EXPO REAL Online press conference
On August 6th, 2014, the first EXPO REAL online press conference took place. In about 20 minutes Claudia Boymanns, Exhibition Director of EXPO REAL, answered questions about the show.
Below you can watch a video interview posted on EXPO REAL blog: http://blog.exporeal.net/ or read the accompanying transcript in English, which can be downloaded in .pdf form from the link: http://exporeal.blog.messe-muenchen.de/wp-content/uploads/Video_Transkript_englisch_final.pdf
Katrin Polenz (K.P.): Hello and welcome to the first online press conference of the EXPO REAL 2014. There are two months to go before the EXPO REAL 2014 opens on the 6th of October. There are certainly many questions on the minds of exhibitors, visitors and media representatives. In the next half hour Mrs. Boymanns, Exhibition Director of EXPO REAL, is going to tell us a little bit about this year’s event. My name is Katrin Polenz, I am the press spokesperson for the fair and I will be moderating the discussion.
Mrs. Boymanns, the EXPO REAL is not far off. How is the organization progressing? What has already been achieved? What is still to be done in order to ensure that we have a successful fair in October?
Claudia Boymanns (C.B.): We are on the final stretch, heading for the finish line and almost all of the major issues have been resolved. We have found the locations needed for all exhibitors, which means the floor-plan for the exhibition space has been completed. The registration procedure for visitors is online, that means that everyone can arrange for their tickets and can start planning their visits. The conference program is also almost finalized, the topics have been fixed and most of the 400 speakers have responded and those who have not are still on holiday.
That’s something we have to deal with in respect to an annual event scheduled for October. But with our 17 years of experience we can say that basically things are on track even if there will be some minor changes. The major milestones this year were taking the participant system ‘MatchUp!’ live and online and improving the data bank for our exhibitors, visitors and media representatives. This has been on-going since mid-July, and it means that a considerable effort is currently taking place.
K.P: You just mentioned ‘MatchUp!’, the new participant data bank for the EXPO REAL. What was the thought behind the creation of a ‘closed user community’? What are the ad-vantages of ‘MatchUp!’ for EXPO REAL participants?
C.B: As you just said, we have launched a ‘closed user community’ because we were able to confirm that for one thing, EXPO REAL participants communicate with each other in advance of the actual event in order to arrange meetings. This is not just exhibitors in contact with other exhibitors. Visitors and media people also want to organize their interview questions, students are anxious to have information. And all this needs to take place in a closed area, so that the communication is not disturbed by outside vendors.
What we have done is to require targeted participant profiles, questioning exactly why they plan to attend the EXPO REAL, what they are looking for and what they have to offer. Then the system suggests who they could meet and identifies the suitable contact persons. For the first time they have the possibility of scheduling meetings and remaining in touch before the EXPO REAL actually gets under way, during the event itself and after it is over. This means that the system will remain operative throughout the year.
K.P: Can you already see how this is being greeted by fair participants?
C.B: Up to now the response is a bit restrained, but this is because it has only been online for two and a half weeks. We also have to accept that this is the holiday season and registration activity during the month of August tends to be quite slow. But it will certainly pick up again in September when the holidays are over. For our participants we also have features and tools which are entirely new on the website. There is a video to explain how everything works, there are tutorials and an FAQ section. We have set up a personalised hotline where participants can register and submit their profile and call on the support they need.
K.P: As well as ‘MatchUp!’ which sounds like a great project, what other changes or innovations are there for the fair this year?
C.B: We have worked very hard on the EXPO REAL conference program. We want to continue the role of the trend setter, the provider of impulses, to be even stronger in respect to the overall EXPO REAL mission. This means that we have not only strengthened the core theme in terms of the questions confronting the real estate, property and investment sector but we have also made room for topics which would not necessarily feature in the context of a specialised fair like ours but which nevertheless have a significant influence on what our participants actually do in their day to day business. For example, on Wednesday with ‘Bright Minds, Bright Ideas’ we will address themes that are relevant to everyone in some way even if they do not concern the classical property and investment issues such as regulations and financing.
Implementing this policy was a big step forward this year. For those most interested in regional and urban development there will be a dedicated forum in which real city projects will be presented, supporting city initiatives will be discussed and there will be guidance with regard to coming up with an own USP. The competition among the cities is becoming constantly tougher, both within Europe and in Germany. And we will present experts well versed in best practices, for example, how depressed urban structures can be re-vitalized, how a city can benefit from the presence of a university, how aspects of the digital economy are to be considered and so forth.
K.P: Coming back to ‘Bright Minds, Bright Ideas’, can you tell us a bit more? Do you know who will be speaking? Have the topics been finalized?
C.B: Yes, it is all well organized, given that the EXPO REAL Forum will start on the 6th of October. Themes will include Social Media and Social Networks, we see both of these as very important. One of the invited experts, Collin Croome, will give his audience interesting insights. We shall also learn a lot from the futurologist Klaus Burmeister who will explain how the world of tomorrow will shape our activities, our working, our standard of living and our lifestyle. We have sociologists including Professor Nassehi from the Ludwig-Maximilian university in Munich who will discuss the ways in which our own actions, our own dealings affect our lives. The forum will be presented by Gundula Gause who is well known as senior news editor for the ZDF television channel.
K.P: All of this sounds very exciting indeed and I think that it will be a great focus for the last day of the fair event, when everyone will be a bit exhausted after the first two days. What are to be the main topics of the conference program? What can visitors and participants expect?
C.B: Visitors and participants can look forward to an exciting kick-off discussion with regards to interest rate policies and what can be expected in this regard. Recent years have been marked by low rates. This has made money very inexpensive and has led to a real investment boom in Germany. But now it’s a matter of what is in store when this phase comes to an end and higher rates apply, how this will affect the market when financing is no longer so easy to obtain. We will hear the opinions and forecasts of several experts. A closely associated theme will be the question of the extent to which a turn-round has been achieved since 2008. Here the question is how has the sector adapted since 2008, what has really changed. Both of these issues are related and there will also be an open discussion round organized.
K.P: Together with the conference, the EXPO REAL is seen as a mood barometer, a measure of the attitude of the sector as a whole. Once a year we gather to discuss the most pressing issues. How would you evaluate the mood in the real estate, property and investment sector at the present time and how will this be reflected in the context of the fair event?
C.B: When I see where our exhibitors come from this year and the regions they represent I must say that in Europe things look really good, above all in northern, western and central Europe. We can see a small recovery trend in southern Europe. There will be more exhibitors from Italy, implying that enterprises there have adapted to the altered structures and now are bringing products which are of interest to international investors. There is a lot happening. For the first time the city of Lisbon will have a presence at EXPO REAL. This is a positive signal from a country which had severe problems a few years ago. This is a sign that some markets have recovered. Because of this we have included reports about recovery strategies in the conference program.
K.P: In the past years the EXPO REAL has put the spotlight on special real estate sectors such as hotel and logistics areas. In advance of our online press conference we invited journalists to submit their questions in this regard. In respect of logistics Mr. Jörgl of ‘Logistik Heute’ magazine asks the following:
“In 2014 there was greater fund investment in logistics- related real estate and new construction than in 2013. What will EXPO REAL offer in particular for specialists in the logistics property area?“.
C.B: The logistics-related property sector is an asset class of increasing significance and for this reason we have already started to establish an exhibition stand with cooperation partners so that enterprises in the sector can be contacted by interested fair participants. This has been very welcomed and this year there will be 30 firms represented, which is a very good status quo in this segment. But it is not always the exhibitors who provide the answer. Equally important is the market information surrounding this sector. That is why we are devoting an afternoon EXPO REAL conference session to the topic.
‘Let’s talk logistics’ is the motto and we will not only be dealing with the logistics-related property sector in Germany but also taking a look at nearby foreign countries, given that the logistics chain is developing in a European dimension. Both national and international experts will be speaking on the subject and it is one which has growing importance for the real estate and property sector as a whole. Two years ago we introduced the ‘Logix Award’ which honours new construction projects, such as those referred to by Mr. Jörgl, which are then realized and come on the market. We have developed certain criteria for the awarding of the prize and have thereby established a rallying point for the logistics- related real estate branch.
K.P: Apart from logistics, are there other segments which will have a stronger presence at the fair?
C.B: There is the whole retail property sector. This has to be seen in the context of the strong growth of online commerce, which has an influence on inner city development and it has an influence on urban trading structures. We note that the interest in our Wednesday conference session is intense and that there are more and more exhibitors in this area who use the EXPO REAL to preview their expansion projects, to make themselves known to the real estate industry in order to acquire the good sites. Since much of the competition is now taking place online it is important for them to be present.
In this regard we have also been able to secure the participation of highly qualified experts who have done research into this sector of the property market. Another area to which we are giving increasing prominence is the health- related real estate segment. This includes not only hospitals and homes suited for the elderly but also care-giving establishments which will one day be a topic relevant to all of us, where we may ourselves live one day. It’s a theme of increasing importance.
K.P: One question often posed and which interests everyone concerns the statistics with re-gard to EXPO REAL, like exhibitor numbers and participant data. Are you already able to sense a trend or make a forecast as to how the fair is developing?
C.B: We can confidently forecast that we will occupy the same amount of exhibition space as in the past. That comprises six exhibition halls with about 64 thousand square meters. As for the number of exhibitors we have made comparisons with previous years and concluded that in the end there will be a few more. I think the tally will be in the region of 1,700. When it comes to visitors and participants the fair remains very stable. Each year we have welcomed around 36 thousand to the EXPO REAL and we anticipate that this year it will be about the same.
K.P: The cities and regions always account for a large number of exhibitors and I think that little will change in that respect as far as Germany is concerned. How does it look with regard to foreign countries, are there new cities with a presence at the fair, is there development to note?
C.B: It is quite correct and it has always been the case - this will be the 17th edition of EXPO REAL - and we have a very firm underlying structure in which exhibitors from Germany are our core clientele, including the cities and the regions. This year we are particularly pleased that we will have cities from Great Britain presenting themselves at the EXPO REAL, desiring to be part of the investment boom. For us this is a great result. Another interesting initiative sees Lyon partnered with Birmingham and Gothenburg in a joint effort. Here is a matter of three cities of similar size which support each other in international competition.
Their shared stand carries the title ‘European Leading Cities’. This is proof that a trade fair devoted to the real estate, property and investment sector helps in bringing entities together. Naturally there is normal rivalry to attract investment and businesses but I find it very positive that this instance of cooperation has its place this year at the EXPO REAL.
K.P: The international scope of the EXPO REAL is always an important attribute. It is, after all, the biggest European trade fair of its kind. Are there other countries you would like to see present at the event?
C.B: All of us would like to grow. And there are certainly regions we would wish to see better represented at the EXPO REAL. These include for example the countries of northern Europe, Scandinavia in general, Finland, and Denmark. These are nations which are on the one hand already committed actors in the sector, and on the other of great interest for investors due to their stability. I think that the coming years will see progress in this regard, for it is essential that we take note of what is happening so close to home.
Also I think there are countries which when they have recovered from the crisis, when there is stability in the Gulf States, there will be interesting enterprises who will gladly use EXPO REAL as a platform. We should also keep our eye on Asia, on China. At the moment there is a considerable flow of funding from Asia to Europe. In the medium term this will be an interesting environment for EXPO REAL.
K.P: You spoke of the ‘Logix Award’ for the logistics sector. However there are several awards made every year at the fair, sponsored by various publishing houses and companies who organize their own contests. And this year for the third time the ‘John-Jacob-Astor Award’ will be given. How is this award developing?
C.B: In a very positive direction. In the name of the historical figure John Jacob Astor we introduced a prize calling for the submission of projects from the German states and from enterprises from different European nations. At first glance it appeared an unusual concept. We didn’t adopt the usual approach of convoking a classical jury to determine the best, most sustainable, the most financially viable of the projects considered. Instead we asked the social media community to vote for the one they preferred.
Naturally this cannot be directly compared with the findings of an expert jury, but here it is more about determining which company is the cleverest and most active in terms of viral marketing. It also shows how the real estate, property and investment sector has developed. The prize has now attained an interesting level of resonance with participation last year coming from all across Europe. This year we have already received the first enquiries asking when the competition will go online again. In other words, it has become established even if it is not the traditional Oscar which can be won. It is a worthy price for EXPO REAL for the cleverest and most active implementation of viral marketing.
K.P: It will be interesting to see how it goes this year.
C.B: Yes it will.
K.P: We are close to the end of our first ever online press conference. Ms. Boymanns do you have any tips or closing message for our EXPO REAL listeners and viewers?
C.B: I would like to say that we are always pleased when new groups of visitors and new kinds of exhibitors find their way to the EXPO REAL. I strongly believe that this year we can look forward to a comprehensive and very interesting conference program and that we have a range of great presentations by the exhibitors on their stands. My main impression is that we have hardly ever before had such a multifaceted event. And I really look forward to welcoming our visitors and exhibitors to Munich!
K.P: Thank you for taking the time to answer all our questions and those posed by journalists and viewers. All those watching this live on your screens, or who have perhaps missed anything should know that the entire online press conference will be available on the website. So any time you wish you can see the video. And the transcript will also be very soon available, too. We look forward to seeing you here in Munich in two months for the EXPO REAL 2014. Thank you and auf wiedersehen!
C.B: Thank you very much and goodbye.
Below you can watch a video interview posted on EXPO REAL blog: http://blog.exporeal.net/ or read the accompanying transcript in English, which can be downloaded in .pdf form from the link: http://exporeal.blog.messe-muenchen.de/wp-content/uploads/Video_Transkript_englisch_final.pdf
Katrin Polenz (K.P.): Hello and welcome to the first online press conference of the EXPO REAL 2014. There are two months to go before the EXPO REAL 2014 opens on the 6th of October. There are certainly many questions on the minds of exhibitors, visitors and media representatives. In the next half hour Mrs. Boymanns, Exhibition Director of EXPO REAL, is going to tell us a little bit about this year’s event. My name is Katrin Polenz, I am the press spokesperson for the fair and I will be moderating the discussion.
Mrs. Boymanns, the EXPO REAL is not far off. How is the organization progressing? What has already been achieved? What is still to be done in order to ensure that we have a successful fair in October?
Claudia Boymanns (C.B.): We are on the final stretch, heading for the finish line and almost all of the major issues have been resolved. We have found the locations needed for all exhibitors, which means the floor-plan for the exhibition space has been completed. The registration procedure for visitors is online, that means that everyone can arrange for their tickets and can start planning their visits. The conference program is also almost finalized, the topics have been fixed and most of the 400 speakers have responded and those who have not are still on holiday.
That’s something we have to deal with in respect to an annual event scheduled for October. But with our 17 years of experience we can say that basically things are on track even if there will be some minor changes. The major milestones this year were taking the participant system ‘MatchUp!’ live and online and improving the data bank for our exhibitors, visitors and media representatives. This has been on-going since mid-July, and it means that a considerable effort is currently taking place.
K.P: You just mentioned ‘MatchUp!’, the new participant data bank for the EXPO REAL. What was the thought behind the creation of a ‘closed user community’? What are the ad-vantages of ‘MatchUp!’ for EXPO REAL participants?
C.B: As you just said, we have launched a ‘closed user community’ because we were able to confirm that for one thing, EXPO REAL participants communicate with each other in advance of the actual event in order to arrange meetings. This is not just exhibitors in contact with other exhibitors. Visitors and media people also want to organize their interview questions, students are anxious to have information. And all this needs to take place in a closed area, so that the communication is not disturbed by outside vendors.
What we have done is to require targeted participant profiles, questioning exactly why they plan to attend the EXPO REAL, what they are looking for and what they have to offer. Then the system suggests who they could meet and identifies the suitable contact persons. For the first time they have the possibility of scheduling meetings and remaining in touch before the EXPO REAL actually gets under way, during the event itself and after it is over. This means that the system will remain operative throughout the year.
K.P: Can you already see how this is being greeted by fair participants?
C.B: Up to now the response is a bit restrained, but this is because it has only been online for two and a half weeks. We also have to accept that this is the holiday season and registration activity during the month of August tends to be quite slow. But it will certainly pick up again in September when the holidays are over. For our participants we also have features and tools which are entirely new on the website. There is a video to explain how everything works, there are tutorials and an FAQ section. We have set up a personalised hotline where participants can register and submit their profile and call on the support they need.
K.P: As well as ‘MatchUp!’ which sounds like a great project, what other changes or innovations are there for the fair this year?
C.B: We have worked very hard on the EXPO REAL conference program. We want to continue the role of the trend setter, the provider of impulses, to be even stronger in respect to the overall EXPO REAL mission. This means that we have not only strengthened the core theme in terms of the questions confronting the real estate, property and investment sector but we have also made room for topics which would not necessarily feature in the context of a specialised fair like ours but which nevertheless have a significant influence on what our participants actually do in their day to day business. For example, on Wednesday with ‘Bright Minds, Bright Ideas’ we will address themes that are relevant to everyone in some way even if they do not concern the classical property and investment issues such as regulations and financing.
Implementing this policy was a big step forward this year. For those most interested in regional and urban development there will be a dedicated forum in which real city projects will be presented, supporting city initiatives will be discussed and there will be guidance with regard to coming up with an own USP. The competition among the cities is becoming constantly tougher, both within Europe and in Germany. And we will present experts well versed in best practices, for example, how depressed urban structures can be re-vitalized, how a city can benefit from the presence of a university, how aspects of the digital economy are to be considered and so forth.
K.P: Coming back to ‘Bright Minds, Bright Ideas’, can you tell us a bit more? Do you know who will be speaking? Have the topics been finalized?
C.B: Yes, it is all well organized, given that the EXPO REAL Forum will start on the 6th of October. Themes will include Social Media and Social Networks, we see both of these as very important. One of the invited experts, Collin Croome, will give his audience interesting insights. We shall also learn a lot from the futurologist Klaus Burmeister who will explain how the world of tomorrow will shape our activities, our working, our standard of living and our lifestyle. We have sociologists including Professor Nassehi from the Ludwig-Maximilian university in Munich who will discuss the ways in which our own actions, our own dealings affect our lives. The forum will be presented by Gundula Gause who is well known as senior news editor for the ZDF television channel.
K.P: All of this sounds very exciting indeed and I think that it will be a great focus for the last day of the fair event, when everyone will be a bit exhausted after the first two days. What are to be the main topics of the conference program? What can visitors and participants expect?
C.B: Visitors and participants can look forward to an exciting kick-off discussion with regards to interest rate policies and what can be expected in this regard. Recent years have been marked by low rates. This has made money very inexpensive and has led to a real investment boom in Germany. But now it’s a matter of what is in store when this phase comes to an end and higher rates apply, how this will affect the market when financing is no longer so easy to obtain. We will hear the opinions and forecasts of several experts. A closely associated theme will be the question of the extent to which a turn-round has been achieved since 2008. Here the question is how has the sector adapted since 2008, what has really changed. Both of these issues are related and there will also be an open discussion round organized.
K.P: Together with the conference, the EXPO REAL is seen as a mood barometer, a measure of the attitude of the sector as a whole. Once a year we gather to discuss the most pressing issues. How would you evaluate the mood in the real estate, property and investment sector at the present time and how will this be reflected in the context of the fair event?
C.B: When I see where our exhibitors come from this year and the regions they represent I must say that in Europe things look really good, above all in northern, western and central Europe. We can see a small recovery trend in southern Europe. There will be more exhibitors from Italy, implying that enterprises there have adapted to the altered structures and now are bringing products which are of interest to international investors. There is a lot happening. For the first time the city of Lisbon will have a presence at EXPO REAL. This is a positive signal from a country which had severe problems a few years ago. This is a sign that some markets have recovered. Because of this we have included reports about recovery strategies in the conference program.
K.P: In the past years the EXPO REAL has put the spotlight on special real estate sectors such as hotel and logistics areas. In advance of our online press conference we invited journalists to submit their questions in this regard. In respect of logistics Mr. Jörgl of ‘Logistik Heute’ magazine asks the following:
“In 2014 there was greater fund investment in logistics- related real estate and new construction than in 2013. What will EXPO REAL offer in particular for specialists in the logistics property area?“.
C.B: The logistics-related property sector is an asset class of increasing significance and for this reason we have already started to establish an exhibition stand with cooperation partners so that enterprises in the sector can be contacted by interested fair participants. This has been very welcomed and this year there will be 30 firms represented, which is a very good status quo in this segment. But it is not always the exhibitors who provide the answer. Equally important is the market information surrounding this sector. That is why we are devoting an afternoon EXPO REAL conference session to the topic.
‘Let’s talk logistics’ is the motto and we will not only be dealing with the logistics-related property sector in Germany but also taking a look at nearby foreign countries, given that the logistics chain is developing in a European dimension. Both national and international experts will be speaking on the subject and it is one which has growing importance for the real estate and property sector as a whole. Two years ago we introduced the ‘Logix Award’ which honours new construction projects, such as those referred to by Mr. Jörgl, which are then realized and come on the market. We have developed certain criteria for the awarding of the prize and have thereby established a rallying point for the logistics- related real estate branch.
K.P: Apart from logistics, are there other segments which will have a stronger presence at the fair?
C.B: There is the whole retail property sector. This has to be seen in the context of the strong growth of online commerce, which has an influence on inner city development and it has an influence on urban trading structures. We note that the interest in our Wednesday conference session is intense and that there are more and more exhibitors in this area who use the EXPO REAL to preview their expansion projects, to make themselves known to the real estate industry in order to acquire the good sites. Since much of the competition is now taking place online it is important for them to be present.
In this regard we have also been able to secure the participation of highly qualified experts who have done research into this sector of the property market. Another area to which we are giving increasing prominence is the health- related real estate segment. This includes not only hospitals and homes suited for the elderly but also care-giving establishments which will one day be a topic relevant to all of us, where we may ourselves live one day. It’s a theme of increasing importance.
K.P: One question often posed and which interests everyone concerns the statistics with re-gard to EXPO REAL, like exhibitor numbers and participant data. Are you already able to sense a trend or make a forecast as to how the fair is developing?
C.B: We can confidently forecast that we will occupy the same amount of exhibition space as in the past. That comprises six exhibition halls with about 64 thousand square meters. As for the number of exhibitors we have made comparisons with previous years and concluded that in the end there will be a few more. I think the tally will be in the region of 1,700. When it comes to visitors and participants the fair remains very stable. Each year we have welcomed around 36 thousand to the EXPO REAL and we anticipate that this year it will be about the same.
K.P: The cities and regions always account for a large number of exhibitors and I think that little will change in that respect as far as Germany is concerned. How does it look with regard to foreign countries, are there new cities with a presence at the fair, is there development to note?
C.B: It is quite correct and it has always been the case - this will be the 17th edition of EXPO REAL - and we have a very firm underlying structure in which exhibitors from Germany are our core clientele, including the cities and the regions. This year we are particularly pleased that we will have cities from Great Britain presenting themselves at the EXPO REAL, desiring to be part of the investment boom. For us this is a great result. Another interesting initiative sees Lyon partnered with Birmingham and Gothenburg in a joint effort. Here is a matter of three cities of similar size which support each other in international competition.
Their shared stand carries the title ‘European Leading Cities’. This is proof that a trade fair devoted to the real estate, property and investment sector helps in bringing entities together. Naturally there is normal rivalry to attract investment and businesses but I find it very positive that this instance of cooperation has its place this year at the EXPO REAL.
K.P: The international scope of the EXPO REAL is always an important attribute. It is, after all, the biggest European trade fair of its kind. Are there other countries you would like to see present at the event?
C.B: All of us would like to grow. And there are certainly regions we would wish to see better represented at the EXPO REAL. These include for example the countries of northern Europe, Scandinavia in general, Finland, and Denmark. These are nations which are on the one hand already committed actors in the sector, and on the other of great interest for investors due to their stability. I think that the coming years will see progress in this regard, for it is essential that we take note of what is happening so close to home.
Also I think there are countries which when they have recovered from the crisis, when there is stability in the Gulf States, there will be interesting enterprises who will gladly use EXPO REAL as a platform. We should also keep our eye on Asia, on China. At the moment there is a considerable flow of funding from Asia to Europe. In the medium term this will be an interesting environment for EXPO REAL.
K.P: You spoke of the ‘Logix Award’ for the logistics sector. However there are several awards made every year at the fair, sponsored by various publishing houses and companies who organize their own contests. And this year for the third time the ‘John-Jacob-Astor Award’ will be given. How is this award developing?
C.B: In a very positive direction. In the name of the historical figure John Jacob Astor we introduced a prize calling for the submission of projects from the German states and from enterprises from different European nations. At first glance it appeared an unusual concept. We didn’t adopt the usual approach of convoking a classical jury to determine the best, most sustainable, the most financially viable of the projects considered. Instead we asked the social media community to vote for the one they preferred.
Naturally this cannot be directly compared with the findings of an expert jury, but here it is more about determining which company is the cleverest and most active in terms of viral marketing. It also shows how the real estate, property and investment sector has developed. The prize has now attained an interesting level of resonance with participation last year coming from all across Europe. This year we have already received the first enquiries asking when the competition will go online again. In other words, it has become established even if it is not the traditional Oscar which can be won. It is a worthy price for EXPO REAL for the cleverest and most active implementation of viral marketing.
K.P: It will be interesting to see how it goes this year.
C.B: Yes it will.
K.P: We are close to the end of our first ever online press conference. Ms. Boymanns do you have any tips or closing message for our EXPO REAL listeners and viewers?
C.B: I would like to say that we are always pleased when new groups of visitors and new kinds of exhibitors find their way to the EXPO REAL. I strongly believe that this year we can look forward to a comprehensive and very interesting conference program and that we have a range of great presentations by the exhibitors on their stands. My main impression is that we have hardly ever before had such a multifaceted event. And I really look forward to welcoming our visitors and exhibitors to Munich!
K.P: Thank you for taking the time to answer all our questions and those posed by journalists and viewers. All those watching this live on your screens, or who have perhaps missed anything should know that the entire online press conference will be available on the website. So any time you wish you can see the video. And the transcript will also be very soon available, too. We look forward to seeing you here in Munich in two months for the EXPO REAL 2014. Thank you and auf wiedersehen!
C.B: Thank you very much and goodbye.
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