LOUNGES 2022 - Successful, strong, and inspiring

– An exciting year for Inspire and partners
– This was 2022 – the year for Inspire
– More than the LOUNGES – 2022 was good, 2023 will be inspiring
– After Corona break: LOUNGES in Karlsruhe and Vienna again a complete success

Harald Martin, Jennifer Würsching, and their team had to wait a long time before the Corona restrictions for events and trade fairs were lifted again, allowing them to attract many exhibitors and visitors to the halls in Karlsruhe, Vienna, and the World Congress in Munich with the LOUNGES and other events. And it was successful! Besides the events, the entire team has initiated many other projects and visions that will take concrete shape in the next year and 2024.

Back from the forced break

For all trade fair organizers and event managers, the period from 2020 to early 2022 was tough – for well-known reasons. But instead of feeling down and hoping that things would start again soon before their financial reserves ran out, Inspire did not remain inactive.

Ideas were forged, communication concepts developed, and corporate collaborations initiated. During this time, C7 Hybrid Brand Experience was also created, consisting of experienced and young companies, and acting as a network that pools various competencies. “Hybrid presentation is a combination of real, virtual, and digital measures, jointly conceived with different partners,” explains Harald Martin. The collaboration was first introduced at the LOUNGES 2022 in Karlsruhe. C7 includes the trade fair professionals from ARNO Design, the Inspire Studio Heidelberg, the video production company Bildbrauerei, the communication agency SHOUT Media, Concept Food, HauckIT, and Inspire itself.

LOUNGES 2022 Karlsruhe: Finally back!

“During the Corona pandemic, we thought a lot about digital and hybrid trade fair experiences, many of which we could implement in the Inspire Studio Heidelberg to enable at least digital participation – but nothing replaces personal exchange,” says Harald Martin. It was all the more gratifying for him, his team, exhibitors, and visitors that in May 2022, the doors of the LOUNGES in Messe Karlsruhe could reopen. There was some uncertainty about how many would venture out of the uncertain pandemic environment into the trade fair halls. But expectations were far exceeded, much to the joy of all involved. “We thank all exhibitors and visitors who attended in such large numbers and contributed to a great trade fair experience for everyone,” says Harald Martin.

Back to normality

With the momentum from the LOUNGES in Karlsruhe, the Inspire team could look positively into the rest of 2022. The next event was already in sight: the World Congress in Munich, organized together with EHEDG and Dr. Jürgen Hofmann.

LOUNGES 2022 in Vienna

A bit smaller in scale than in Karlsruhe, but no less familiar, were the LOUNGES 2022 in Vienna in October. Here again, the innovative trade fair concept developed by Inspire in collaboration with ARNO-Design proved successful and delighted exhibitors and visitors alike. “You always meet interesting people, which is very nice, and you see that this industry exchange takes place in a friendly and appreciative manner,” explains Dominikus Forsthuber, managing director of exhibitor ABC, during the fair.

Exhibitors such as Dastex, Camfil, CRS, Salesianer, Tecno Plast, USF, ÖRRG, and many more showcased their products and services at the Vienna LOUNGES, finally leaving the pandemic-driven pause behind them.

But after the LOUNGES is before the LOUNGES. From April 18-20, 2023, it will be held again in Karlsruhe, along with a promotional tour through Austria in fall 2023 and other events focusing on CLEANROOM and PROCESSES. In October 2023, it will also go to Hamburg and Dresden, and in 2024, the LOUNGES will return to Vienna. Much work lies ahead for Inspire and C7, as they aim to do things differently and better, creating unique features around the themes of CLEANROOM and PROCESSES.

Big visions beyond the trade fair

Besides the trade fairs, the digitalization of offerings around Inspire is a high priority. “If we learned one thing from the pandemic, it’s not to rely solely on traditional products like trade fairs but to also digitally represent this experiential world,” says Harald Martin. For this reason, he and his team are developing a portal for an entire industry, bringing together all relevant offers and digital products. Videos, lectures, podcasts, detailed articles about companies, products, industry news, and many other editorial and multimedia content will be available here.

But that’s not all, as the booking of exhibition stands for the LOUNGES as part of various communication and marketing packages will also be managed through this portal. “We want to expand our offerings and give exhibitors and companies in the industry more opportunities to be seen,” says Harald Martin. This is where the corporate collaboration C7 comes into play, consisting of various companies with the right specialization to implement these requirements for companies and an entire industry.

Inspire looks back on an extremely successful year, having not only regained momentum lost during the pandemic but also used this time to further develop itself and its products.