Let's first talk about succeet22, which took place in Munich in October 2022. How satisfied are you with the event? 

Heinrich Fischer: From our point of view, succeet22 was a complete success. We gathered a broad spectrum of exhibitors, whose range of products is, after all, the core of the event. We are also very satisfied with the relevance of the exhibitors and the size of the stands. And: the way the exhibitors presented themselves was great! The stands were mostly designed to a very high standard – no trace of Corona fatigue anymore! With the event, we gave the entire insights industry visibility and identity – topics and content were of high quality.

It was fantastic to experience at succeet22 how happy people were to finally be able to meet in person again without any restrictions. 

­► Check out the succeet22 review here: video and photo gallery · interviews: insights about insights · recordings of panel discussions

How does succeet22 compare to the 2021 trade show and to previous events? 

Heinrich Fischer: Compared to 2021, we were able to achieve a significant increase in all areas. A total of 123 companies were represented as exhibitors with a stand in 2022. The year before, there were 86. An increase of 43 percent. The number of presentations was also 35 percent higher than in 2021 with 107 live presentations and workshops. It is particularly pleasing that we also saw an increase of 35 percent in the number of around 2,050 registered participants compared to the previous year. Of course, we have not yet reached the level of the years before the Corona caesura. But we are quite optimistic that we will be able to further increase the number of participants. However, we must also recognise that people's information behaviour has changed and will continue to change due to the competing digital offerings of recent years. 

What has the feedback from exhibitors been like so far?  

Simone Waller-Klink: The feedback has been very positive throughout.

The atmosphere at succeet22 was great – and the anticipation for 2023 is highly promising: we have received a lot of praise for taking a chance on something new.

Only for the participants from the Munich area, who have had an unbeatable 16 years of comfort with the market research trade show always happening in their town, will the new location of course be a bit of a disadvantage. Nevertheless, there is always something  magical in a new beginning, and we are working hard to ensure that this magic can be experienced next year in Wiesbaden/Frankfurt – for participants from Munich, too, of course ;)

What worked well from your point of view at succeet22, where do you see room for improvement? 

Heinrich Fischer: First of all, we are very happy that the event went well overall, and largely without any disruptions. And that we had almost no more corona restrictions. Our experienced team - which, by the way, is only half the size compared to the time before Corona - did a super job. The content expertise brought in from marktforschung.de was also great and a clear improvement on previous years.  

Behind the scenes, however, it was also noticeable that the entire trade show industry is still struggling with corona-related, structural problems. For example, there were unfortunately still bottlenecks in the availability of stand construction materials and, above all, service staff, which unfortunately could not always be organised by our service provider in the desired number and qualifications. This mainly affected our admission management at the presentation rooms. When the trade show opened, we had a few problems with the scanners, but they were quickly solved.  

For the coming year, we will review the interaction with all service providers and the technology used, and improve it where necessary.  

After many years of the market research trade show and two years of succeet in Munich, you are about to move to Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, for the first time in 2023. Why? 

Simone Waller-Klink: When you include the previous market research trade show, there were a total of 16 events in Munich. That is a bit of an era that will now come to an end in 2023. This gives us a nostalgic feeling because we do feel connected to the MOC Event Center in Munich. Cooperation and support have always been fantastic there.

Despite all this, we have decided to move the trade show to Wiesbaden/Frankfurt in order to offer better accessibility overall and to be able to address new visitor groups.  

Within Germany, air travel is being viewed more and more critically, and is increasingly even banned in corporate travel guidelines – in this respect Wiesbaden/Frankfurt is clearly more central than Munich. The RMCC RheinMain CongressCenter offers a number of advantages that will make succeet23 even more attractive for both exhibitors and visitors.  

 This video will provide you with an overview of the new venue, the RMCC RheinMain CongressCenter.

Still, the new Wiesbaden/Frankfurt location is likely to be far less well-known than Munich, especially abroad.

Simone Waller-Klink: Wiesbaden is not a sure-fire winner internationally – that's true. But Frankfurt is known all over the world as a trade show venue and transport hub. We will take advantage of that in terms of communication. So why are we in Wiesbaden and not in Frankfurt? Wiesbaden offers us the opportunity to organise a very modern and sustainable trade show of short distances.

The new venue, RMCC Wiesbaden, is right next to the railway station, with hotels and restaurants within walking distance – and the building itself is most sustainable.

One example: due to the appealing stone floor in the hall, we as organisers - and, if it suits the respective stand concept, the exhibitors as well - can completely do without carpet. The RMCC, which was opened in 2018, is a most modern exhibition and congress centres with state-of-the-art event technology. Hall North is the perfect size for succeet23, and, together with Hall South, it also offers room for growth. In addition, the RMCC offers plenty of presentation rooms located on the first floor, accessible from the exhibition hall. The town of Wiesbaden with its historic buildings is also worth a visit – and is a good starting point for trips within Germany, for example to the famous Heidelberg.

All in all, the decision to move the event to Wiesbaden is not only good for the environment, but also has many practical advantages.

Will there be such a thing as a return to Munich? 

Heinrich Fischer: Munich has always been an attractive trade show location and will remain so. My colleague Simone has explained the reasons for the change of location in detail, and we are convinced that we made the right decision. But ultimately, success will decide on the choice of location, and we will only be able to assess that next year. We cannot and will not generally rule out a return to Munich.

What is the feedback from exhibitors so far about the move to Wiesbaden? 

Heinrich Fischer: The feedback has been consistently positive – in some cases almost euphoric. The vast majority of people we have spoken to share our arguments in favour of Wiesbaden.

A lot of exhibitors have already confirmed their participation in succeet23. And we have even had some enquiries from potential exhibitors who did not take part this year. We see this as a positive signal for a new beginning.  

Before succeet23 takes place, there will be another Week of Market Research in May 2023. Isn't the time of digital events slowly coming to an end?  

Simone Waller-Klink: No, we don't think so at all. It's true that the in-person succeet event showed how great it is that we can meet again and exchange ideas in person. But after the experience of the last few years, we are convinced that business trips will not reach their former frequency.

Our online festival Week of Market Research WoM23 will be the perfect complement to the in-person trade show succeet23.  

WoM is an independent format – with its own advantages: you can put together your agenda from the programme offered, and view topics of interest with no need to travel and be out of the office. Generally, Week of Market Research is a hybrid: as well as watching online, participants can also be present at the speakers' premises in some sessions. And there will again be offline networking events in the evening: participating companies will organise these get-togethers and  invite guests to join.

The interview was originally published in German on marktforschung.de   here