It all revolved around bits and bytes. The sector used the last season as an ideas booster. And focused exclusively on the digital sphere. With intensive use being made of its special capabilities as an interface. At the same time, the digital sphere can only be as successful as its physical basis.
Despatched on 13 January, the invitation for the international lighting and building-services sector to take part in Light + Building 2022 marked the beginning of the new season. “The past months have greatly helped us to further develop our digital identity”, says Iris Jeglitza-Moshage, Vice President of Messe Frankfurt, “and this is coupled with the conclusion that digital formats can never replace physical fairs. What they can do, however, is effectively prepare, accompany and supplement them.”
Thus, right at the start of the 2022 season, Light + Building is launching the ‘Contactor’. In this section of the website, international exhibitors can make presentations 365 days a year and include not only classic products but also system solutions and direct access to the relevant contact persons. The Contactor mechanism is rounded off by a series of dynamic features. In podcasts, video interviews and digital forums, challenges are themed and solutions discussed. This includes a look into trends and the future, as well as the recruitment and training of young people.
To be held as a physical event at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre from 13 to 18 March 2022, Light + Building will be enriched by a number of digital extensions. “With a format designed to run, so to say, 365 days a year, the world’s leading trade fair for the sector brings together the digital and physical worlds”, says Dr Jürgen Waldorf, Managing Director of the Lighting Division of the ZVEI trade association. Confirming this, Klaus Jung, Managing Director of the Electrical Installation Division of the ZVEI trade association, notes, “With the digital expansion of Light + Building, it will be possible to scale knowledge, experience and connectivity even more accurately. Moreover, streaming the activities taking place on the individual exhibition stands will lead to an exponential increase in efficiency for the sector.”
In this connection, Ingolf Jakobi, Managing Director of the General Association of the German Electrical and Information Technology (ZVEH), adds, “Supplementary digital formats are good for the sector. They are particularly suitable for participants who, for whatever reason, are unable to attend in person. Nevertheless, physical presence at a fair is indispensable. It is part of the trade’s DNA.”
Avant-garde
And avant-garde is what Light + Building 2022 will be, as reflected by the new claim made by the trade fair, aimed at its international audience of trade visitors: Breaking New Ground. “The claim calls upon the whole sector to join forces and branch out in new directions”, enthuses Light + Building Director Johannes Möller. “And we support this with a whole range of new tools”, adds Möller. This also includes the ‘Contactor’, the most important international search engine for lighting and building-services technology, and the Light + Building website, which supplements the physical trade fair in Frankfurt 365 days a year.
Special
As in the past, Light + Building is a special event thanks to its interdisciplinary character. On the basis of common challenges, e‑craftspeople come into contact with architects, and electrical engineers with planners and users. The automatic result is ‘network thinking’, i.e., the amalgamation of different experiences, knowledge and abilities in tackling important subjects. “Light + Building”, emphasises Johannes Möller, “stands for no less than planning for success – throughout the whole sector.”
Dynamic
The Light + Building experience is being extended by a variety of new information and formats on the website, which has something for everyone and every situation, e.g., podcasts enter the ears and can, depending on the content, reach the inner ear parallel to another activity. Video interviews provide intensive visual stimuli and enable us ‘to read’ personalities. Panel discussions help form opinions and guarantee a wealth of perspectives. Rarely has the trade-fair table been so well laid with digital features. Nevertheless, it is always the stories, challenges, opportunities and – above all – people that bring these formats to life. “With their successful launch, dynamic web formats have already become a component part of the formula for the sector in 2020”, says Iris Jeglitza-Moshage, emphasising the digital expansion of Messe Frankfurt. Strategically, “digital formats complement classic formats thus enabling them to become even more powerful influencers in the future”, adds the Vice President of Messe Frankfurt.
Light + Building will be held in Frankfurt am Main from 13 to 18 March 2022.
