Frankfurt. “The legacy of IMEX 2018 is innovation,” said IMEX chairman Ray Bloom of the 16th IMEX, which brought over 9,000 hosted buyers and visitors to Halls 8 and 9 at Messe Frankfurt from 15 to 17 May 2018. While 3,500 exhibitors from 150 countries presented themselves in Hall 8, the focus in Hall 9 was on inspiration and education.

“Innovation is not just about technology; above all, it’s about creative ideas,” said Bloom. New IMEX partner C2 International presented future event formats, to the delight of Peter King, chief executive of Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), who teamed up with Martin Enault, CEO of C2 Asia Pacific, to hold a mid-air discussion with guests in the Sky Lab, whose legs dangled from their chairs 10 metres from the ground. C2’s Sky Lab and Dark Lab certainly got people talking. The many seminars at the Inspiration Hub, the creative performances in the new Live Zone and the Legacy Wall, where exhibitors and planners presented their current projects, attracted many visitors in Hall 9.

“Digital transformation is putting its stamp on the industry. We are living with constant change and in a process of continual learning. Meetings are a reflection of this digital transformation,” emphasised GCB managing director Matthias Schultze during the opening ceremony. His colleague Sara Parr explained the essentials of digital transformation in her seminar at the GCB stand, which was again larger than last year’s. Wildcard winner Design Offices enjoyed a great deal of attention. “Our mission is to design a new world of work. The innovative spaces we provide in 23 different locations inspire people and facilitate creativity,” explained Nikolaus Nenov. Leipzig made waves with the creative design of its stand wall. “We have a separate stand here for the first time, and it’s brought us a lot more visitors,” reported Pierre Wessel of Zoo Leipzig.

Nuremberg presented health care, one of its specialities, in a doctor’s waiting room with the slogan “Nuremberg cares for you”. The remedy, according to Sabine Linke, head of international marketing and acquisition at NürnbergMesse, was “3 C” vitamin pills, a reference to Zaha Hadid’s 9,600 square metre exhibition hall 3 C, which is opening at the end of 2018.

Venues offering new capacities found IMEX 2018 to be an ideal platform. In addition to the new CCH in Hamburg, the Bella Center in Copenhagen, offering a hall for 7,000, and the Guangzhou International Convention Centre in the port city north-west of Hong Kong will be opening in 2020. The management company, GL Events, which now has a portfolio of 40 venues, launched this new gem at its IMEX stand. The stand of IMEX debutant Wales was not to be missed. The ICC Wales is opening in 2019. And in January 2019 the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre will be complemented by a 3,200-seat lyric-style theatre. General manager Trevor McCartney is looking forward to the World Cancer Congress in 2020 and emphasised his team’s belief in the value of employing Omani staff, at the management level as well.

IMEX debutant Hawaii provided more evidence of the show’s great appeal to exhibitors from abroad. “We learned at IMEX America that many US and Asian buyers come to Frankfurt. We’ve had very good conversations here,” said Priscilla Texeira, managing director of Hawaii Tourism Global MCI. Her colleague Kalachev Alexey from the new Russia Convention Bureau said the same. The 11 host cities for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 were all at IMEX as MICE destinations. The new Tel Aviv Convention Bureau was promoting the city as a leading tech hub with 1,700 startups.

There were a total of 68,000 prearranged appointments with exhibitors, and visitors also appreciated the educational content. EduMonday made a strong impression with the events Rising Talent, She Means Business and the Agency Directors Forum. The PCMA Business School was held for the second time and was another big success.

The second PharMed Dialog at the CIM stand was also very well received. The experts invited by PharMed managing director Daniela Thom discussed six aspects of the organisation of pharmaceutical training events. “We need to optimise communication among participants,” stated Maximilian Broglie, managing director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin. “The rooms play a critical role. We don’t focus intensively enough on that. As a supplier, we want to be a solution provider,” said Jochen Lohmar, managing director of the Bodenseeforum in Konstanz. Approaches to facilitating learning and the benefits of apps were the subject of lively debate, as were methods of calculating return on investment (ROI).

“If the participant does something differently after the event, then it has added value,” concluded Ilka Dzeik of the Event ROI Institute. Das 34st Pharma Fortbildungs-Forum will be taking place on 3 and 4 July 2018 at the Bodenseeforum in Konstanz. The next IMEX in Frankfurt is going to take place from 21 to 23 May 2019.