Newsletter

The display area at the 30th Interzoo was fully booked three months before the start of the exhibition. The Interzoo promoter, Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH (WZF), has therefore decided to offer an extra exhibition hall (hall 8) and further applications can now be accepted.

Over 1,300 exhibitors are expected based on the present number of registrations, including more than 300 new exhibitors from all continents and countries. The current total gross display area is some 89,000 square metres (2006: 78,900 square metres). The promoter expects around 34,000 trade visitors.

Well-trained and dedicated stand staff is a vital requirement for successful exhibition presentations. Nürnberger Messeforum offers established exhibition training courses. The training takes the form of presentations, discussion groups and workshops and contains subjects such as planning an exhibition, conducting talks, intercultural communication, handling the press and following up customer contacts. If required, a trainer in disguise can make test visits to the stand during the exhibition to detect weaknesses in the presentation and if possible correct them on the spot. More information is available at: www.nuernbergermesseforum.de.

Hans-Jochen Büngener, Chairman of the Interzoo Exhibition Committee and exhibitor at Interzoo for many years, explains the most important requirements for a successful exhibition presentation in the following interview.

Why should companies in the pet supplies industry exhibit at Interzoo?

Global industry get-togethers like Interzoo are an essential instrument in a company’s marketing mix. The four days of the exhibition give exhibitors the chance to meet the most important buyers and decision-makers in the worldwide pet supplies industry. No other medium offers the opportunity for personal and intensive contact with such a large number of experts.

What targets are realistic for exhibitors?

The targets for the exhibition must be adjusted to the corporate and marketing targets. Presenting new products is not an exhibition target, but the target could be to test the response to new products and sound out export prospects or cooperation possibilities and so optimize the product launch. Only if firm exhibition, marketing and communication targets are defined is it possible to adopt measures and make preparations to achieve these targets and subsequently measure the success.

Which success factors do exhibitors tend to neglect in your view?

Exhibitors should prepare more for international visitors and train their stand staff. Who are the visitors, where do they come from and what are their aims in visiting the exhibition? Their branch of industry, position in the company and language and cultural background must also be considered as these factors influence talks and the service and atmosphere on an exhibition stand. Exhibitors can download an exhibition analysis of Interzoo 2006 with information about the groups of visitors and their aims here...

How can exhibitors advertise their presence at Interzoo?

For example, with advertisements in trade magazines, in the exhibition newspaper “Interzoo News Aktuell”, in the exhibition catalogue, or by mailing brochures and invitations. New and improved products and services can be announced in press releases before the event. Exhibitors can also achieve their communication targets with the aid of an exhibition slogan, which can be shown on articles such as invitation cards, exhibition brochures and press folders, in e-mail signatures and particularly on the exhibition stand. It is also very advantageous to invite company customers directly and arrange appointments for meetings. Useful for this purpose are the Interzoo visitor brochures and admission vouchers, which entitle visitors to a free 1-day visit. The exhibitor pays the admission fee.

Is the saying “After one exhibition is before the next” true?

The definite advantages of an exhibition over other communication instruments can only be utilized if the contacts made at the exhibition are followed up. Exhibitors should therefore define before the exhibition exactly what measures are to be taken for following up contacts, the time limit for this action and who is responsible. The evaluation of detailed contact reports created during the exhibition provides a professional basis for follow-up actions. By rapidly processing and dispatching orders and offers after the event, the exhibitor proves to his customers that the attractive presentation at the exhibition is backed by a reliable business partner.

An online exhibition catalogue with lots of exhibitor and product information is available for Interzoo 2008 visitors at www.interzoo.com. Every registered exhibitor is automatically included in the list of exhibitors with address, hall and stand number, assignment to the product nomenclature and – if available – detailed product information.

From mid March, all exhibiting companies can also publish their latest exhibitor and product information, logos and press releases in the online New Product Center. Companies can publish and update the contents in the New Product Center themselves at any time via individual access. This information can be used by potential business partners, journalists and other visitors for preparing their visits to exhibitors in advance.

• Plan tour of exhibition and arrange appointments
• Take your business partner’s culture and language into account
• Allow time for spontaneous unplanned meetings
• Prepare presentation papers
• Take enough business cards
• Charge your mobile phone battery and take a spare battery
• Take a notepad for spontaneous ideas
• Take your WLAN notebook for Internet access
• Plan visits to the supporting and evening programme
• Follow up exhibition contacts

The most important requirement for defining specific exhibition targets is the possibility of calculating the cost-benefit ratio of exhibiting. Because small and medium enterprises in particular frequently do not define any exhibition targets, the benefit of exhibiting is often not determined sufficiently and the focus is primarily on costs when monitoring the success.

The Association of the German Trade Fair Industry AUMA has therefore developed a “Trade Fair Benefit Check” in close consultation with the exhibiting industry and a number of exhibition organizers. This can be downloaded free at www.auma.de. The integrated calculator can be used to calculate and assess both completed and planned exhibiting activities.

Visitors with specific travel and accommodation requirements should arrange their stay in Nuremberg as quickly as possible. Detailed information about accommodation and transport is available at www.interzoo.com/travel. Whether hotel, family boarding house or private room, over 25,000 beds in all categories are available for Interzoo participants in Nuremberg.

For fast admission to the exhibition, visitors can order their entrance ticket in the online ticket shop at www.interzoo.com/ticketshop from the end of March onwards. Entrance tickets and catalogues can also be ordered by phone from the VisitorService team at NürnbergMesse: +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-49 69. The tickets and catalogues ordered are conveniently sent by post in good time for the exhibition.

...this exhibition is the ideal marketplace for presenting our current “Pet’s Corner” sales concept, new products and range modules. Individual articles can also be presented in everyday business, but basic themes that especially concern market status and change need an environment that is best offered by an exhibition as large and important as Interzoo.

Hans-Gerd Wiefels Managing Director Vitakraft Fachhandel GmbH

Publisher  Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH Postfach 61 64 65051 Wiesbaden, Germany Tel +49 (0) 6 11.44 75 53-0 Fax +49 (0) 6 11.44 75 53-33 Managing Director: Herbert Bollhöfer Commercial register no.: Wiesbaden p. 23138

Project management and editing 
griffith pr, Bad Homburg
Tel +49 (0) 6 172.139 28 48
Fax +49 (0) 6 172.13 73 31

 
Design 
NürnbergMesse GmbH 
Messezentrum 
90471 Nürnberg