The world’s most important trade show in consumer and home electronics sent a strong signal: IFA is back!

IFA 2022 Director Kai Mangelberger shared his views on the success of this year’s show and the importance of live events for the consumer and home electronics sectors.

What is your personal impression of this year’s IFA?
First of all it was a great experience – IFA is really back. This was the message from all of our exhibitors. The feedback was really positive, and I think it was quite emotional. Before, companies took it for granted that they would go to IFA every year, but this year there was something more, something special.

There were some important speakers at the IFA+Summit this year. How important were their presentations for the industry?
I think the IFA+Summit topic this year – De/Globalization – The Universal Remedy? – was a really important one, and at the same time a topic which you might say is not that easy for us as an industry to address. We wanted to have an element of controversy. In this regard, I think the IFA+Summit was definitely a part of the show which we did not want to miss.

The press days were very busy this year. Are you happy with the coverage?
Yes we are very happy with this. We had about 2,500 journalists which were reporting in over 100 countries and I think the numbers will be even higher for the coming editions.

What did you think of the quality of exhibitors this year and were there any particular highlights?
It was really interesting to see how everything nowadays is connected. From household appliances, such as fridges or ovens, to TVs and IoT products, it makes sense to have all these products here, because they are connected. Each device can now be handled with a mobile phone, and I think that is fantastic. Not only does connectivity help improve peoples quality of life but is also vital in terms of sustainability.

Do you have a personal message for the industry?
I’m really thankful that we all came together to send a strong signal – ‘ready, steady, show’! Also I’m very thankful for the extremely positive feedback we have received and the strong support for IFA. This signal was very important for me and my team.

How important are events like IFA 2022 for the industry going forward?
Well you know we had football players from the German football league – the Bundesliga, here and we were talking about this. Watching football on TV is great because you get replays and all the information and analysis. From this perspective its better to watch football on TV, but if I offer you a free ticket to the stadium, of course you will go, because of the atmosphere. Here it’s the same, you can always watch an unboxing video, but it’s better to experience for yourself. There were so many new products unveiled at the show, and it was great to be able to experience them first-hand.

Strong attendance at IFA 2022 with high numbers of business meetings

Overall attendance at IFA 2022 was strong, especially considering the ongoing travel restrictions in Asia. Just over 161,000 visitors came to IFA Berlin during the five days of the show; compared to pre-pandemic years, industry professionals and trade visitors made up a higher proportion of all attendees. Many exhibitors reported an unusually high number of business meetings taking place during the show.

Despite the lockdowns and other restrictions that continue to affect parts of Asia, exhibitors took up more than 80% of floor space at the Messe Berlin fairgrounds. IFA’s Digital channels like IFA Virtual, the new IFA App and social media platforms were also in strong demand, garnering more than 1.6 million impressions on all social media channels alone. Videos streamed across IFA’s own channels and that of exhibitors and keynote partners reached more than 11.8 million views.

Once again, IFA attracted a strong media presence; more than 2,500 journalists came to Berlin and around half of them were representing international media organizations. So far, media monitoring has identified coverage of IFA 2022 by publications and broadcasters in over 100 countries around the world.