A win for the premiere of Spielwarenmesse Digital: An impressive multifunctional platform for the leading industry event
The event week on Spielwarenmesse Digital proved highly popular within the industry. Spanning the original dates for the fair from 2 to 6 February, the platform provided a great opportunity for exhibitors and trade visitors to discover the latest trends, refresh their expertise in toys and exchange opinions and information. Over the five days, organiser Spielwarenmesse eG recorded 10,813 visitors from 82 different countries. The highly varied programme of presentations was a success, and was accessed 22,000 times.
“For a long while we were committed to a fair that people could physically attend and we’re pleased that we were able to switch to the Spielwarenmesse Digital format at such short notice,” said Christian Ulrich, Spokesperson of the Executive Board. “Although the event in Nuremberg is irreplaceable, with our week of events we were able to offer industry professionals up-to-date insights into the market and plenty of inspiration.” From startups to well-known companies, 642 exhibitors from 43 countries were there to present themselves and their selected innovations. Their profiles were clicked on 108,517 times. Moreover, the manufacturers’ presentations attracted particular attention: The ‘Exhibitors on Stage’ area was viewed about 5000 times.
The range of services also went down well, according to reports. “The highly international character of the fair, in combination with the ‘Exhibitors on Stage’ section, promoted the expression of some fresh and innovative ideas,” – so says Michael Kitsos, International Sales Manager at long-time exhibitor Svoora, from Greece. Sandra Lin of the Taiwanese company Honeycomb Learning Corporation adds: “The live presentation was an interesting experience and will help us to move forward.” And in addition, she comments, she discovered a new approach to finding different groups of customers.
The networking aspect of Spielwarenmesse Digital proved very popular. “Participating this year was certainly a good alternative way to meet with potential buyers and present our new products during the pandemic,” remarked Jolanta Nawrocka of the Polish company AzToys International. Similar levels of satisfaction were found among younger companies, who were full of praise for the platform’s ease of use. “The portal is designed in a clear way. Even as a startup you have every chance of being found,” says Astrid Kronsbein, Managing Director of Science Digital Didactics. And Maria Gundersen, Norwegian founder of the startup Flops, was likewise impressed by the support she received for her business: “The platform is great! My highlight as a startup was a meeting I had with a big distributor abroad who contacted us through the digital platform.”
For OPPI, from France, the ToyAward in the Startup category for its ‘Piks’ product was the high point of Spielwarenmesse Digital. “Winning the ToyAward 2022 with our product ´Piks´ in the Startup category is such an honour for our team and provides outstanding visibility for our brand,” says Co-CEO Hansel Schloupt. In the new Sustainability category the award went to Fischertechnik, which was especially pleasing to Sales Manager Marc Schrag: “The ToyAward for ‘Animal Friends’ strengthens our resolve to continue playing an active role on the path to a sustainable future, and to lead the way in the toy industry by our good example.”
The topic of Toys go Green can be found everywhere on Spielwarenmesse Digital. In the Toy Business Forum, for example, visitors were especially drawn to Reyne Rice’s presentation ‘Emerging and Future Trends for 2022: Focus on Innovations and Sustainability’, and to the findings of the ‘Sustainability & Toys’ consumer study by Pablo Busó Alos. The Spielwarenmesse TV format also enjoyed much popularity. One of the talk guests on the red sofa here was Christian Krömer, who as a retailer is also a user of Spielwarenmesse Digital and sees it as an opportunity to strike out in new directions: “Through the valuable networking function on the platform, I’ve got to know some exciting companies that I might well not have picked out at first glance at the bricks-and-mortar Spielwarenmesse.”
In this sense, Spielwarenmesse Digital offers a successful complementary format to the physical event. Interested visitors still have the opportunity until 6 March to buy a ticket for the platform (digital.spielwarenmesse.de). All of the presentations will be available on demand until the end of August. “In this way we can reduce the wait until the next Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, where the industry will finally be able to meet up again in person from 1 to 5 February 2023,” says Christian Ulrich.
