"You really meet him everywhere," the German Construction Minister Klara Geywitz says with a smile, as she runs into trade fair manager Hartwig von Saß on the sidelines of an event for the real estate industry. 🤝
Hartwig and his team are the driving force behind the trade fair REAL ESTATE ARENA, which, after only three years, has already become a fixed date in the calendar of the German real estate industry. "If the Minister of Construction says something like that, then we've done something right," Hartwig says happily.
But how do you establish a new event so successfully in the highly competitive trade fair market? 🤔
"Anyone who wants to create a trade fair truly in the interests of exhibitors and visitors must deeply immerse themselves in the industry and understand it in detail," says Hartwig. He recalls the first meeting with industry decision-makers, where the rough concept of the fair was presented together with the eventpartner REE. The unanimous opinion of the participants: A new real estate fair in Hanover – the market doesn't need it. ❌
"After this initial assessment, we continued to ask under what conditions a new platform might still provide added value to those involved – and then the discussion evolved into a kind of co-creation process where the customers helped shape the product," Hartwig explains.
It became clear that established events often focus on the megacities and the big players in the industry. What was missing was an event that concentrated on the so-called B- and C-cities and the medium-sized real estate sector – and thus, the cornerstones of the Real Estate Arena's positioning were set. ✅
"Our goal was to become part of the community, rather than building a classic customer-service provider relationship. That meant we wanted to excite thought leaders and industry experts for our idea and then create the fair together with them," Hartwig explains.
What may sound simple at first glance actually requires a lot of effort. "We are present at every relevant real estate event in Germany and partly in Europe as well. Every day we talk to industry experts or scour all the publications that are important to the real estate industry," reports Hartwig.
The goal: to continuously expand visibility, proximity, network, and industry knowledge. "Our primary concern is not selling exhibition space, but creating an event that genuinely offers our customers added value.” 🎯
And last but not least: "A trade fair has to be fun, it has to offer an experience and be an event," Hartwig emphasizes. "We also do crazy things, we want to bring joy to people." For example, small adhesive tattoos with the Real Estate Arena logo were distributed to exhibitors and visitors. The response? "When the CEO of a large real estate company walks around the Real Estate Arena for two days with our logo on his forearm, it's not just about business, but also about emotion, community, and fun. And that's exactly what brings people back." 🫶