Reduced floorspace, more digital content – new format for The Tire Cologne

The exact timing for a return to a pre-2020 kind of normalcy is anyone’s guess, and this uncertainty makes event planning a risky undertaking. The organisers of tyre exhibition The Tire Cologne are therefore hedging their bets by combining the traditional trade fair format with a virtual show. Both are scheduled to take place between 18 and 20 May 2021.

Organisers Koelnmesse and the German Tyre Retail and Vulcanisation Trade Association (BRV) are planning a “hybrid trade fair” that combines a smaller version of the established biennial show (it calls this a “presence trade fair”) supplemented by a digital element, TTC@home.

“One thing is certain – trade fairs will remain indispensable. Only here can direct personal encounters for the maintenance of existing contacts and the initiation of new business opportunities be assured with precision and certainty,” comments Oliver Frese, chief operating officer of Koelnmesse. He adds that the hybrid format will ensure exhibitors and visitors will be able to exchange ideas, regardless of whether they’re at the show in Cologne or thousands of miles away.

The on-site part of The Tire Cologne 2021 will take place in just two exhibition halls, as opposed to the four utilised in 2018. Floorspace for each exhibitor stand will be limited to a maximum of 150 square metres. Koelnmesse has incorporated regional corona protection ordinances into its planning for the 2021 show, and says its ‘#B-SAFE4business’ hygiene and safety concept “takes into account all measures required to protect the health of exhibitors and visitors.”

Visit the show in your pyjamas

Exhibitors and trade buyers who cannot visit Cologne due to travel restrictions or wish not to attend in person for other reasons are nonetheless able to actively participate in The Tire Cologne. Koelnmesse has developed a digital platform, which it reports using with success at this week’s DMEXCO digital marketing and advertising fair. The platform in its The Tire Cologne guise is called TTC@home. Virtual exhibitors can use the platform to present their products as photo, text and video information within exhibitor showrooms. Company and product information can also be presented through digital panels or conferences, as well as in greater depth via networking functions in chats or digital meetings.

All content will remain permanently available after the event, and ‘presence exhibitors’ at the show will receive a basic digital package at no charge to help them supplement their physical presence at the show with online material.

The Tire Cologne was originally scheduled to take place between 9 and 12 June 2020, however, the withdrawal of several high-profile exhibitors and the regional government’s subsequent ban on large events led to Koelnmesse deciding in March to postpone the show until the following year.