. The green cube played an important role as the key visual element of the trade fair presence. As a space-within-the-space, it forms the glassy green heart of the presentation, and created a special discussion environment.

The colourful and detailed underwater drew surprised and admiring looks from trade fair visitors, who also forwarded their praise to the local FAIRNET employees. “’Fantastic’, ‘Grand’, ‘Wonderful’ and ‘This is the best stand at the entire trade fair’ were just some of the positive comments from visitors,” says Dirk Deumeland.

The visitor impressions were also shared by the jury of the EXHIBITOR Magazine, which traditionally honours the best trade fair stands at EuroShop in the Small Stand, Medium Stand and Large Stand categories. FAIRNET’s underwater world was previously nominated from among the more than 2,300 exhibitors, and beat nine other competitors in the final for the Medium Stand category.

Successful acquisition instrument

The largest trade fair for the retail industry once again proved its worth as a perfect instrument for acquiring new customers. More than 100 discussions were held with potential new customers over a period of five days - including numerous national corporations and companies. The discussion partners were targeted in advance of the trade fair with a special invitation gift - a helium-filled balloon in the form of a fish. “It is representative of our integrated communication approach. The balloons provide a first hint of what people can expect at our trade fair stand, and create a sense of curiosity among those who were invited,” says Dirk Deumeland.

Extensive communication and marketing mix

The invitation of potential new customers before the trade fair was part of an extensive communication and marketing mix that accompanied the trade fair presence before, during and after EuroShop. To this end, a concept was already created back in the fall of 2016, in close cooperation with two Leipzig agencies. The concept included classic advertising measures and media activities, as well as a newsletter and the website. On-site reporting on the company's own Facebook page in the form of videos and photos triggered a great response during the five trade fair days, and completed the communication over all on-line and off-line channels.