BeFAIR MEDIA is the name of the new joint venture that exhibition organisers FISA and VNU Exhibitions Europe will be using to organise exhibitions together in Belgium. The contribution of the Belgian trade fair organiser is fifty years of experience, while the Dutch VNU Exhibitions Europe is specialised in high end visitor marketing activities around exhibitions. BeFAIR MEDIA will be based in Brussels and is operational from today.
BeFAIR MEDIA focuses on the business-to-business market and plans to launch a number of new events in Belgium in the coming years. The first result of the joint venture is Elektrotechniek België, to be held from 17 to 19 November 2010 in the Tour en Taxis complex in Brussels. FISA is bringing in market knowledge and contacts with the electro-technical branch. VNU Exhibitions Europe has organised the Elektrotechniek event in the Netherlands for more than forty years.
Both parties have high expectations of the new joint venture. In Belgium FISA is the market leader in construction and home and lifestyle related events such as Batibouw, Cocoon, Sfeer and In Wonen, which in total welcome more than 500,000 visitors, including 75,000 professionals from the construction industry. VNU Exhibitions Europe leads the market in the Netherlands with a portfolio of more than fifty exhibition titles. The company has a strong position in the construction, industrial and IT segments. The core business of VNU Exhibitions Europe, that also organises a number of internet exhibitions, is creating a platform for valuable contacts and meetings.
VNU Exhibitions Europe has been active for some years now in Belgium with events such as Infosecurity.be, Storage-Expo.be and VSK België, the last of which will be organised by BeFAIR MEDIA in the future.
Managing Director of Exhibitions and Cross Media John van der Valk from VNU Exhibitions Europe: “We know the power of the trade fair as a medium. We facilitate contacts between people that must lead to profitable and beneficial results in all cases. That is what we are specialised in. Our visitor databases are geared for this purpose and we have developed dedicated new, internet technology. We see a wealth of opportunities in Belgium. We are contributing our knowledge and technology. In FISA we have a found a partner who knows the Belgium market better than anyone. The combination of both qualities will lead to fantastic exhibitions. We are extremely happy to have entered into this partnership.”
Geert Maes is Managing Director of FISA and will be appointed Managing Director of BeFAIR MEDIA. He sees great potential for new events in Belgium. “The contacts are absolutely no problem for us. We also have extensive knowledge of the market. We have been looking for a partner that has developed innovative and intelligent ways of linking visitors to exhibitors for quite some time, and in VNU Exhibitions we have found that partner. Together, and with the help of the latest marketing insights and internet technology, we will be able to organise exhibitions of outstanding quality.”
Ton Otten, CEO VNU Exhibitions Europe adds: ”We have been organising trade events and exhibitions since 1917. We have an extensive package of renowned brands that have proven their worth time and again. This will enable us to launch tried and tested, successful concepts onto the Belgian market. For us this cooperation represents a unique opportunity to introduce amazing, new exhibitions.”
Philippe Lhomme, Chairman of FISA endorses this “This joint venture perfectly complements FISA’s strategy of also playing a leading role in the Belgian B2B sector.”
Source: VNU Exhibitions, FISA
