02.02.2012 Mobile makes money – mobile internet applications are becoming a profitable business model

M-Days increasing number of participants and level of internationality

From ideas store to economic factor – congress themes
distinguished by topicality and relevance

A spirit of optimism and a high degree of satisfaction characterised the atmosphere of the 7th M-Days in Frankfurt am Main on 1 and 2 February 2012. Altogether, 4,100 experts from the fields of development, research, industry, trade, marketing, consultancy and financial services attended the congress and fair – an increase of more than a third compared to the previous event. “We are delighted with the terrific response, and the large increase in the number of participants achieved this year. Additional confirmation for the format of M-Days is given by the fact that mobile internet applications have now reached the business sector. This year, exhibitors noticed that the interest of visitors from trade and industry is driven by specific needs and business models”, says Klaus Reinke, Senior Vice President, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, summing up the results of M-Days 2012 on the final day, 2 February.

M-Days showed clearly how the sector has become technologically and structurally more professional over the last twelve to 24 months, especially the pioneers of mobile internet applications from research and development, as well as the telecommunications and automotive sectors. Jan Webering, Managing Director of Sevenva, the mobile technology and solution supplier from Germany: “At M-Days 2012, we experienced a high level of professionalism in our sector, which is still in the formative stage. We have been approached by both existing customers and new contacts with largescale projects, which have achieved the critical mass necessary for success in their fields of business. This was our seventh time as M-Days exhibitors – and we have seen how this event has grown from a meeting place for a few pioneers to a professional trade fair with an excellent congress programme. Naturally, the founding companies still take part. However, they have been joined by numerous small, innovative firms, which shows that our sector is expanding – organically, innovation driven and professionally.”

Jörg Pretzel, CEO of GS1 Germany, sees a new, high degree of dynamism in the market, especially the expanding e-commerce segment. “There was a new, highly optimistic atmosphere in the sector at M-Days. The latest mobile-application developments show that existing business models in the consumer-goods industry and the trade must be reviewed.” More companies from outside Germany also took advantage of the enlarged setting to make presentations. Dr. Alex Jonsson, Chief Technical Officer and founder of MoSync, the open-source supplier for mobile solutions from Sweden, said his company’s participation had been a complete success: “This was the first time we have exhibited at M-Days and found it well organised with plenty of visitors. The fair was an extremely good opportunity for us to meet and get to know important players from the sector – developers, users from the industry, as well as representatives of  telecommunications and media groups. We even had a visit from two renowned investment companies who were looking for business models. All in all, we are very pleased with the tangible business contacts and the quality of the brands and developers here at M-Days.”

In addition to several keynote speakers from Sweden, nine Swedish companies exhibited at M-Days within the framework of a strategic joint venue with the Sweden’s Mobil:Business publication. Altogether, 111 companies exhibited at M-Days 2012, including major names such as HTC, Gruner + Jahr, Nokia, Microsoft, PayPal, Qualcomm and SAP. They came from Germany (91) and ten other European countries – Sweden, Great Britain, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, the Czech Republic and Cyprus.

Carsten Szameitat, founder of the M-Days congress and fair, is very pleased with the seventh M-Days, the second M-Days to be held at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre: “M-Days accompanies the mobile sector on its way to becoming an innovative industry. We are proud of the way the event has grown continuously and look forward to forging ahead with the next edition in 2013. And the indications are that this will be bigger than ever before.”

Vision becomes reality

On four congress stages and the first ‘Mobile Working’ conference, over 200 leading experts from the fields of science, industry, trade and consulting presented visionary strategies and specific solutions. The lectures were very well attended with 700 of the 4,100 participants at the various lectures and presentations. In the keynote papers, top managers, analysts and representatives of the media discussed chances and challenges in the entire mobile sector. They included executives from Nokia, Mastercard, SAP, Microsoft, Ferrero, Audi, Axel Springer AG, Gruner + Jahr, PayPal, Vodafone, The 451 Group New York, Coca Cola, DDB Tribal Group und Deutsche Telekom, to mention but a few.

2012 also saw the first ‘Mobile Working’ conference at which speakers presented best-practice examples and research results on the opportunities available to companies for creating effective and attractive virtual workplaces.

The next M-Days congress and fair for the mobile internet will be
held at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre on 5 and 6 February
2013.

More information about M-Days can be found at www.m-days.com and in the Blog Connected of Messe Frankfurt on the digitalisation of business life at http://connected.messefrankfurt.com.

M-Days

The congress and fair of Messe Frankfurt reflects all developments of the mobile market. In 2013, the 8th edition of M-Days, ‘The home of Mobile’ will be held for the third time as a
Messe Frankfurt event in Frankfurt am Main. M-Days is Europe’s biggest fair and congress for the mobile internet. The topics covered include: Mobile Web, Applications, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Enterprise, Mobile Payment, Automotive Solutions, Mobile
Content, Business Solutions, Devices, Mobile Technology, Mobile Venture and Augmented Reality.

Background information on Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser with € 457* million in sales and 1,769* employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events ‘made by Messe Frankfurt’ take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2011, Messe Frankfurt organised 101 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany. Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Centre. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent.
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
*Provisional figures (2011)

11 Prozent Communication

Based in Erding, 11 Prozent Communication is the publisher of GFM Nachrichten (www.gfm-nachrichten.de), which covers the mobile internet, social media, webTV and eGame marketing – an expert information tool dealing with new media for media, marketing and the telecommunication industries. For M-Days, 11 Prozent Communication is the content, marketing and sales partner Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.