IFA Now Bigger Than CES In Net Square Meters, Berlin Organizer Says

BERLIN -- In a veiled reference to CES, a top executive at IFA organizer Messe Berlin said his show now surpasses “our American competitor” in the one metric that matters most, net square meters of exhibit space. That declaration, by Messe Berlin Chief Operating Officer Christian Goke, was stunning because CEA officials long have accused IFA organizers of inflating their estimates of exhibit space they sell by counting areas of the expansive Messe Berlin fairgrounds that hold no exhibits.

IFA has sold 134,400 square meters of exhibit space for this year’s show, Goke told an opening news conference Wednesday. That’s equal to about 1.4 million square feet. When we asked Goke in Q-and-A how his claim that IFA is larger than CES squares with CES claims that it sold 1.8 million square feet of space at January’s Las Vegas show, he responded: “That’s a rather complex issue. We are not counting hotel rooms. If we start counting hotel rooms in Berlin, we are doubling the number of square meters. That is one major difference between us and our American competitor."

Goke answered with a “basically, yes,” when we asked him in an interview after the news conference whether IFA has always counted total exhibit space sold as net square meters. “I'm kind of hesitant to answer that question because we have had different shows with different approaches,” he said. “We started some five years, six years ago to really make the numbers as comparable as possible to the international numbers. And therefore, the net square meters seemed to us to really measure the real size of the show.” According to Goke, “if you count the real net square meters sold, then there’s not the slightest doubt that this show is pretty significantly larger than the show in Las Vegas.” And net square meters is more important than the number of visitors or number of exhibitors because it’s a reflection of how much exhibiting companies are willing to “invest in your show,” he said.

On CEA’s allegations that IFA refuses to submit its attendance and exhibit figures to outside audits as CES does, Goke said audits aren’t necessary because “this show is as transparent as it can be. We have the severest of requirements here as it pertains to attendance figures.” IFA, as Messe Berlin sees it, is “a masterpiece of transparency,” Goke said. Asked if he thinks IFA’s relationship with CES has grown too nasty or competitive, Goke said, “not from our point of view.” IFA has always tried to treat CES “with the utmost of respect, and we'll continue to do so,” he said.

Signs posted at the IFA Press Centre this year listing trade associations that IFA maintains co-marketing agreements with were lacking the CEA and CES logos, unlike past shows. A Messe Berlin spokesman said they were removed from IFA signage and show publications at CEA’s request. He referred questions about why to CEA. “We have a valued partnership with our friends at IFA,” CEA spokesman Jason Oxman told us in an e-mail Wednesday. “Signage reflecting CEA’s presence at this year’s show was not necessary because, due to scheduling issues, CEA did not hold a press conference at IFA this year and therefore did not have an official presence. We congratulate IFA on a strong and successful show for European consumers. The strength of IFA is an indication of consumers’ passion for technology."

Oxman acknowledged that certain CES exhibitors “purchase exhibit space that happens to be in an official CES hotel venue. For example, our High Performance Audio exhibitors require space that allows them to showcase the quality of their products by setting up demonstration rooms in the Venetian. Such space in a hotel is exhibit space."

As for audits, CES exhibit space figures and attendance data “are audited by an independent, third-party auditing firm,” Oxman said. The CES audit “follows all guidelines of the Exhibition and Event Industry Audit Commission,” he said. “Published accounts of IFA’s square footage claims do not indicate they are independently verified by audit, and they also note that IFA counts each level of a booth, aisle space and each day’s attendance by members of the public as trade show statistics.” IFA opens its doors to consumers, while CES is a trade-only event.