Sustainable advertising materials to match our products – using the example of the 2018 IAA trade fair merchandise.

With the eCanter, we are trying to help our customers offer more sustainable transport solutions. So while we talk about the eCanter and its vision of “better urban living” at trade fairs and events, it’s hardly appropriate in terms of merchandising to hand out one disposable item after another to the masses of trade fair visitors.

Already at the IAA 2018, we therefore tried to develop merchandising that is so functional and valuable that customers will use it for a long time or to find sustainable alternatives to the disposable items.

While in previous years we distributed around 5,000 water bottles to trade show visitors for refreshment, in 2018 we switched to water dispensers with Detox water that trade show visitors drank in compostable cups. The cup was not thrown away 50 meters away like a water bottle, but was collected by us and later added to the compost. Instead of nuts in plastic packaging, there were also gummy bears in compostable foil and apples with a lasered logo without any packaging at all.

In this way, we not only saved a lot of waste, but also invited visitors to stay longer at our stand.

But there are not only great sustainable alternatives in the area of food. Our valuable USB sticks are no longer made of plastic, but of wood. Ballpoint pens can be made of recycled material and we try to replace the cheap giveaways with high-quality merchandising. The paper and plastic carrier bags are easily replaced by jute bags, which the customer can use all the better when shopping in the supermarket.

All in all, a trade show that is only built for a few days can probably never be completely sustainable. Through the merchandising that we give our customers, we simultaneously hand over an impression of our brand values. So it’s not hard to choose a sustainable alternative when sustainable also means resonant.