"We want to become the leading trade show for multisensory marketing"

Werbewoche.ch: The Kongresshaus Zurich will be all about multisensory on March 7. Could you please explain why the trade show for promotional products is now called the Festival for Haptic Advertising and Multisensory Marketing?

Michael Mätzener: The majority of companies still limit themselves to appealing only to the sense of sight and hearing. Wrongly so. Today, multisensory marketing is an indispensable prerequisite for holding one's own in saturated and fiercely competitive markets and outperforming the sensory two-dimensionally oriented competition. The activation of the senses of smell, taste and, above all, touch offers enormous potential for impact that must be exploited. We will show how this works at the festival on March 7, 2023 at the Kongresshaus Zurich.

So in your opinion, multisensory technology can support marketing?

Yes multisensory marketing improves the way a target group can experience a brand. Today, a brand should not only be recognized by a logo. It should appeal to all the senses. For example, how does the trust of a bank smell? Or how does the quality of a 5-star hotel feel. Today, brands must "touch" the customer so that he decides to buy. Multisensory marketing controls the explicit and implicit sensory codes in sales and advertising and thus creates convincing brand experiences. People perceive a brand through their senses and this is nothing new, but until now it was simply implemented by the big power brands.

Markeding builds bridges between creative manufacturers and brands, modern promotional products agencies and handlers, and marketers and industry users. That's what it says on the website. Could you elaborate on that, how exactly can one imagine this day at the Kongresshaus?

Yes this festival is simply to unite all marketing, advertising and communication professionals in one day. It provides a stage for ideas and innovations. It shows how multisensory marketing works. We have exciting keynotes and workshops so also a concentrated load of knowledge and approaches that we want to give to position his company with multisensory marketing in the future even deeper, faster and better.

How many visitors are expected plus minus?

We can expect about 1000 visitors.

How long has this event been around and who is the driving force, so that Markeding keeps reinventing itself?

The Markeding takes place this year for the 9th time. I have been observing various events in advertising and marketing throughout Europe for a long time. I see weaknesses but also strengths. This has led to the desire to develop this leading trade fair for multisensory marketing with a lot of passion. A pure event for haptic advertising or even just for promotional products is simply no longer in keeping with the times and is no longer sufficient to attract trade visitors to an event.

How much of an issue is sustainability at Markeding?

Sustainability is a central topic in every company today. In marketing, too. With the Markeding we also show extensive approaches here. How, for example, in the use of haptic advertising the applicable products are produced ecologically, socially and economically. Be it with new materials like R-Pet or with "Cradle to Cradle", which will be shown by the respective exhibitors.

The Markeding will take place on March 7, 2023, at the Kongresshaus Zurich.