New offering for members, a revamped award and new parallel events: PSI 2019 is realigning its focus. By more strongly emphasising the classic promotional products business, it will offer ideal conditions to ensure a successful trade show for promotional products distributors, suppliers, finishers and agencies. The Leading European Trade Show of the Promotional Products Industry will take place in Düsseldorf from 8 to 10 January. For the first time, the new trade show PromoTex Expo and viscom will showcase the potential of promotional textiles and visual communication at the same time. Together, the three trade shows will offer a comprehensive overview of the world of advertising and selling.
Everything the advertising heart desires will be on display in Halls 9 to 12: from promotional products classics such as cups, lighters, pens and more to fancy new products, the exhibitors will spread out the entire portfolio of their industry in front of visitors. With just under six months to go before the start of the event, 80 per cent of the exhibition space has already been sold. Such key players as midocean, Samsonite, Xindao, LEDIBERG, REFLECTS and Plastoria have already booked their stands. Prodir will be returning after taking a trade show break. Newcomers are just as much a part of PSI as the big-name players. Some of the new faces at the show will include the bicycle bell manufacturer Klingel, baby and children’s toy supplier Gollnest & Kiesel, and lighter maker Clipper.
PSI FIRST reinvents itself
New products have traditionally been a focus at PSI. For the sixth time, PSI FIRST 2019 will present the combined innovative power of the industry. The three best submissions will be honoured with the People’s Choice Award. Several new changes are being introduced for the upcoming edition. From now on, only 25 products will be allowed to participate instead of the previous 50. The PSI will check all submissions for their innovative nature ahead of the event. Trade show visitors will continue to be the ones selecting the best products. Something else that won’t change: all submissions must be kept secret until the start of the show. The PSI FIRST products will be presented adjacent to the new PSI Members Only area in Hall 10. If you’re interested in making your innovation a part of this exclusive awards event, simply apply online by 9 November.
900 square metres just for members
PSI members can take advantage of several new perks at PSI 2019. For example, distributors and VIPs will receive free Wi-Fi access at the trade show for the first time, making it even easier for them to handle their day-to-day business right onsite. The new PSI Members Only Lounge in Hall 10 will serve as a retreat for talks and as a place to recharge, refresh and even find some inspiration. On a floor space of approximately 900 square metres, visitors will find a comprehensive overview of the different member services, including the PSI Product Finder, the Supplier and Distributor Finder, the various publications with industry information and figures, and direct support by the Product Sourcing Team. The Novelty Box with product samples from different segments, which will be making its debut at the upcoming event, will also be presented here. The lounge itself is divided into the four thematic areas Drinks & Snacks, Chill & Relax, Network & Communicate and Work & Focus; in addition to snacks and drinks, visitors will find a spot to relax, network and work.
New: Marketing Innovations
The choices offered at the new Marketing Innovations special area in Hall 12 are aimed specifically at marketers. Accessible to visitors from all three trade shows, this area provides PSI distributors and manufacturers with new opportunities to draw attention to their services. Take the new Distributor Village, for example, which is open on all three show days: here, PSI distributors and consultants can meet contacts from industry companies and advise them on how to advertise with promotional products. Manufacturers will get a chance to win over visitors by featuring their new products and bestsellers in the new PSI Product Presentations area, which has room to display up to 150 products.
The area will also put a spotlight on the themes POS and Merchandising & Licensing. On the one hand, this area will allow manufacturers and suppliers of advertising communication to present innovations and trends from the display and packaging scene with a focus on the POS and POI. On the other hand, it will also serve as a meeting point for licensors, licensees, licencing agencies, testing institutes, lawyers, distributors and anyone else with an interest in merchandising and licensing.
Supplementing these offerings will be the lecture programme at the new Best Practice Forum Marketing, which is dedicated to anything and everything to do with the world of advertising and selling.
Hello neighbours! One ticket, three trade shows
PSI members holding a ticket will get access to not one but three trade shows. Besides PSI, their admission ticket will also grant them access to the parallel events PromoTex Expo and viscom. The international trade show of the promotional products industry, meanwhile, remains a closed-shop event, which means it’s reserved exclusively to PSI members and certified promotional products distributors. Certification is possible in advance of the show or onsite. The exception: PSI consultants will still be able to invite their industry customers to attend the show on Thursday.
The highlights at PromoTex Expo, the International Trade Show for Promotion, Sports and Workwear in Hall 13, is the catwalk with several fashion shows each day and a thematic emphasis on sustainable and smart textiles. Visitors are drawn to viscom for its broad range of signmaking and textile finishing selections. Hands-on activities and areas turn a trade show visit into an experience. Other worthwhile highlights on the trade fair’s agenda include the Car Wrapping Nations Cup, Corel and Adobe workshops, and “The Workshop”.
On top of all that, both shows will jointly host Forum 13, a hub for textiles of the future, corporate fashion, and other textile-industry trends and innovations. A second thematic emphasis will be on visual communication innovations, illuminated advertising, best practices from the world of signmaking and other industry trends.
About PSI
At PSI, the Leading European Trade Show of the Promotional Products Industry, promotional products professionals will be able to gain an overview of the trends and innovations of the industry. In addition, special exhibits and show areas are dedicated to an in-depth look at promotional labelling, printing and finishing technologies, inventions and innovations, and much more. At PSI 2018, 925 exhibitors from 37 countries presented their companies to 17,342 visitors. In 2019, PSI will for the first time take place concurrently with PromoTex Expo and viscom in Düsseldorf from 8 to 10 January. Together, the three events will provide an overview of the world of advertising and selling that’s one-of-a-kind in Europe.
