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Stunning Success for Integrated Systems Europe 2009
Defying both the challenging economic climate and freak weather conditions on the eve of the show, ISE 2009 smashed all records to become the most successful event ever staged for Europe's professional AV and electronic systems integration industry.
From 3-5 February some 24,912 attendees were drawn to this year's show - a 12% increase on the previous record, set in 2008. A total of 564 exhibitors (up 16% on last year's 484) occupied 22,000 square metres of net floor space, an 18.5% rise. Both these figures were also a record for ISE. Gross space occupied by the show was 48,500 square metres, up from 38,500 last year.
Reflecting on three intense days of business activity, education, new product introductions and networking opportunities, Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events, says: "We are delighted that so many people came to Amsterdam to experience this year's ISE. It is always satisfying when an event continues to grow, but to have continued on our upward trajectory against a relatively unpromising economic backdrop is especially pleasing."
While ISE's two supporting trade associations, InfoComm International and CEDIA, invested record amounts of time and money into the marketing effort for this year's show, Blackman is keen to emphasise the role played by exhibitors themselves in making ISE 2009 such a huge hit. "The best advocates for our show are our exhibitors," he says. "We have worked closely with them throughout the year, pursuing a range of initiatives to drive our attendance higher so that they get real value for the resource they allocate to ISE. It is gratifying to see all this hard work paying off in such spectacular fashion."
ISE's Digital Signage Zone, a new attraction that gave smaller companies a compact, accessible forum in which to display their solutions, proved particularly popular.
Coupled with the ISE DOOH Business Conference which was held on 2-3 February and co-located with the show, helped to attract substantially more members of the advertising and creative content communities than ISE 2008. Other market sectors to show growth were the live-events industry, architects, and project managers.
Geographically, the big gainers were France, Germany and Italy - with attendance rising by 20%, 30%, and 50% respectively. Central and East European markets also contributed significantly to ISE's growth, with Polish, Czech and Slovak attendance all rising markedly.
Looking ahead to 2010, Blackman believes ISE will continue to thrive because the business communities it serves are well-placed to meet global economic challenges.
Over 70% of the exhibit space for ISE 2010 had already been reserved before this year's show had closed its doors - reflecting the overwhelmingly positive mood of the event. At the same time, Blackman stresses: "We are not complacent. We know that we will have to redouble our promotional activities in order to maintain our growth in 2010, and we are already working with our Advisory Board to develop a range of new attractions that will make next year's ISE a better place to do business than ever."
The next Integrated Systems Europe will be held from 2-4 February 2010 at the Amsterdam RAI.
17th February 2009
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