Business News
Very Successful Debut of digi:media 2011
Monday 11. April 2011 - New trade fair format for printing in the mobile age meets high acceptance: approx. 6,100 visitors from 29 nations
The debut of digi:media was extremely successful. The approximately 170 exhibitors and visitors unanimously praised the new trade fair for commercial printing and digital publishing and welcomed the courageous initiative taken by Messe Düsseldorf to launch a new trade fair one year before drupa 2012. Summing up Kai Büntemeyer, CEO at Kolbus GmbH & Co. KG said: “I am really excited about digi:media. This exhibition format works. It offers a forum for conversations at a new level. And this is rewarded by sufficient quantities of visitors with decision-making competence.” Frank Beinhold, founder of the Munich based advertising agency S.A.M. and exhibitor at digi:media, also takes stock positively: “To my mind Messe Düsseldorfs decision to realise a cross-media format such as digi:media is a very courageous and innovative approach in a market as fragmented as is Germany.”
During the 3-day event from 7 to 9 April around 6,100 visitors have dealt with the No. 1 theme in the industry – printing in the mobile age of e-Books, iPads, Facebook and the like. “Although we positioned digi:media to target the German-speaking and Benelux countries for a start, visitors from 29 nations came to experience the trade fair debut,” says Hans Werner Reinhard, Deputy Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, adding: “From talking to exhibitors we know that even very high-ranking decision makers from overseas, such as from the USA, travelled to Düsseldorf specifically to attend digi:media.” The international special-interest press also took a vivid interest in digi:media: 314 journalists from 19 countries were accredited for the fair.
The digi:media strategy to bring all the target groups involved in communication together and to initiate multi-disciplinary exchange proved especially successful. Print and media service providers as well as advertising and creative agencies, marketing decision-makers and publishers have used digi:media as a platform to gather information on the convergence between the media channels print, web and mobile communication.
The expert programme that offered unrivalled infotainment with 13 congresses, seminars, workshops and a total of 170 speakers was also received extremely well. Especially the Media Mundo Congress for sustainable media production, the conference organised by the “Deutsche Akademie des Buchhandels” and the Adobe lecture stages hit the tempo of the time.
Testimonials for digi:media 2011:
Michael Mittelhaus, Consultant
“I am pleasantly surprised that the concept has proven to be right and both content and hardware suppliers get their moneys worth. I am also positively surprised by the amount of business done here. It was a brave decision by Messe Düsseldorf to launch this concept one year before drupa. My impression is that this concept has a future.”
Karl Saueressig, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
“Apart from concrete deals concluded for Heidelbergs entire product portfolio including the new Ricoh press, numerous promising sales projects were triggered. Heidelberg presented solutions for combining offset and digital printing. At digi:media we met many of our regular customers who already supply advertising agencies and print buyers with innovative printed matters today. Both our established products and, of course, our new digital printing solutions were received very well by the expert audience.”
Bertram Störch, Hewlett Packard
“Our impression of digi:media is very positive overall: very good conversations, very good attendance. The trade fair concept “Content meets Technology meets Business” proved to be the very thing. We also have to address content providers with our ranges. Add to this that Düsseldorf is admittedly the best trade fair location in Germany – if not in all of Central Europe.”
Peter Berger, Horizon
“We are very happy with the results obtained at digi:media. We reach our customer here. This is the marketplace to meet both customers and colleagues. digi:media has clearly exceeded our expectations. The foundation for another successful digi:media has been laid.”
Christian Seitz, manroland
“The digi:media format has worked out. The composition of visitors was good, their quality was enormously high. And visitors dwell time in the hall was also extremely long. It was obviously the right decision to bring lectures and catering into the hall. We will definitely be part of the next event again.”
Daragan Nolic, Müller Martini
“For us participation at digi:media as an exhibitor was a logical step. digi:media is a good opportunity for all target groups involved in the workflow – from pre-press and print service providers to post-press operations. The dialogue with marketers and agencies will be even more decisive in future.”
Matthias Naumann, Schmitz-Weiss Werbeagentur
“We are positively surprised across the board. As an advertising agency we are in a mediators position here and have received very positive feedback so far. A big benefit is surely the compact line-up of ranges; visitors have plenty of time to spend at the individual stands.”
Albrecht Brenner, Xerox
“The concept of not focusing on technology alone but presenting it in conjunction with content and business has convinced us 100%. Demonstrating the complete workflow is decisive here. Xerox has put the idea of digi:media into practice 1:1 at its stand.”