With plenty of industry shows under my belt, I was hotly anticipating my first visit to Embedded World in Germany. I spent the weekend beforehand trying to figure out:
- which were my most comfortable shoes to spend all day on my feet in
- which were the professional outfits that would travel the best
- how the two would match up
Longing for that elusive ‘capsule wardrobe’, I finally arrived in Nuremberg with Mike and Suzy on the Monday evening. Full of anticipation, our first engagement was a drinks reception courtesy of the lovely folk at Open Systems Media in the very swish surroundings of Le Meriden Grand Hotel. A whirlwind of meeting new and familiar editors plus a special mention for Napier in Rich Nass’s speech later, I finally collapsed into my hotel bed with the prospect of an early start to get to the Messe in the morning.
Day 1 – Tuesday
Having negotiated the almost baffling system of buying tickets for the U-Bahn, we arrived at the Messe in a flurry of snow.
Then I got my first view of the Halls.
Wow! The vast spaces were filled with every embedded technology you could think of. Slick stands which had clearly had quite some money spent on them to showcase gleaming products, microchips and demos of their applications plus food and drink everywhere!
With five clients at the show, plus one speaking at the co-located electronic displays conference, we quickly set about locating each of them. As we had made their editor appointments, we knew their stand numbers of by heart so it was a relatively straight-forward task especially as three of them were in Hall 4.
Having said our hellos and making sure each of our clients were all set and had their correct schedules, press kits and marvelling at their stands. We made our way up to the already bustling press office to pop our press releases in the racks for eager journalists.
Then the first of a full packed day of editor meetings began. It all passed in a flash of demos, handshakes and air kisses and lots of talking and handing over of usb sticks packed with press kits.
Several bottles of water were consumed in the dry air of the exhibition hall along with several coffees to keep us going and the odd sneaky ‘Nuremberg Würst’ (made in the city for over 700 years, they can be no longer than 9cm and weigh no more than 25g).
Pedometer miles – 4.98
Combined editor meetings – 37
Day 2 – Wednesday
This was going to be our busiest day with another early start as our first editor was booked in for a prompt 9am meeting. From there, the rest of the day passed in a blur as I ran between two clients making sure that the meetings ran smoothly and that everyone was making the most out of the opportunity to talk about their products, introduced key spokespeople and gave updates on company developments. Editors were writing notes furiously in their notebooks whilst firing questions and intently listening to the answers.
Pedometer miles – 5.58
Combined editor meetings – 51
Day 3 – Thursday
The final day dawned and we knew we had to make the most of it and still be as enthusiastic with each editor as we had been on day 1, so Mike and I swapped clients so that we could still be fresh and interested.
This was also student day. This meant several groups of eager young engineers, some with their tutors, interested in demos, asking questions and trying to find all the best promotional gifts alongside the regular show visitors.
After another fruitful day of meetings, we headed back to Munich in the hire car, past snow laden fields for the flight home.
Pedometer miles – 6.01
Combined editor meetings – 30
Reflections
Undeniably exhausting as the week was, it was also exhilarating to be immersed in a world of technology that blows the mind in terms of current and future applications. Working so closely with our clients meant that we gained a much deeper insight into their new and forthcoming product developments as well cementing those relationships for the future.
Meeting pretty much all the key editors of tech press in Europe under one roof over three days was a great way to put faces to names I had been speaking to for the past few months. All in all, a very positive experience. And I only got one tiny blister.
Total pedometer miles – 16.57 (And I only got one tiny blister!)
Total editor meetings – 118
Embedded World took place in Nuremberg from Tuesday 23 to Thursday 25 February. The biggest show so far in its 14 year history, there were 939 exhibitors from 38 countries, 30,063 trade visitors and over 1,000 students. The next Embedded World Exhibition and Conference will take place Tues 14 March to Thursday 16 March 2017 and the details are online for the 2017 show!
Find out more about how Napier can help you make the most of your next exhibition with out Tip Sheets 9 Steps to Increase your Trade Show ROI and 7 Tips for Meetings at Trade Shows