Germany's Annual Trade Fair - New Location, New Inspiration?
A look at the topics and exhibitors suggests a changing of the guard
This year’s German-based Market research trade fair - the hopefully named “succeet 2023” - is taking place in Wiesbaden from 25 - 26th October.
It’s a major step - moving away from its home base of Munich to a town just under an hour’s ride away from Frankfurt and it’s airport. Hopefully the central geography is as much as a pull as the town close to the Alps.
What to expect?
A quick look at the exhibitor list and the presentational topics is revealing. Here’s what struck me:
The “big names” of German market research have a much smaller presence, many are just not there. Ipsos is absent. Gfk had always been an active player - gone. Nielsen I don’t recall seeing at the previous years events, but also not there. Human8 - no.
Kantar is there, Mr. Puleston presenting no doubt interesting stuff. But that was it from my legacy perception of the MR landscape.
In their place step in two highly rated, but internationally less well known full service agencies - Mindline and GIM.
Great to see GIM back - they were absent as I recall at last year’s event. It will be great to see if these two excellent companies adopt an industry-leading role, pushing not just their own products but also engaging in category-sensitisation. Fingers crossed.
Global accounting giant KPMG is present, talking about CX management - an interesting if isolated reminder of the new competitive MR landscape.
A number of what I would call - perhaps cheekily - challenger companies are also flying the flag, presenting. SKOPOS, a full-service agency based in Hürth near Cologne, with impressive growth rates in recent years. Their CEO Olaf Hofmann is giving a presentation, no less. And another notable: Civey who have made a name for themselves over the past 3 -5 years in the area of polling and media research. Plus Mannheim based Seissmo’s Natacha Dagneaud will be giving an intriguing presentation on pragmatic confessionals - an alternative qual-based approach to going deep and remaining agile.
It’s also nice to see a few client companies presenting - Warsteiner I noticed, Bosch Smart Home, HansGrohe…there are others if you care to check out the full programme. So potentially interesting insights into corporate MR practices.
Thematically it’s AI that pops up again and again. CX is the official event focus. Data fusion appears more than once, understanding Gen Z too. But otherwise a hugely broad array of topics - something for everyone, hopefully.
Overall, it seemed to me less international than previously. And many exhibitors with to me at least low awareness levels - perhaps successful in niches, perhaps newcomers. But little in the sense of branding that resonates. Perhaps a missed opportunity with busy agency owners. Storytelling and emotionalising doesn’t need to cost the earth ;)
Admission costs Euro 35,- unless you have an invitation code from an exhibitor, in which case it’s free. Oh and you have to book online if you want to attend a presentation - so likely no more 20 metre queues awaiting admission. Hopefully that’s an innovation that is picked up quickly.
And finally, I noticed the absence of a familiar figure from Rheingold Salon, Ines Imdahl - leaving the presentation this year to her partner in MR Jens Lönnecker. Again, less a changing of the guard, but a surprise none the less. Perhaps I just couldn’t see her on the online overview.
Kudos to the organisers and exhibitors, sponsors to help making this annual get-together a reality this year. It’s an important meeting place for voices to mix and mingle, for a community to re-energise itself, and take away inspiration hopefully to share stories post-event. Informal knowledge gathering - invaluable, if difficult to quantify and justify.
Let’s see what the event itself brings. I’m going…. let me know if you’re there and would like to meet up.
Curious, as ever, as to others’ thoughts.