IFA International 2019 Review Edition

FEEDBACK FROM SHOWFLOOR
MEDISANA’S MASSAGE
MESSAGE DRAWS CROWDS
Ulrich Schulze
Althoff
Chief Digital Officer,
Medisana
Medisana has established a leading
position in the home health market,
developing products and services that
improve mobility, flexibility, independence
and safety. It’s a message that was wellreceived
by IFA visitors, according to the
company’s Chief Digital Officer Ulrich
Schulze Althoff: “Home healthcare is
increasingly relevant for people visiting,
and our partners.”
Particularly popular with buyers and
visitors have been Medisana’s massage
products, said Althoff: “We’ve been
driving that area very strongly and it has
attracted a lot of interest here.” Another
product that created a buzz was its home
health robot “which is aimed at assisting
people living alone.”
Key IFA themes, said Althoff, were
“robotics, AI and 5G. The message is that
consumers don’t need to know how the
tech works, they just need to see how it
can help them in their lives.”
In terms of IFA’s value, he said: “It is our
platform to present the company to
customers and end users – the robot,
our new logo, our health app, which has
one million users. It’s good for buyers
to see our momentum; and for us to get
consumer feedback”
Launched in 2016, Conrad
Connect now operates one of
the fastest-growing smart living
platforms in the world, enabling
users to interconnect smart
devices, apps and services from
different brands on a single
platform. At IFA Berlin, the
company focused on promoting
areas such as Smart Energy
Management, Smart Home
Automation and Smart Health
and Fitness, as well as introducing
its Conrad Connect Business
Solutions.
Head of Marketing Giorgi
Jashiashvili said: “IFA gave us the
right audience. It was the right
place to be.”
According to Jashiashvili, the
main traffic at the weekend
CONRAD CONNECT HAILS
AMAZING FEEDBACK
was general show visitors while
Monday and Tuesday was more
about talking to trade partners.
“We put a lot of energy into
showcasing our b2b solutions and
explaining how partners could
grow with us. We’re really happy
with potential partners we met at
IFA. It is important for platforms
like Conrad Connect to get critical
mass – and we had the right
audience across the show”
Giorgi Jashiashvili
Head of Marketing, Conrad Connect
IFA FIRST-TIMER SAFERA
CONNECTS WITH PARTNERS
Finnish company Safera was at IFA for
the first time as an exhibitor and CEO/
co-founder Mikko Reinikainen couldn’t
be happier. “I have been visiting for five
years and dreaming of the day we would
exhibit here. All of the major players are
in one place.”
Safera was at IFA to promote Safera
Sense, which it describes as the first
“complete smart cooking sensor”.
Mikko Reinikainen
CEO/Co-Founder, Safera
Compatible with smart home systems
including Google Home and Amazon
Alexa, Safera Sense is designed to help
users avoid cooking fires and monitor
air quality. While currently focused on
the kitchen, the tech could be rolled out
into other scenarios. “We have had a lot
of interest from major companies,” said
Reinikainen. “I said I would be happy if
we managed to connect with one global
player but by the end of the show it was
more like ten.”
Safera organised some meetings ahead
of IFA, “but a big advantage was being
able to demonstrate the technology.
We brought a lot of demonstrators
because there is nothing like being able
to experience a new solution with your
own eyes”
www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 23 September 2019
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