Marc Matern has been the new Managing Director at ET GLOBAL and KECK, the two brands of E3 WORLD for brand staging in the trade fair and event sector, since September 2021. At E3 WORLD, he is also a member of the management board and is working on the reorganization of the internationally operating group, which covers almost all areas of live marketing with its offerings.

Marc Matern: "We have known since Corona at the latest that exhibitors have to get to the people. Be it via hybrid formats, completely digital - or perhaps in the future in new roadshow formats. To do this, however, you first have to know where the people are, or how they would like to network with the company. Digitization is only a means to an end, but we have to think in terms of connectivity. Connectivity is the big added value for our customers in the future.."

People, as in many other areas of marketing, are now the focus in live marketing rather than the location or occasion of a trade show. This is based on the global development of companies that no longer act autonomously, but as nodes of different ecosystems. However, the connectivity megatrend also entails new expectations for the measurability of trade shows and events.

Marc Matern: "The quest for the thousand-contact prize of live marketing is an old one - and ongoing. Now, however, a refocusing in the conception and success measurement of trade fairs and events is necessary. The focus will no longer be on equipment and square meters, but rather on the question of target groups, touchpoints and thus also relevant content that leads to a networking of people and companies.

Marc Matern sees his own industry clearly in the obligation. It was a matter of "further developing the service promise and the advisory service". Accordingly, capacities would have to be built up internally and partnerships with other communication disciplines would have to be entered into. He feels that ET GLOBAL and KECK are on the right track in both respects.