News With its renewed
News With its renewed increase in orders IFA 2015 provided impressive proof of this“, said Hans-Joachim Kamp, chairman of the supervisory board of Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH (gfu), the organisers of IFA. “In 2015, as the world’s leading trade fair for the home appliances industry IFA continues to occupy a trendsetting role. We are extremely satisfied with the way the fair went and look forward with optimism to end-of-year business“, said Dr. Reinhard Zinkann, chairman of the Home Appliances Trade Association ZVEI. Dr Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin said: “We are pleased that we were able to organize the most successful IFA of all time. The growth of international trade visitors is a phenomenal success.” The world at home in Berlin The reports filed by almost 6,000 journalists, including 2,700 from more than 70 countries, reached 1.2 billion people worldwide. The many stories published IFA Opening Keynote - How display will change our lives - Dr Sang Beom Han, CEO, LG Display in the world’s leading highcirculation print media were a reflection of the massive interest in IFA. Publications included The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, USA Today and New York Times (USA), The Nikkei (Japan), The Korea Times and JoongAng IIbo (Korea), Le Monde and Le Figaro (France), El Pais (Spain), The International New York Times and The Guardian (UK) as well as El Watan (Algeria), The Khaleej Times and The National (United Arab Emirates). In 2015 there were numerous international broadcasting networks represented in the IFA Global Broadcasting Centre, including the news agencies AP and Reuters, Eurosport and Deutsche Welle TV, the public broadcasters of EBU in Switzerland and the private networks of ENEX in Luxembourg. Among the international networks reporting on IFA were CCTV and Tianjin TV from China, 01net TV, LCI, BFM TV, MCM, Sport 365, Euronews and OUATCH.tv from France, the BBC, RAI and Mediaset from Italy, NHK from Japan, Polsat News from Poland, YTN and KBS from South Korea, IBA International from Israel, Nine Network from Australia, TRT from Turkey as well as the US networks CNBC/ NBC and Bloomberg. Jens Heithecker, director of IFA: “With 2,700 international journalists in attendance IFA was covered by every major daily in the world. More than 25 broadcasters from around the world reported on the latest technological innovations every day. IFA guarantees the attention of the world’s media.” IFA Keynotes – the platform for international CEOs The IFA Keynotes provide a global platform for CEOs and international decisionmakers from the consumer electronics and home appliances industries. ’How displays will change our lives’ was the topic of the opening keynote speech of IFA 2015. For Sang-Beom Han, CEO and president of LG Display, it was clear that the future belonged to OLEDs, a product developed by his company. “We need to transcend the limits of conventional design“, said Sang-Beam Han. “OLEDs are the key to the future which will open up new possibilities“, he added. By 2016 the current figure of networked devices is expected to double, from 300 to 600 million. Concluding his IFA keynote speech Paliwal said: “the age of smart audio has only just begun“, and explained that audio would have a growing influence on every aspect of our lives. There was a transition taking place from the digital to the networked to the smart world, over the course of which new and exciting markets would develop. In the first month after it reached the market Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 10 was downloaded by 57 million users, who used 90,000 different types of computer and models. These and other similarly impressive figures were quoted by vice president Nick Parker of the OEM Microsoft in his keynote speech at IFA 2015. According to Microsoft’s forecasts another 509 million users will be added in a year, with no end to growth in sight. IFA+Summit In 2015 the conference format IFA+Summit – the Next Level Of Thinking welcomed more than 35 speakers from nine countries. Over 300 guests representing all the creative industries, politics and the cultural sector, as well as speakers with forward-looking views on mobility, health, big data, design, the home and entertainment took part in the exclusive evening event at the Marshall Haus. IFA is the world’s leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances and will take place on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds (ExpoCenter City) from 2 to 7 September 2016. Guided tour 69+ In 2015 the conference format IFA+Summit – the Next Level Of Thinking – welcomed more than 35 speakers from nine countries. 6
News 2015 Highlights A look back at the show that was We asked IFA Executive Director Jens Heithecker to recap what he felt made the 2015 edition of the show so special… Even if we were starting to prepare the China project, we were focussed on IFA in Berlin and the success of this show. I know we seem to say the same thing every year, but again we achieved a new level of international reputation and attendance. There has been double-digit growth in the number of international trade visitors and media, and what we saw and heard from journalists was much more impactful than in previous years. It was a very innovative show at a very critical moment – especially for the TV markets and smart home markets. The markets are under pressure and the industry truly energised the markets with new concepts and ideas. It has been a highly innovative show in terms of new products and brands and even if the industry faces huge economic challenges, the exhibiting companies invested more in IFA, and It’s not just about communication between devices; you need operating systems and the kind of platforms being offered by telecom operators. that’s a very good sign for the show, because it showed how effective the event is in driving new business. We know the industry is under huge pressure cost-wise, but all the players have to be here, because of the huge benefit they receive from potential channel partners and retailers. Every exhibitor and every retailer feels this. There were three keynotes at this year’s show. What did you retain as the key messages from them? Don’t overlook the real underlying technologies in products; don’t underestimate what’s happening in innovations when it comes to displays and software; and for me, the greatest pleasure comes from the fact that music is again becoming “Hi-Fi”. There seem to be a lot of “grey areas” between categories now. Does that make it harder to present them? Yes and no. What we try to do with our sections is to make it clear what products or technologies can be put together for the different markets. Over the past decades we have seen this. Already 20 years ago we put together audio and TV. Now this has changed and there are new players. The increase in strength of IT as part of the recipe has been happening for some time, already described some time ago as “consumerisation”, with the growth in private use of PCs. Perhaps what’s new however in the IT business is that more than ever the sector interests retailers and distribution channel present at IFA. For me the most interesting point of evolution at the show is the rise in telecommunications as a sector. They have realised that they will be the hub of the smart, connected world. In the past we had all these connectable devices. They have been getting smart, giving useful benefits for the consumers, but the next step is to create a real system. Telecom manufacturers and operators can see the new business case, and see that they can hold a key position at the centre of the connected world. It’s not just about Jens Heithecker IFA Executive Director communication between devices; you need operating systems and the kind of platforms being offered by telecom operators. We are seeing this now at IFA, and this means we cover the complete connected world, starting with devices, but enabled by the telecommunications platforms that are at the heart of it all. Of course the news about your new show in China – “Consumer Electronics China” – has made a splash. Please tell us a little more about this… We’ve been working on this for five or six years on this project, closely monitoring the market. There are many trade shows for electronics in China, but we realised that none of these electronics shows was serving the market in the “IFA way”. The second challenge was to find the right city or region for the show. We considered Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing and realised that these were very good cities, with great exhibition sites and good people. But we realised that Shenzhen and the Guangdong province was an underestimated location for international shows. Once we had decided upon the location, the idea was reinforced by the excellent support we received from the Shenzhen government, which will be a very important element in the success of the show. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 21 st September 2015 7
