Successful exhibitions traditionally take place in cities or countries with a strong reputation for the sector the exhibition has been conceived to serve. The automotive industry provides a clear example of this. Four of the five largest international motor shows take place in the auto manufacturing hotbeds of Germany, Tokyo, the US and France. Despite the recession’s impact on the car manufacturing industry, they continue to pull in the visitors, buoyed perhaps by the collapse of lesser global car exhibitions.
It’s the fifth member of this top-tier group, the Geneva International Motor Show, held in a country with no domestic car manufacturing industry, that provides an unusual argument for an international exhibition organiser.
The learned wisdom is that shows should be held in markets with a strong related local markets. But the truth is that Geneva benefits from Switzerland’s neutrality. Much as it did during the world wars, and still does for today’s chastened hedgefunds, Switzerland offers its clientele refuge; a place where they can do business on equal terms with their competitors.
Take Detroit as an example; America’s motor city. Some brands will be put off launching a new model in the back yard of huge US brands such as Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Chevrolet. These US brands will hit Detroit looking to impress not only the overseas markets, but the domestic US market, and will throw everything they have at their stands, maximising their marketing spend to drown out competitors’ engines with elaborate and spectacular model launches.
It’s an issue that affects all the international motor shows but Geneva. Tokyo is home turf to Toyota, Nissan and Mazda; Germany to Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW; France to Citroen, Renault and Peugeot.
Switzerland, on the other hand, is home to Rinspeed, a manufacturer best known for creating Splash; an amphibious car capable of 50mph on water, and this year’s BamBoo; an odd-looking concept with only marginally broader appeal.
“We are the only international show of these five that takes place on neutral ground,” said director of the Geneva International Motor Show, Rolf Studer.
“We have no automotive production in Switzerland. So every brand has the same chance to show its products to the press and to the 700,000 visitors. Without preference.”
This neutrality holds particular appeal for designers. Geneva has a reputation for being the launching ground of many models, and with a level playing field, manufacturers are more inclined to unveil their latest models. The exhibition has developed a reputation for being a major branding event, rather than a straight buyer’s market, evidenced by the high number of model launches. And the model launches bring the media, which means the show doesn’t need to rely on performance arenas and similar show pieces. “We don’t need spectacle - we have serious things,” says Studer.
The serious content continues with the exhibition’s strong conference programme. This year, during the two press days preceding the public opening, there were 80 conferences on issues including alternative propulsion and sustainable motoring. “We started three years ago with the green pavilion for alternative technology,” says Studer. “These companies know they have a platform here. They like to come to Geneva to prove this technology.”
Geneva is also an annual show, and the only one of the five to take place in the spring. Its closest geographic rivals, Frankfurt and Paris are biannuals, as is Detroit on the other side of the Atlantic. Of the top five only Tokyo shares Geneva’s yearly cycle. “We are the only show to take place in spring time, and spring is the sales start,” comments Studer.
It’s also relatively compact for a truly international motor show. The venue, despite being currently undersized for the event, is beside the airport, and mobile visitors could cover the whole show floor in a day. “The manufacturers appreciate the fact that Palexpo is ‘small but smart’, it’s human scale,” says Studer. “It’s not so big that you need three days to go through it.”
It helps bring the show its international clientele. You could conceivably fly in, enter the exhibition from the airport, see the show and leave the same day. Geneva has a broad catchment, located in the centre of Europe. Forty-five per cent of the show’s visitors, Studer claims, come from outside Switzerland, and he estimates more than 60 per cent of visitors return more than once inside 10 years. Studer claims the Swiss Germans love the show as it gives them a yearly opportunity to visit French-speaking Switzerland. The organiser even puts on 15 additional trains exclusively for use by people holding entry tickets to the motor show.
Ultimately demand for the show is increasing. This year’s event needed another 10,000sqm of gross space to house the exhibitors it turned away. But Studer will get his additional space; Palexpo is developing a new 5,500sqm hall as well as expanding and redesigning Hall 3, both of which will be finished in time for the 2013 edition.
At a time when motor shows are fighting to regain ground lost during the hard years of the global recession, Geneva appears to be going from strength to strength.
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Palexpo MD Claude Membrez explains why by the end of November - the venue’s 30th anniversary - Palexpo is on course to experience its most successful year since doors opened in 1981.
What are Palexpo’s development plans for the next 12 months?
Our plans include building a new Hall 3 which will be larger with a new design. This should be finished in 2013. The construction of a completely new hall will begin in 2011 and will be ready for the Motor Show 2013, offering more than 5,500sqm.
Are there any obstacles or issues you would like to see addressed in Geneva/Switzerland in order for you to do business more successfully?
The unfavourable exchange rate of the Euro causes problems sometimes, as well as the fact that Switzerland does not belong to the European community which means that exhibitors are sometimes confronted with rather complicated clearing formalities.
For some big international events like the Geneva Motor Show it can be difficult to find accommodation during the press days in the city centre. However the city invested in the construction of several new hotels over the last three years. Public transport is well organised and serves the Palexpo area regularly.
What are your views on emerging trends in the international exhibition industry?
We saw in 2008 with the worldwide economic crises that long time established exhibitions survived rather well, while new exhibitions had a tendency to disappear. The world of exhibitions is becoming more international; the biggest increase is registered in Asia and India.
Contrary to the common idea that the new information and communication technologies kill face-to-face meetings, we note that these work rather well in conjunction with the traditional exhibition, and do not threaten them. The exhibition industry is flexible and adapts its offers quickly to the needs of new sectors. We also feel that Geneva belongs to the ‘valeurs sûres’ (safe bets) in the world of exhibitions.
Any comments? Email exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
