IFA announces Special Edition for 2020

IFA announces Special Edition for 2020

Just a few weeks after the announcemnet that IFA 2020 will not take place as usual due to the measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease, the organizers, Messe Berlin and gfu, have revealed the first details on this year’s special edition of the global consumer technology fair during an online press conference. From September 3 to 5, IFA 2020 is to combine four independent events over three days, which are currently not planned with more than 1,000 participants per day and event. Therefore, participation will only be possible after pre-registration or by invitation. Consumers will not be eiligible for attending the event this year.

With the IFA Special Edition, the organizers want to offer the first opportunity for the consumer electronics and home appliances industry to present their new products and services directly to the media and retailers since the outbreak of the pandemic. According to Jens Heithecker, Executive Director of IFA Berlin,m the event is set to take place at the traditionally best time for brands, manufacturers and retailers: shortly before the most important sales season of the year, which ranges from Singles Day to Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday right throught to the Holiday Season and the Chinese New Year.

“After all the event cancellations during the past months, our industry urgently needs a platform where it can showcase its innovation, so that it can recover and rebound“, said Heithecker. “The recovery of our industry starts here at IFA Berlin.” While virtual events were useful, they were “missing the immediacy, hands-on experience and human connections that make events like IFA Berlin so incredibly useful”, he added.

The organizers emphasized that the concept for IFA 2020 would ensure the health and safety of all participants in close coordination with the responsible authorities in Germany. Messe Berlin would ensure that social distancing, careful crowd control and other effective public hygiene measures will be all in place.

The IFA will consist of the following events:

1. The IFA Global Press Conference, which usually takes place in April but has had to be canceled this year, is now scheduled to be a global platform for innovation and technology in September to provide manufacturers and brands with the opportunity to share their innovations with the media that then convey them to the consumers. Around 800 journalists from more than 50 countries are to be invited to Berlin for this event.

In addition to company press conferences, industry partners will have the chance to create smart company and brand presentations for interviews and further talks with media representatives.For journalists, this will be the most efficient way this year yet to cover the technology stories their audiences are interested in; it’s their first opportunity after the beginning of the pandemic to see all of this year’s innovation and new products all in one place, and they can organize face-to-face interviews with the spokespeople for brands.

The opening keynote for this year’s IFA will be delivered by Cristiano Amon, the President of Qualcomm, a company that is the undisputed global leader in mobile connectivity. He said he is looking forward to giving the keynote and speaking about the company’s latest developments in 5G, AI and other key technologies that will drive the future of the Internet and deliver the devices and capabilities the world needs.

2. During the special edition of IFA 2020, IFA will bring its two innovation platforms, IFA Next and IFA Shift Mobility, together to form an exclusive live event for the international tech community in order to create a platform for technology startups and companies in the area of connected mobility. This should not only create the urgently needed publicity effect, it should also enable important industry connections.

3. IFA Global Markets, which has grwon to become the largest European sourcing platform for OEMs and ODMs in the past three years, is to become the world’s first special sourcing trade fair in 2020 to repair and restructure its supply chains hit by the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. The IFA Business, Retail and Meeting Lounges will be curated by IFA to give brands and manufacturers the much-needed opportunity to meet retailers in a safe and efficient manner ahead of the year’s all-important shopping season.

Since Messe Berlin expects that travel restrictions my continue to apply at the time of the IFA, the IFA Special Edition should be available digitally by virtual streaming and chat offers. This digital IFA experience was also necessary and useful due to the limited number of visitors per event Messe Berlin said.

”IFA Berlin is the most important event for the consumer electronics and home appliances industry ”, commented Hans-Joachim Kamp, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the IFA owner, gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH. „These past few weeks, we have worked very closely with the IFA team to develop a concept that gives all our industry partners the platform they need to talk about their innovations.”

“Our IFA team really has pulled out the stops for this one,“ said Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin. “I am incredibly proud of how they have tackled this challenge and come up with a solution for IFA 2020.”