Crisis to competitive advantage in 4 months

As one of the 15 largest exhibition companies in the world, the NürnbergMesse Group's portfolio includes more than 120 national and international exhibitions and congresses in Nuremberg and worldwide. The company attracts 35,000 national and international exhibitors and up to 1.5 million visitors every year.

With the start of the pandemic situation at the beginning of 2020, physical exhibitions and congresses could no longer take place overnight—the core business and nucleus of the NürnbergMesse Group was lost for an unforeseeable period of time.

The Challenge _

With the short-term total loss of its core business, NürnbergMesse faced the challenge of developing a short-term crisis plan that could at least partially replace planned sales.

In order to adequately live up to the vision "We are the home of the industry" in the future and not leave the emerging space to established, purely digital market competitors, the company reacted quickly and pushed ahead with the development of a scalable, digital B2B exhibition platform. The goals:

• Establish a digitally expanded ecosystem beyond the pandemic

• Strengthen the NürnbergMesse brand with a multifunctional online and offline offering

• Expand the classic very selective exhibition business with this platform to 365 days a year

The Solution _

The MVP for the IT security industry platform "ITSA" (www.itsa365.de) was created in an agile process in four months up to October 2020, followed four weeks later by the rollout for digital event number two, the Brau Beviale beverage trade fair (www.my-beviale.com). Both websites connect trade fair visitors and exhibitors with new digital services. As a result of a customer-focused requirements process, the basic version focuses on the following functionalities:

Company Presentation and Customer Approach

Company and product presentations with the possibility of context-related contact

Topicality and Interactivity

Multi-day live trade fair program with interactive participation options for registered users and companies

Reach and Marketing

Marketing and lead generation via sales packages, specialist presentations and sponsor placements

Initial Communication and Follow-Ups

Video calls with experts including appointment scheduling

Availability and Relevance

Content portal with 365-day-relevance