IFA 2018: The power of co-innovation delivers another stunning IFA experience

Co-innovation, artificial intelligence, voice recognition and the soaring popularity of smart connected devices have powered IFA to yet another record edition. The world’s leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances attracted 245,000 visitors this year. IFA is more important to global brands and retailers than ever before, with almost 150,000 trade visitors attending the show; more than 50 per cent of the trade visitors came from abroad, marking a new all-time high in international attendance. The event – timed for the all-important end-of-year business ahead of Black Friday, Singles Day in China, and Christmas – suggests that the industry is in a positive mood; high order volumes for deals struck during IFA grew yet again, totaling 4.7 billion euros.

With 1,814 exhibitors and rented floor space covering 161,200 square meters, this year’s IFA boasted two fully booked-out areas: IFA’s traditional space, the Berlin Exhibition Grounds, saw every square meter taken, while IFA Global Markets (for trade visitors only) at STATION Berlin on Gleisdreieck was totally oversubscribed.

“IFA is the most effective and globally the most important meeting place for doing business – not just for our industries and retailers, but consumers and media as well. We are delighted with the positive feedback we’ve had this year and in particular to have successfully integrated new industries in 2018. It’s this spirit of co-innovation – where companies from many different industries use their skills and ideas to tackle today’s challenges – that inspires all industries at IFA. Co-innovation is the main driving force for innovation today“, said Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin.

“As a driving force of industry and commerce, IFA 2018 has strengthened its position as the World’s Leading Trade Show for Consumer Electronics und Home Appliances. At 4.7 billion euros, the high volume of orders remained stable, ensuring a solid basis for the end-of-year business. With its wealth of innovations, IFA had a positive influence on the mood of international markets“, said Hans-Joachim Kamp, chairman of the board of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, the organizers of IFA.

“This year, IFA was able to strengthen its position as the World’s Largest Trade Show for Home Appliances again. We are extremely satisfied with the results of the 11th edition of Home Appliances@IFA. The mood at IFA will have a positive impact on the home appliance industry’s end-of-year business“, said Dr. Reinhard Zinkann, chairman of the Home Appliances Segment at the Industry Association ZVEI.

Huge media event becomes even more global

Journalists from 75 countries reported on the huge range of innovations and technology trends on show at IFA. Jens Heithecker, executive director at IFA: “This year, we attracted 6,000 journalists from 75 countries around the world – again more international than ever before. Global media attention is soaring, and we now have outlets covering 160 countries reporting from IFA. This really demonstrates our event’s global importance.“

IFA’s Global Broadcast Center supported a wide range of broadcasters, from the AP and Reuters news agencies to the public service broadcaster EBU, as well as the Luxembourg-based private network ENEX. Among the international TV stations and news networks reporting live from IFA were Al Jazeera (UAE), Nine Network (Australia), IBA International (Israel), CNBC (USA), as well as CCTV, the Shanghai Media Group and the Phoenix Group (all from China). With its shopping website Taobao, TBTX Media from China is able to reach 87 per cent of the country’s online consumer market with more than 500 million registered users, 60 million of whom are online daily. Iran International TV’s weekly technology program also reported on trends at IFA. Camera crews from France representing Euronews, 01net TV, LCI, BFM TV, OUATCH.tv, France 24 and ES 1 also reported from IFA in Berlin. 

IFA Global Markets attracts record numbers too

IFA Global Markets, now in its third year, set a new standard by attracting a huge number of global attendees and established itself as a vital part of IFA. In 2018, the exhibition area at IFA Global Markets was fully booked and even oversubscribed. The event – from 2 to 5 September – was open exclusively to trade visitors, suppliers, component manufacturers and OEMs/ODMs, to meet customers and business partners from the consumer and home electronics markets. IFA Global Markets has thus become Europe’s largest sourcing market. 

IFA NEXT doubles in size – Successful debut for Shift AUTOMOTIVE

IFA NEXT, the innovation showcase for start-ups, research institutions and enterprises, is in its second year, but has already nearly doubled in size. This year, the event had two stages, the Innovation Engines, for talks and demonstrations, covering a huge range of topics and events. In addition to R&D laboratories and leading global players, IFA NEXT 2018 featured some 125 start-ups from 21 countries, showcasing more innovation than ever before. 

IFA NEXT hosted not only an exhibition of innovative technology featuring fascinating lectures, but also the IFA Keynotes, the IFA+ Summit exploring the future five to 10 years out, as well as Shift AUTOMOTIVE, the new convention on Future Mobility, which made its debut in 2018 – all under one roof.

The first edition of Shift AUTOMOTIVE saw talks and panel discussions with speakers from Designworks of BMW Group, Daimler, Porsche, Nokia, Mesosphere, Accelere, KPMG and many others. The speakers and panelists faced a large and lively audience posing many questions. The event looked at the future of driving from the perspective of consumers and explored how new automotive technologies are changing the way we live, work and drive.