Spielwarenmesse Digital brings together the worldwide industry, virtually. For the originally planned period of the trade fair, from 2 to 6 February, the new platform is offering a comprehensive live programme for all participants.
Alongside a wide range of communication tools, it also offers the trade a compact overview of trends and innovations. The registration phase of Spielwarenmesse Digital for trade visitors starts on 19 January. Buyers can register on the new platform at digital.spielwarenmesse.de/en and set up their personal profile. Tickets can be obtained via the website www.spielwarenmesse.de/en/tickets. Previously purchased tickets to the on-site industry event will remain valid for Spielwarenmesse Digital.
Live programme over five days
The digital inaugural event on 2 February, to which all industry participants are invited, will launch the live phase of Spielwarenmesse Digital with the announcement of the winner of the ToyAward. Knowledge-sharing is also a focus: the presentations from the Toy Business Forum will be streamed via the platform on all five days. Topics cover a spectrum ranging from current trends in retailing and toys, through marketing, to sustainability and digitalisation. Spielwarenmesse Digital will also be showing the LicenseTalks product presentations from exhibitors. All participants can very easily add presentations in which they are interested to their own calendar on the platform. After 6 February, the presentations can be viewed on demand as videos. The presentations on the Toy Business Forum are available in German and English.
Arranging virtual meetings
In addition, Spielwarenmesse Digital will provide a compact overview of all participating businesses and their product ranges. Under the menu item ‘Exhibitors & Products’, all of the companies are represented with their own entries. Alongside information about the company and contacts, the profiles offer an overview of their product range and selected product entries, with text and images. And retailers can make direct contact with exhibitors using various communication tools including private chats, group chats, audio calls and video meetings. Virtual meetings, too, are easy to arrange. The platform also includes a number of search and filter options. These allow users to quickly find relevant suppliers, innovations, brands and licences and save them to their own favourites list. The ever-popular Special Areas at the leading industry fair are also reproduced on Spielwarenmesse Digital.
Innovative industry network
A further highlight is the ‘Networking’ area. On the basis of interests saved in the user’s personal profile, the platform will recommend appropriate contacts to each participant. Using the search function, buyers can also easily find their trading partners and network with them. “In Spielwarenmesse Digital, we are setting new standards,” explains Christian Ulrich, Spokesperson of the Executive Board at Spielwarenmesse eG. “With this platform, we are providing the international toy community with an extensive industry network that will enable them to exchange ideas and develop new business relationships.”
The website www.spielwarenmesse.de/en/digital has a number of tutorials available to help participants prepare for the fair. These short videos explain clearly the various areas and functions of Spielwarenmesse Digital.