With six per cent more exhibitors, nearly eight per cent more visitors and a share of international visitors that’s climbed to 57 per cent, PSI posted new records at its 55th event. In total, organiser Reed Exhibitions Deutschland counted 988 exhibitors and 18,094 visitors. For the first time, industry customers invited by promotional products distributors were granted access to PSI on the last day of the event.
Customers from every corner of the globe
“An impressive fireworks of creativity was ignited, celebrated almost, at PSI (2017). It just gets you in the mood to work even more intensely with promotional products. If you can’t find ideas here, you’ll have a hard time finding them at all,” said Michael Freter, the visibly delighted PSI director, at the end of the three-day exhibition. PSI visitors appreciated all that, even if they had to travel a long way to get to Düsseldorf. Fanny Martin, who’s been visiting PSI for fifteen years now from Mauritius, said, “PSI always has been and still is the show for us. It’s a must. Without going far, we can meet the industry’s market leaders and see trends and innovations.” By now, 57 per cent of PSI visitors come from outside Germany, from as far away as the US, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and India.
Lifestyle event
Be it in the electronics segment; the textiles sector; the ‘classic’ paper, office and stationery product range or the housewares and food area, all four PSI halls were brimming with innovations and inspirations. For example: sweet advertising made from marzipan, produced in the 3D printer; enamel mugs featuring a vintage look, branded with sandblasted engravings; and never-before-seen worldwide innovations like the ‘Smart Writing Set, which uses an app to merge the writing culture of a notebook with the digital world. Furthermore, there were sneakers with stylish prints, available even for production runs of a single pair; children’s drawings on bread boxes that come alive as virtual worlds thanks to smartphone-based augmented reality software; and textiles with top-quality finishes. PSI has grown into a lifestyle event, with a new ‘look and feel’. The most visible sign was the PSI Textile Area with the Catwalk, the stage where textiles and accessories were put into the spotlight. In the next hall, at the Gusto Tasting Pavilion, advertising was turned into an indulgence. “This just gets you in the mood and shows how ‘sexy’ promotional products are and what possibilities they harbor,” says Michael Freter.
Industry Customer Day
For the first time, industry customers holding invitations from promotional products distributors and specially marked tickets had a chance to attend PSI. Until now, the show had been reserved exclusively for promotional products professionals. “The Industry Customer Day is one of the most massive campaigns for promotional products that’s ever been launched in the history of our sector,” says Michael Freter. More than 1,700 customers of promotional products distributors showed up and were enthralled by the diversity of the promotional products range. One such visitor, Stefan Hölzel, said, “I’m here as an industry customer, and I’m just about overwhelmed by what’s offered. There are so many producers here. Here my colleagues, who are marketing directors dealing with advertising materials, become children again. Now I know why I have a promotional-products broker who advises me, because the assortment is gigantic.”
