Page 107 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition March-April 2021

“ WITHOUT TRADE process, Plaschka’s focus was and is on corporate
FAIRS OR OTHER SALES
PLATFORMS, BUSINESSES
ARE MISSING OUT ON
SIGNIFICANT AND VALUABLE
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES,
INCLUDING FOR MAKING
NEW CONTACTS ” of location. The main focus here is on the
- KLAUS PLASCHKA
our ‘community’. This is what builds confidence
and creates successful businesses. Our greatest
motivation in all this is to provide the best
possible inspirational framework to bring this
about, so this is what we are focussing on.”
A recent survey showed that 76 per cent
of exhibitors said that they were lacking
opportunities for gaining new customers, with
84 per cent complaining about the lack of
networking with visitors and other exhibitors
and around 60 per cent bemoaning the lack of
opportunities to put on real-world presentations
of new products. The survey was carried out in
October 2020 among 427 exhibiting companies
of major commercial sectors. The associations
SPECTARIS, VDMA, ZVEI und AUMA took part,
as did the association of German trade fair
businesses.
Coming back to opti, the organisers are
confident it will continue to be a commercial
driving force and platform for the future. The
next edition of the leading trade show for the
optics and optometry industry in Europe´s most
important market will be held from 14 to 16
January 2022, for which registration is open.
While it was for the first time ever that
opti had to be cancelled, much like events
worldwide, Klaus Plaschka is optimistic about
next year. “By late summer, Germany too
will have probably achieved the necessary
vaccination ratio, so that we will then finally be
able to get going again.”
Meanwhile, opti utilised this time to
make both the organisation and their core
competence - the organisation and holding of
live events - ‘fit for the future’. As part of this
Mar-Apr 2021 SK.indd 51
development, which – through collaboration
with the trade fair experts – is reflected in their
products and a significant contribution to their
sustainability.
“We carry out individual, customised
evaluations of all those aspects of an event
whose live counterpart is irreplaceable, as well
as of those that can be carried out irrespective
benefit to the customer, which mustn’t be
limited by virtual channels. . . For instance, at
GHM we have fully digitised the entire area of
Customer Services to include in our exhibitor
portal: right from registration to the ordering of
technical stand equipment and media services,
as well as the viewing of admission data and
participation invoice data — in future, all this
will be available online and grouped together in
a single portal. . .”
While the 2022 fair will be somewhat smaller
than the last editions, the quality of and
benefit obtained from opti will continue be the
main focus, with many familiar components.
However, there will be far more digital agenda
components than before, both before, during
and after the trade fair.
“We are optimally organised for it,” says Ms
Reiter, “as we will take the concepts that were
already fully prepared for opti 2021. We will add
to them the now-standard measures such as
the integration of vaccination certificates . . . in
the light of the situation that prevails in January
2022. Should it unexpectedly prove impossible
to carry out the trade fair as a live event then
we plan to have a different format that we will
present to the market in good time.”
WHILE THE 2022 FAIR WILL
BE SOMEWHAT SMALLER
THAN THE LAST EDITIONS, THE
QUALITY OF AND BENEFIT
OBTAINED FROM OPTI WILL
CONTINUE TO BE THE MAIN
FOCUS, WITH MANY FAMILIAR
COMPONENTS
| MAR-APR 2021 | 103 OPTI
26-04-2021 13:13