As a Messe Frankfurt trainee, I have spent the last 21 months working in many interesting positions in a wide range of departments within the company. My most recent seven-week assignment was different in one important respect – I was in a different location to my project team colleagues.
While the rest of the Eurobike team was based in the Messe Friedrichshafen exhibition grounds at Lake Constance, I was here in Frankfurt. Because of this, I had initially been wondering how well this set-up would work. Spoiler: I had been worried about nothing! This probably had much to do with the fact that I spent the first week on location together with the team. So instead of virtual interaction and e-mail communication, there were real faces, an extensive onboarding week and – a very welcome bonus – the lovely Lake Constance right on our doorstep.
So how did it come about that two trade fair companies – which, strictly speaking, are in competition with one another – should suddenly team up for a project like this? Up until 2021, Eurobike was still being held in Friedrichshafen. However, the bicycle sector experienced a veritable boom during the pandemic and at some point the exhibition grounds there were simply too small. For this reason – and because of the international accessibility that Frankfurt offered – Eurobike was rolled out there for the first time in 2022, complete with a new concept. The two trade fair companies also founded fairnamic GmbH, a joint venture that combines their respective strengths and expertise. This in turn led to exciting, even international events such as Eurobike and the AERO aviation fair.
Back in Frankfurt for award meeting and social media feed
One week later, I was on my way back to Frankfurt with a laptop and a list of email addresses for my team at Messe Friedrichshafen – and with new tools, and plenty of first-hand insights into the exhibition grounds, offices and my team colleagues. As it turns out, this was perfect timing as the Eurobike Awards were about to be held in Frankfurt. In this way, the fact that our team was in two different places was actually an advantage.
The panel of judges put a wide range of innovations from the bicycle sector through their paces: cargo bikes, smart apps, sophisticated anti-theft systems and much more besides. I was able to experience the process live, gain deeper insights into the sector and produce content for social media.
In the weeks that followed, my work was still largely focused on digital communication – preparing social media posts, researching new platforms and carrying out the occasional traditional PR task. Even though it was a little strange for me not to be sitting in the same office as the rest of my team, it soon became clear that this wasn’t a problem in practice. As much of the communication took place digitally anyway, the teamwork went perfectly smoothly in spite of the distance between us.
And very soon Eurobike itself was just around the corner. Together with 40 or so colleagues from the Eurobike team, we moved into our offices – some of us in the Press Centre in the Torhaus, others spread out among the offices in Hall 11. So that we were directly identifiable as a team and above all as the ‘content crew’, we were all kitted out with matching Eurobike merch – which, as well as being practical, will be a lovely memento in the future.
Even though the trade fair was to take place on our Frankfurt exhibition grounds between Wednesday and Sunday, everything was already in full swing for us on the Monday. Among other things, this was due to one of the two media tours for the press and the Eurobike Media Kick-Off, i.e. the press event at the start of the trade fair.
Once the trade visitors and exhibitor teams had begun to pour into the exhibition grounds on the Wednesday, our focus from that point onwards was clear – content, content and more content! Together with a video team and photographers, we kept our social media channels well supplied with fresh content. Based on our editorial plan, we worked our way from hall to hall, whizzing across the exhibition grounds constantly in search of the most exciting products and the best stands.
Eurobike opened earlier for private visitors for the first time as of midday on the Friday. The Eurobike Party kicked off on the same evening – definitely another highlight for the list – ushering in a wholly successful festival weekend. The test track, where all kinds of vehicles could be tried out, was always in great demand. As well as this, the Action Area with events like the Skyline BMX Contest and the Drop & Roll Show with legends from the bike scene were both a massive hit.
On the Sunday afternoon, after a long and tiring trade fair week, it was time for me to return my equipment, take a final walk across the trade fair, say goodbye to my team and finally get a chance to process all the week’s impressions.
Joint venture fairnamic GmbH
On founding fairnamic GmbH in 2021, Messe Frankfurt and Messe Friedrichshafen entered into a unique partnership with a focus on innovative mobility. The joint venture successfully combined the strengths of both companies with a view to providing a leading international fair for the global mobility transition, particularly in urban areas. With concentrated expertise, market knowledge, speed and a truly global outlook, fairnamic has enjoyed a leading position ever since in two future markets: Bicycle & Ecomobility and General Aviation. The EUROBIKE and AERO brands also include their overseas events Asiabike Jakarta, AERO South Africa and AERO Asia.