Analytica 2024: The Trade Show Must Go On
23rd April 2024 - Last modified 4th July 2024
By Tim Cullum, Senior Manager, Digital Communications and Media.

Analytica continues to provide the perfect environment for discovering the latest innovations in biotechnology. Alto took a team of four to Munich where, despite the obvious threats to events like this in recent years, we happily found a trade show in excellent shape.
Survival of the fittest
Taking place every two years, Analytica is the world’s leading trade fair for the laboratory sector[1]. Filling five halls of the enormous Messe München on the eastern outskirts of the city, it’s a feat of organisational and logistical efficiency and a credit to the organisers. We’re lucky to have it. Lest we forget that for a while, just a few years ago, the future of events like this was in considerable jeopardy.
The previous show, held in 2022, was the first after COVID and arguably too soon to reasonably assess the long-term impact of the pandemic on exhibitions. But with barely a face mask to be seen among the 34,000 visitors[1] this year, it appears as though Analytica has emerged from that particular existential threat largely unscathed, surviving where many other events have not.
An increase of almost 200 exhibitors (from 882[2] in 2022, to 1,066 in 2024[1]) is a good sign, though it seems unlikely that this increase will continue at the same rate.
The digital dilemma
Of course, the inexorable progression of digital alternatives remains the most significant factor influencing the future of trade shows. The obvious time and cost-saving efficiencies, not to mention the inherently more attributable nature of digital channels have understandably caused many marketing managers to funnel budget away from exhibitions – which, as we know, are not cheap!
For a while it looked like virtual exhibitions might be the future. They certainly provided a stop-gap when we were all stuck indoors, as well as a much-needed revenue stream for publishers and conference organisers. But while some were very well done, even the best inevitably failed to faithfully replicate the real thing.
Beyond providing alternative marketing channels, digital tools have changed the way we work, with video calls almost entirely replacing telephone calls and making our everyday conversations that much more interactive. And that’s great, for day-to-day, but it’s not quite the same as meeting clients in the real world. We still like to see our clients in-person on a regular basis. With many of them based outside the UK, that’s not always feasible. And so events like Analytica, which brought several of our clients together in the same place, provide the perfect opportunity for face-to-face meetings, and maybe even a drink or two!
It’s also worth noting the role that digital can play in enhancing your exhibition attendance, either through pre- and post-show promotional activity to maximise engagement (and ROI), or through on-stand data capture tools such as icapture to improve accountability and hopefully make the exhibition budget easier to justify! Although I have to say, I only had my name badge scanned once, and I don’t think it was just me!
The human touch
The shift away from traditional marketing channels was already well established, long before COVID, but the accelerated adoption imposed by the pandemic threatened to be the final blow. From what we saw at Analytica, there is still plenty of life left in event marketing, and we’re very much in favour of that. After all, while technology provided a lifeline during COVID, for many of us, that unfortunate period provided a stark reminder of the importance of socialising! So, until AI makes us all redundant, it’s reasonable to expect that our need for genuine, face-to-face, human interaction will continue to be vital in business as well!
On that note, we look forward to seeing you in person soon! But if not, you can contact us via email, or on our website…or on Teams…or through social media…!!
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