A Hybrid Edition of IFA Puts the Tech Industry Back on Track

A Hybrid Edition of IFA Puts the Tech Industry Back on Track
Messe Berlin

IFA 2020 Special Edition has ended, sending the message that tech is back and that both the consumer electronics and home appliances industry and tech media have a hunger for real-life experiences. This year’s IFA Berlin was a hybrid event: three days of keynotes, presentations and product launches took place in real life under tight health and safety rules, but were augmented by IFA’s new virtual platform, IFA Xtended Space.

The event also hosted SHIFT Mobility meets IFA NEXT, an innovation platform that brought together start-ups, innovators and many companies shaping the future of mobility and everyday life. In addition, the IFA Business, Retail & Meeting Lounges provided an opportunity for brands and retailers to meet and do business in a safe, but face-to-face environment. Global brands seized the opportunity of IFA 2020 Special Edition to create wow-effects.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers of the IFA 2020 Special Edition had imposed tight limits on the number of attendees, well below those set by Germany’s public health authorities. And yet, over its three days, the IFA 2020 Special Edition made it possible for 6,100 attendees to meet face to face, experience new devices and discuss the opportunities for the global technology industry.

On site, this year’s IFA had 150 companies presenting their ideas, but they were joined by an additional 1,350 exhibitors from 30 countries at IFA Xtended Space and the IFA Virtual Market Place. Even though IFA Xtended Space opened its virtual doors just a couple of days before the IFA 2020 Special Edition got under way, more than 78,000 people followed the IFA 2020 Special Edition online, and generated 262,000 views.

The IFA 2020 Special Edition also puts IFA on track to run the show as a full-scale event. Set to take place from 3 to 7 September 2021, IFA Berlin 2021 already has strong industry backing. So far, more than 60 per cent of the exhibition space has already been booked. “This is a new record. Never before have we had such strong interest so early, so far ahead of the start of IFA“, said IFA Executive Director Jens Heithecker.

“The IFA 2020 Special Edition showed us the impressive power of innovation. On a deeper level, it also showed us that the world needs these face-to-face meetings between industry, retail, consumers and media, and it is IFA that facilitated these crucial connections, despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic“, said Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin.