D – This year’s spring edition of the GWW Trend took place in Cologne on March 9 and 10, 2022, one month later than originally planned. After all of the industry’s live events had to be cancelled in January and February due to the pandemic, the trade show organised by the German promotional products association, GWW marked the start of the German promotional products season. The joy of the suppliers and distributors at finally being able to engage in a personal exchange, finally present and try out novelties again live on-site was correspondingly high. As a result, a good, positive atmosphere prevailed at the industry event, which was nevertheless slightly clouded by the recent geopolitical occurrences – namely Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine – which certainly didn’t leave anyone cold. The economic consequences of the situation were a frequent topic of conversation.
The GWW-Trend is exclusively open to promotional products distributors – this together with the very open and warm atmosphere has in the past contributed to the Trend being perceived by many people as an industry “family get-together”. The Trend once again lived up to this characteristic trait, even if the design of the most recent edition prove to be more spacious and professional this year. The venue was Hall 10.2 of the Koelnmesse for the first time, which offered the approx. 150 exhibitors an impressive setting. As such, the stand area of many of the exhibitors had been expanded compared to previous events. Some of the stands had also been erected by professional stand builders, which lent the trade share a first-class appearance. The official attendance figure was not available at the time of going to press, but by all accounts the trade fair was particularly well-attended on the first day. The quality of the discussions was praised by all parties. Located in the centre of Germany, Cologne has evidently proven itself as a venue location. The visitors came from all corners of the country, international guests from the neighbouring countries also used the platform to refresh their contacts.
Furthermore, in the scope of the GWW-Trend, Oliver Spitzer, Managing Director of september, presented the results of a qualitative survey testing the implicit emotional effect of promotional products, which the Cologne-based research institute carried out on behalf of the association. The poll provides the industry with scientific proof that haptic advertising is perfectly suitable for emotionalising advertising messages and could thus be a milestone in the efforts of the promotional products sector to gain acceptance among the marketing mix of promoting companies. All promotional products investigated attained top ratings in terms of popularity, relevance and attraction and indeed outshone other advertising measures such as TV spots. In times when all advertising channels are questioned regarding their efficiency, the survey proves that promotional products strengthen the emotional relationship between the target group and the brand. The many positive and emotional discussions at the stands underlined this explicitly in practice.
// Dr. Mischa Delbrouck
Photos: Till Barth, Mischa Delbrouck, Helen Lorenz, Claudia Pfeifer, © WA Media
