So you’ve made it to the show. It’s vast. Over 3000 companies set up shop along huge halls. Now here’s something I have learned. Once you’ve paid your entry to the exhibition, you get a show catalogue with such thickness and weight that you may need to attach wheels to it and roll it around. Here’s where you sit down and plan your routes; your stand visits. Do this for as long as it takes. Don’t be tempted to try and wing it around the show. Desperation and dehydration will soon set in.
DEDICATED TECHNOLOGY AREAS
If you’ve gone to the show’s Web site, you’ll have already seen the special application halls focusing on things like automotive, RFID, wireless, and nanotech subjects. These are well put together, and if any of those are your beat, they’re good areas to visit. If you’re a designer (14% of visitors represent this group), and your scene is the latest in semiconductor technology, then you’ll need to concentrate on the Halls in the A section of the show.
Don’t forget to find the moving walkways (just like the one’s in airports) that run the length of the exhibition site. These are on the first floor adjacent to the line of hall B’s, with crossover areas to get to the A halls. For many people (85% of visitors), the main reason for being there is to establish new contacts. Interestingly, it’s about the same percentage of polled visitors that say the main reason for being there is to observe what their competitors are up to...not my figures, but the show organisers. Whatever the reason, though, careful itinerary planning is essential.
END OF THE DAY
A vast proportion of electronica visitors stay over in Munich. Don’t be tempted to stay in a hotel near the show; it’s a very boring thing to do and you’ll miss out on a fantastic city. Take a look at http://www.bigfoto.com/europe/g ermany/munich/index.htm for some ideas.