Identity first, design second

The trade fair has become a multi-media multi-disciplinary event. More and more companies are rethinking their trade fair appearances to present their brands credibly in all requisite communications disciplines.

This was very much in evidence at IAA 2005 in Frankfurt: material bombardment and technology overkill just to impress are history. Bigger, higher, more expensive are out of place in a world which is increasingly concerned about the finiteness of resources in all areas. So perhaps the economic crisis of the last five years has been a salutary lesson. Although it put the accountants in the driving seat in companies and cut down communications specialists freedom of action, one positive outcome is that the drive for greater efficiency has resulted in closer intermeshing of communication channels.
This has made a truly multi-media multi-disciplinary event of the trade fair. Virtually all important communications disciplines have to deliver simultaneously at a single location. For a characteristic, credible and thoroughly effective trade fair appearance, an integrated approach is needed that exploits the strengths of each medium directly and consistently for the benefit of the corporate strategy or brand.
A study made by Mercer Management Consulting in 2003 demonstrated: "Integrated communication is talked about all the time, but integrated communication is not happening." Many in the business simply reduce integrated communications to conventional corporate communication or marketing services. That said, however, many companies are taking on board the potential of truly integrated communication. Such a strategy places all interaction in the context of a company's brand, ensuring that messages are co-ordinated at all times, in all places and on all topics.
But this is precisely where communications and marketing departments reach their limits. Brand management requires networked organisation and structures in a company. Without these, coordinated communication is just not possible. Take one example: All employees who come into contact with potential customers and other reference groups are "ambassadors of the brand", whether they are part of the sales force or work in complaints management. Service providers, such as call centres, help to shape the character of a brand. They must all be involved in the brand management process.
This is where the complexity of the issue but also the opportunities for brand development become apparent. Brand management starts at the top, in the boardroom. It is based on a company's choice of vision, mission and objectives as the starting point for brand development.
The outcome is the distillation of a brand core, brand values, competencies, positioning and principles. And a solid basis on which to cast a large proportion of the employees in the role of "brand ambassadors". The resulting content also provides a foundation for developing a coherent design. Design solutions - two- or three-dimensional -, which were formerly judged according to individual taste, are measurable against transparent evaluation criteria and carry much more meaning than mere cosmetic adornments.
"Tangible" brands are gaining ground. This is due to the many new media and the ability to address target groups very specifically. Shop-in-shop solutions and live events are examples of excellent instruments that reach consumers effectively. But a successful exhibition appearance is the most inclusive way of staging a brand - appealing to all the senses like no other medium. Trade fair staging is no longer about sophisticated design systems, it answers the question: "What is appropriate for my brand, the occasion, and my target group?"
For example, the global player Sony blacked out an entire pavilion at the IFA 2005 in Berlin and transformed it into an exciting world of experience. Visitors wandered at will through a dense forest of strips of material to discover different illuminated island topics. The concept worked, without the usual exhibition design or printed messages. The design of the trade fair stand consistently followed the brand's identity. Sony sees itself as an innovative, cutting-edge enterprise and inhabits its pioneering role with a novel, self-confident brand and product presentation that dispenses with words.
"In future consumers will come to brands either voluntarily - or not at all! The quality of the experience is important for fuelling voluntary interest in brands." That is the prophecy of Jan Pechmann from the agency diffferent, Berlin. The trade fair stand produces a quality of experience by following a central idea, the "Big Idea" - based on the brand's values -, which never fails to surprise. Its unpredictability makes the consumer inquisitive.
The principle: The Big Idea breaks down ingrained rules of perception and thus arouses interest. Having become inquisitive, the stand visitors want to explore or decipher the scenario. Psychologists talk about "flow", satisfying the curiosity instinct, which blots out everyday worries and results in a high level of satisfaction. Satisfaction that the exhibition visitor will permanently associate with the brand.
The mobile phone company E-Plus was also looking for an appropriate way to stage its brand for its appearance at CeBIT 2005 in Hanover. Based on E-Plus brand values, the supporting agencies developed the idea of an "urban park" - an unconventional meeting place for relaxed interaction and contact between individuals.
The appearance maps the E-Plus claim "Ein Plus verbindet" (+ connects) one to one to the trade fair situation. What was needed was an architectural framework to implement the park idea effectively, that is, with adequate dimensions. The existing stand area was too small and unpredictable activity at adjacent stands would have encroached on the intended park atmosphere.
So E-Plus went for a completely new solution: an entirely separate dome structure was erected right next to the big competitors. De Boer, the Dutch specialist for temporary space solutions helped with its Millennium Structure, Europe’s largest mobile free-standing dome structure. The interior - with its 51-m diameter without supports - offered the ideal backdrop for the E-Plus arena. The comparatively low rent for outdoor areas provided good financial leeway for brand-compliant staging.
Visitors attention was captured from the outside by three glass skywalks with wide-area multi-media projection providing access to a gallery. If it had not done so already, this is where the "flow effect" set in for most visitors, enticing them to take a closer look at what E-Plus had to offer at the exhibition.
The interior was covered by a stylised park landscape with hills, hedges and park benches, an attractive place to spend some time in. The park was lined by an urban zone of different shops which had been designed for various target groups. The figures prove the concept's success: The time spent by visitors at the "stand" rose significantly. The overall number of visitors to the stand rose, contrary to the CeBIT trend, by more than 20 % over the previous year. The "Urban Park" reinforced the image of E-Plus as a brand that connects people.
Large companies are setting an example: Brands are the most valuable commodity that they possess - and that is what they are investing in. For example, the high brand value of Coca-Cola accounts for almost 70 % of the entire shareholder value of the company, and at BMW it accounts for more than 55 %. After all, a "good" name provides orientation, a reliable relationship and engenders confidence - which makes for satisfied customers. Michael Rösch / Norbert Gabrysch

m+a report Nr.1 / 2006 vom 13.02.2006
m+a report vom 13. Februar 2006