News Getting into Hot
News Getting into Hot Water IFA debut for the pioneers of the sous-vide cooking technique SousVide Supreme is an amazing new all-in-one sous-vide water oven designed to bring the sous-vide culinary technique into home kitchens and restaurants at an affordable price. The sous-vide (pronounced soo-veed) technique involves cooking food in vacuum-sealed pouches submerged in a water bath held at a preciselycontrolled temperature. At their first IFA, Dr Mary Dan Eades and Dr Michael Eades, cofounders of SousVide Supreme, explained their marketing plan to IFA International. Our marketing plan thus far has relied on our PR team, a vigorous click ad campaign, passionate affiliate marketers, and an active social media footprint. In addition, we employ a small sales force to take the message directly to retailers and distributors. We communicate through consumer demonstrations, social media, chef and blogger seeding programmes and contests, the production of multiple cookery books, and a robust website. Do you belong in the cooking category, or are you a lifestyle brand? Really, we fit nicely into both. There is no better way to leverage time in a busy world and still enjoy the benefits of fabulous food than by using the SousVide Supreme. What new products are you spotlighting at IFA? This is our first year at IFA so we are showing the full product family. Which are your fastest developing markets? The UK and EU markets have exploded in the past Drs Michael Eades and Mary Dan Eades year. We are up 180% in sales in some key markets and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. What new territories are you focusing on at IFA? We recently announced global expansion into 25 countries worldwide and we have a very keen eye on The SousVide Supreme method eliminates guesswork and enables the user to cook food “with incomparable taste and texture”. all European markets as well as the Middle-East and Asia. What can visitors experience at your IFA booth? Yummy food. Throughout the day, every day, we are demonstrating cooking with the SousVide Supreme water oven and sampling delicious sous-vide cooked foods. Hall 8.1 Stand 215 Nespresso Knows its Customers Well Luxury coffee brand has become a way of life Holger Feldmann, President of Nespresso Germany, told IFA International how the company maintains its position as a leading brand in the coffee-as-lifestyle marketplace. Holger Feldmann President, Nespresso Germany The Nespresso story began with a simple but revolutionary idea – to enable any coffee lover to prepare the perfect espresso at home. This passion for coffee is the engine of our actions. In 27 years we have managed to grow into one of the most prestigious brands and become the worldwide reference for premiumportioned coffee. How important are Nespresso stores as part of your concept and why? The Nespresso boutiques offer our customers a modern, unique coffee experience and bring the concept of individualised service to a new level. More that 300 Nespresso Boutiques around the whole world are the window to the heart of the brand and an important sales channel. How is the Nespresso business model evolving - in store and online? We are always in direct contact with our customers and club members. Our unique distribution channels – including our online shop, our exclusive boutiques and our service-oriented customer relationship centre, complemented by our sales model for machine partners, offer us a unique competitive advantage. Our customer relationship centre offers consumers another way to get in touch with Nespresso in their preferred way. More than 1,300 friendly, professional coffee specialists take care of the needs of our customers by phone and help on all matters relating to coffee machines, accessories and comfortable ordering of all Nespresso products. We think that our way of doing business is the best “We are always in direct contact with our customers” way for our company and our customers. So there is no reason to change that. In Frankfurt, the current boutique will move to the new ONE Goetheplaza in October 2013. With 600 sq m of retail space on two floors, the boutique in Frankfurt will be the largest boutique in Germany. As well as this, we will be represented in the Rhein- Main-Region starting this autumn as we are going to open our first boutique in Mannheim. Hall 8.1 Stand 215 14
News IP and TV – the Issues of Streaming The onward march of higher resolution and multiplication of service providers raises new issues Service providers such as DirecTV, Comcast, Sky and Canal Plus have already started testing and, in some cases, broadcasting live sporting events in Ultra HD. In addition, major players in the CE industry, such as Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, LG, Sharp and Hisense, are already developing and manufacturing Ultra HDcapable TVs. However, given that more than half of consumers recently surveyed in a study for Rovi Corporation report difficulty playing videos more than once a month, it's clear that the current satisfaction bar is low. At IFA, a triple-pronged strategy is being presented by Rovi in order to foster the development of Full HD and Ultra HD streaming, as the company promotes easier ways to find, deliver and watch content, and most importantly for the service providers, to monetise the plethora of new content. The advent of better ways to encode content means extending reach and expanding the market, and the Santa Clara based company is spearheading efforts to push the new HEVC platform into the market. “HEVC is fundamentally critical for all our customers who are involved in the creation and delivery of video, because it does two things: it saves them money and it allows them to deliver higher quality services,” Ray DeRenzo, SVP of Marketing at Rovi told IFA International. “We wanted to be involved in HEVC very early and accelerate its adoption.” HEVC, says Rovi, is simply a better frame of reference for both users and providers. “50% better compression means I can send more content to more places with more reliability”, he added. We are going to provide the core creation tools. If you can imagine, there are massive libraries of content that are stored in digital form. To take advantage of HEVC, these libraries are going to have to be re-encoded, to take the benefits of HEVC. Rovi has made available a main concept Software Developers’ Kit to enable this, and introduced a conversion tool, which the company describes as “total code”. It is significant, says DeRenzo, because it takes a single stream in – whether it’s a DVD, a Blu-ray Disc or a Mezzanine file – and outputs it simultaneously for multiple services. Added to this is the release of DivX 10 – a similar solution for general consumers, which allows them to move content with maximum flexibility. According to Mr DeRenzo, it’s not only about creating an HEVC solution: “Our strategy was to lead the conversation, to be the first to bring a scalable solution for HEVC. We believe we are uniquely positioned to drive this forward. Many of the things we are demonstrating here today are genuinely industry firsts.” Ray DeRenzo SVP of Marketing, Rovi Hall 25 Stand 151 Pro Business is Back at IFA European electrical appliances initiative returns Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Pro Business ElektroHausgeräte is an initiative of European brands committed to brand expertise, product range diversity and innovative technologies. We asked Heinz Werner Ochs, Chairman, Pro Business ElektroHausgeräte about the main participants. Heinz Werner Ochs Chairman of Pro Business ElektroHausgeraete Interest is usually focused on the big international companies such as Dyson, Kärcher, Melitta and Jura, but all brands involved in the initiative are now achieving special recognition, both in the European market as well as on other continents. “The demonstration and sampling of the products is a high priority” Please tell us about the Pro Business space at the IFA this year We are pleased that at IFA 2013, we have succeeded again in reserving the ideal exhibition space for our member companies. The 15 top Pro Business ElektroHausgeraete brands are at IFA with over 3,100 sq m of exhibition space. What is the objective of this area? The member brands of Pro Business are mainly manufacturers of small electrical appliances. The particular focus at the IFA is to present themselves within an environment that is appropriate to the status of their brands. The demonstration and sampling of the products is a high priority. Who are you targeting? Of course it is primarily trade customers to whom such a major fair is directed. Home Appliances @ IFA has a special characteristic, whereby consumers also develop a very strong interest in the small electrical product goods on display, thus influencing buying impulses positively through their demand in the trade.” Does it have a direct influence on business locally? A large number of customers come from Germany and the bordering European countries. With improved sales in 2013, we see Home Appliances @ IFA providing an even better opportunity than before to win customers for our product ranges from other regions and markets. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Wednesday 11 th September 2013 15
