In 2015, the first Insights-X show kicked off in Nuremberg, Germany. The Maped Group has been an exhibitor ever since and this year again was a great success for us. Broadly speaking, it’s the timing of the show – early October – that appeals to us. It’s the perfect time for next year’s back-to-school season and being at the forefront of buyers’ minds at this important time really helps with our brand recognition.
The timing, of course, is one of the reasons why several manufacturers have moved away from Paperworld Frankfurt – or see Insights-X as an additional opportunity – and are now keen supporters of the event.
For the German Maped team certainly, we were able to welcome again a high level of buyers and product managers from a number of distribution channels, including retailers, mail order operators, wholesalers, mass market players, drugstores and discounters. To us – and I’m sure the organisers would agree – the calibre of visitors was excellent; feedback also shows that there was an increase in the number of international visitors, some from far-flung destinations like Latin America. That adds scope and quality to the event and bodes well for the future.
Family atmosphere
With that scope in mind, however, another advantage actually is that the event is not too big. Visitors can get first-hand information about new product launches while at the same time enjoying an almost family-like atmosphere in Nuremberg.
Insights-X comprises three exhibition halls which means that visitors can really spend time with suppliers and get a deep insight into companies’ assortments. Maped, for example, was able to highlight several pilot series product additions for 2018 that arrived just in time before the tradeshow.
Like I said before, early October is the perfect timing in terms of the new season, our R&D and buyers’ interest in our products. This year we specifically focused on new school accessories and products for the creative market. For the first time, our team also presented Maped Picnik, a new range of drinks bottles, lunch boxes and cooling bags for school children.
Insights-X in favour of Paperworld
The Maped Group and our German subsidiary helit had been exhibitors at Paperworld in Frankfurt for more than 35 years before we decided at group level a few years ago to switch to Insights-X. Paperworld is still important for our industry in my opinion and remains a very valuable trade show and global meeting point for the stationery community. But we had for a long time been in favour of a bi-annual rhythm of Paperworld and were also keen on changing the timing towards year end when our trade partners make buying decisions for the following year.
We’ll be at Insights-X again in 2018, hopefully with a larger-footprint stand as well. Next year’s show will be cut down to three days and I believe that’s a good decision by the organisers as the Sundays – the last day of the event – have been fairly quiet over the past couple of years.
Overall, for us it’s an excellent platform to present our brand to high-level decision-makers in our industry at exactly the right time of the year.
