Sustainability, connectivity, and smart home solutions were the big themes at this year’s IFA Berlin, which made a strong return after a three-year break.
Exhibitors took up more than 80 per cent of floor space at the Messe Berlin fairgrounds, with brands keenly taking up the opportunity to finally reconnect face-to-face with retailers, media and the public.
Overall attendance at IFA 2022 was strong as well; just over 161,000 visited during the five days of the show and many exhibitors reported an unusually high number of business meetings taking place during the show.
Martin Ecknig, the Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin, said it was “fantastic” to see the halls packed once again. “I’ve had really positive feedback from all the global brands and retailers that I spoke to.
“I’m especially pleased that we recorded such large numbers of industry professionals and trade visitors attending IFA Berlin. We are on track for IFA to regain its full strength in 2023.”
Sustainability was one of the biggest themes at this year’s IFA, alongside intelligent connectivity of devices and smart home solutions.
This was also reflected in some of this year’s IFA Keynotes, with Hakan Bulgurlu (pictured above), the Chief Executive Officer of Arçelik, parent company of Beko, issuing a passionate plea to the consumer and home electronics industry to collaborate and do its part to contain climate change and reduce pollution.
Another big topic was intelligent connectivity and how it enables seamless experiences. Cristiano Amon, the Chief Executive Officer at Qualcomm, explored the huge potential of connected services and devices in the future.
Digital channels like IFA Virtual, the new IFA App and across IFA’s social media platforms were 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.
And lastly, organisers said that IFA’s innovation hub – IFA NEXT – was packed with visitors, who wanted to see the latest and most cutting-edge ideas from start-ups, innovators, research institutes and forward-thinking businesses.
