Media Expo 2019: Messe Frankfurt introduces Media Expo Excellence Awards

In the last couple of years, Media Expo, hosted in New Delhi and Mumbai every year, has come to define the tends in the signage and display industry in the country. This year too, the exhibition was crowded, and there were a lot of business opportunities for small, medium and large companies, showcasing flexibility of products and segments.

20 Sep 2019 | By Rahul Kumar

Michael Dehn, general manager, sales & marketing, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India

Speaking to PrintWeek India, Michael Dehn, general manager, sales & marketing, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India, reiterated the facts. “Since we bought the show in 2015, it has grown by 64%. To be able to achieve this number in four years is excellent. We have also an increase in number of visitors.”

Dehn said this is because everybody is looking for the next material. “And it is not a small challenge because flex is very good material, but has negative environmental impact,” he said. “One thing is sure. The exhibition is the place where solutions will be found. The industry will slowly but surely replace flex and it has to be replaced.”

Talking about new solution, Dehn gave the example of the rising popularity of 3D printing. “Earlier people used to question about 3D printers, but now, they can see live demonstrations and see for themselves how it works,” he said.

Meanwhile, to encourage large format printers in their work, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India has announced the Media Expo Excellence Awards 2020.

Dehn said the Awards will recognise printers who have demonstrated originality in their idea and have innovatively used various mediums for indoor and outdoor advertising. “With a fair and transparent evaluation process officially tabulated by Ernst & Young, The Media Expo Excellence Awards will be a definitive beacon of recognition for the OOH advertising community,” he added.

The Awards is now open for nomination.

The Awards, for now, will be dedicated to India. “This is the first step. We’ll build the Awards in India and later, we will bring them to other countries,” Dehn added.

The Awards categories include innovative use of holdings, transit media, digital signage, eco-friendly brand, digital signage company of the year and so on. In total, there will be eight categories.

Once the company receives the nominations, E&Y will go through them and verify legitimacy. Then a Jury will go through the entries and will come up with a shortlist. Then, a second batch of Jury will select one winner in each category.

“For a jury member, we are looking for neutral partners. They could be member of associations, members of trade media, member of technical associations and others. E&Y will finalise the Jury. The awards will help the industry to come together and highlights the developments to the other industries,” Dehn concluded.