The doors of the viscom 2014 will be opening in just few weeks for the international trade fair where the latest developments in visual communication are showcased to create a powerful experience with genuine value-added. Alternating locations between Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, viscom 2014 will take place from Wednesday, 5 November, to Friday, 7 November 2014 at Messe Frankfurt, Germany. Some 350 exhibitors and 13,000 trade visitors are expected to attend.
In concrete terms – this means: two exhibition halls full of innovative and fascinating products, materials, processes and solutions from the entire world of visual communication. Added to these are special practical shows such as the viscom world of inspiration where you can expect to experience the latest materials, processes, technologies and applications live.
The networking events and awards of the viscom provide an ideal framework for lively exchanges of ideas amongst experts from different sectors – helping them see the bigger picture and giving them fresh inspiration for their own business. Concentrated into different focus days, the supporting programme sessions also provide valuable input on the latest trends and topics.
viscom Frankfurt 2014 lecture programme
“The evolution of digital signage”, “Customer loyalty and visual communication” and “Creativity meets business model”: The viscom lecture programme takes its audience on a trip around trends and topics relating to all aspects of visual marketing. Its motto is “The world goes visual – visual communication changes the world”. In 2014, it will focus especially on the subjects of digital signage, POS marketing and advertising technology. Topics dealt with will include promising future technologies, innovative packaging solutions and the renaissance of haptics. The lectures will take place throughout the duration of the trade fair from 5 to 7 November, and attendance is free for viscom visitors. The speakers are international experts from companies, associations, agencies and the media.
Digital signage focus Day: Hybrid worlds – the evolution of digital signage
How does it work? What is necessary? Who can do it? – These are the questions that will start off the digital signage focus day, held at the Speakers Corner in Hall 3.1 on the viscom Wednesday. The session on “Digital signage 2014 – current state of the art” demonstrates where the technology stands in 2014, the areas this young form of communication is successful in and the players driving demand and supply.
Another topic is the merging of digital signage with classic forms of communication, dealt with in the lecture themed “DS goes…anywhere”: Digital signage meets lighting, display, object and shop design.
The “Digital signage content workshop” in the afternoon looks at good content for different digital signage applications and the trouble spots in the content production process from conceptualization to realisation and distribution.
The lecture on “Selling digital signage” targets DS experts wishing to score points with their customers thanks to a deeper understanding of the systems. The aim is to provide more in-depth explanations of the systems, some of which are quite complex.
Finally, the “PoS meets mobile” future lab will look at promising technologies of the future. One of the topics discussed will be the iBeacon technology, the added value it offers and its technical possibilities.
Marketing at the PoS focus day: Customer loyalty and visual communication
On Thursday, the topic at viscom is the best possible use of visual communication at the PoS. The 11.00 a.m. session on “The future of customer loyalty” will look at the possibilities to generate long-term customer loyalty to a particular company even in these times of high flexibility. Among other questions, the session deals with the role of visual presentation in cross-channel communication and the requirements arising in times of omni-channel marketing.
In the session themed “viscom unboxed – out of the box experiences on the way to the object of desire” participants will learn about the significance of packaging as a communication tool and about the role it should be accorded in the marketing mix. Furthermore, the session looks at how a packaging item is created, from the briefing stage to the creative idea and the design process through to the finished product.
Starting at 1.30 p.m., the FFI will deal with the topic of “Packaging: Technical innovations translated into marketing”. The association will present novelties in the area of packaging design and innovative packaging solutions that have been realised by brand manufacturers and the packaging industry.
Advertising technology focus day: Creativity meets business model
“Creativity meets business model” and “Quo vadis visual communication” are the mottos at viscom during the Advertising Technology focus day on Friday. “Think digital – act analogue” is the title of the first lecture starting at 11.20 a.m. at the Speakers Corner. Despite the omnipresent digital worlds of experience, the demand for classic crafts and technologies is rising – these range from screen printing to manufacturing mobile phone covers from wood to other materials finding their way into the digital world. At the same time, the combination of digital manufacturing techniques with tangible products creates new markets and business models – from digital printing to new stock photographs right through to 3D printing. But how do you develop a new business? The session has the answer. This is followed by a short lecture on the subject of “Training creativity” in business models, processes and products.
Another topic scheduled for the afternoon is “Haptic communication”. Here, emotional design as a distinguishing feature, the Letterpress technology, visual trends and 3D printing will be discussed.
A large number of workshops will be held in the workshop section in Hall 3.0/ Stand F11 in parallel with the programme at the Speakers Corner. They start at 10.45 a.m. with an introduction to the opportunities in the digital world. Digital signage applications are increasingly defining shop concepts, outdoor advertising installations are digitalised and terms such as computer generated imagery and 3D printing are also making their way into the world of visual communication. This means not only new challenges for advertising technology, but also new business models and even more lucrative opportunities. This is the theme of the workshop on “The trend toward specialisation, individuality and standardisation” starting at 10.45 a.m.
From 12.45 p.m. onwards, the topic is the “new demand for haptics”. Despite – or perhaps because of – the progress of digitalisation of all aspects of our everyday life, haptic and multi-sensory experiences create added media value. The afternoon will be all about the senses, haptic experience and the enthusiasm for visual presentation, premium materials and workmanship. The themes are emotional design, working with Letterpress, the latest colour trends and 3D printing
Corel and Adobe
viscom visitors traditionally show strong interest in the Corel and Adobe software workshops which are again offered in 2014. The viscom Wednesday is all about Corel Workshops. In addition Uli Kreifel will offer the “Colour my life with flowers” photo workshop every day. Thursday is the day of Stefan Lamb’s Adobe training workshops with many tips and tricks for working with the Adobe Creative Cloud, InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.
Daily lunch & learns
To provide an instructive lunch break, viscom once again offers the daily lunch & learns this year. They will be held from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the viscom world of inspiration, and can accommodate ten visitors each. Among the companies offering a lunch & learn this year are Seiko Instruments, Magic Schaufenster, CASADEI INDUSTRIA, Kollin Medien, SAARNEON, MAGSEE, dimedis and Westiform-OPT. Topics include gesture controlled solutions for the PoS, composite materials in visual communication, digital signage as an element in outdoor advertising and at the PoS or new finishing and assembling technologies for printing businesses and advertising technicians.
See you in Frankfurt!
