Dubai | It is a rare blessing for a digital signage provider to showcase their solutions at the most spectacular booth at the largest IT trade fair in the world. The German digital signage innovator America presented six touchless concepts at E& (formerly Etisalat) Gitex 2023 showcase. Invidis met with America’s Johannes Tröger how they attracted the attention to digital signage in-between autonomous drones and super sports cars.
More than 200,000 trade visitors attended Gitex Global 2023 in Dubai. With 42 halls, the world’s largest IT trade fair has long outgrown the Dubai World Trade Center exhibition center. A second exhibition center with air-conditioned tents was errected at Dubai Marina. But Gitex is not only expanding in Dubai but also abroad with new events in Marrakech/Morocco (Gitex Africa) and from 2025 in Berlin (Gitex Europe).
Ameria in the center of the Gitex
For years, the double-decker booth of the Emirati telecommunications provider E& (formerly Etisalat) is the highlight of each Gitex. The stand is covered from floor to ceiling with LEDs, interspersed with autonomous helicopters, super sports cars from Mercedes as well as digital signage and smart retail showcases from global providers. E& has even its own global scouting team that searches for new innovations to be presented at their Gitex booth.
At Euroshop 2023 in Düsseldorf, E& discovered Heidelberg-based Ameria – the no-touch digital signage provider from Heidelberg / Germany – and invited them to Gitex. A jackpot hit for the start-up. Within half a year, the 40-person Ameria team developed six touchpoint concepts for retail, healthcare, production environments and VIPs at the E& booth.
“It was a huge challenge for us, but it was absolutely worth it,” says Ameria Senior Vice President Strategy & Business Development Johannes Tröger in an invidis interview. “We were at the show on site with 10 experts, managed the touchpoints during the five-day trade fair and generated hundreds of leads.”
Ameria is no stranger to trade fairs, participating at major trade shows around the world. Even two stands at ISE in Barcelona. But sub-exhibiting at a multi-million Euro booth of a government agency was a total different experience. Several dozen ministers and VIPs with a large entourage came to visit the booth every day. “The professional way in which E& organized the entire trade fair booth, coordinated hundreds of employees and how structured partners were integrated was fascinating.”
Whisper suite in the hotel
In addition to six showcases at E&’s 1,000 square meter stand, Ameria also rented a suite in a neighboring hotel. In an exclusive atmosphere, partners and customers were able to experience the airframe technology, talk to engineers and take a look at Ameria’s upcoming new products.
More than just a trade fair
The ten-person Ameria team was able to not only generate hundreds of leads – including a few dozen with high potential – but also win regional integration partners with a well-established presence in the Gulf region. In the past everything in the Middle East was initiated in Dubai, today the big market is Saudi Arabia.
“The trade fair far exceeded our expectations in terms of reach and quality of contacts. We are excited to partner with leading integrators bringing our non-touch technology to the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and further into the region. We started an exciting new chapter for Ameria.”
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