VNU Exhibitions Europe
In 1993, Keylong Exhibitions started developing and organizing trade shows and consumer exhibitions in Shanghai. In 1998, Keylong Exhibitions started intensive co-operations with VNU Exhibitions Europe, resulting in a fast expansion of the trade show and conference portfolio. VNU Exhibitions Europe realises introductions that are ultimately intended to lead to valuable sales contacts. Our mission is to bring together the right people at the right time, in such a way that the contact provides added value for both the exhibitor and the visitor. This can effectively be achieved at an exhibition, but equally successfully via a seminar or an online platform. We realise contacts between exhibitors and visitors, but equally valuable is the mutual interaction between visitors or exhibitors.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Event organizer
- Industry Type:
- Publishing / Media / Marketing
- Market Focus:
- Internationally (various countries)
- Employees:
- Over 1000
About Us
VNU Exhibitions Europe
VNU Exhibitions Europe is a daughter company of the Dutch trade show organizer Jaarbeurs. We organize trade shows, conferences and summits outside the Netherlands. We have our own companies in China and Thailand, while our head office is in Utrecht, from where we work on expanding the VIV brand around the globe.
We can now offer more and more of our customers online platforms, web shops and lead generation models. As we are active globally and collaborate with a number of prominent exhibition centers, we can support our customers who want to organize international conferences from start to finish. If desired, we can take care of everything. We can find the best possible location for every conference for our customers.
We employ specialists for every discipline, from market managers to online specialists, from conference organizers to marketing professionals.
VIV portfolio
From our head office in Utrecht, The Netherlands, we organize our VIV trade shows. VIV is the global brand of our trade shows, conferences and events based on the ‘Feed to Meat’ supply chain.
We organize VIV trade shows in:
- Nanjing / China
- Bangkok / Thailand
- Moscow / Russia
- Istanbul / Turkey
- Utrecht / The Netherlands
Corporate Story
Almost 100 years ago, life was a lot simpler. As Jaarbeurs, we organized our first large trade show in 1917, to promote Dutch products. Our role as intermediary between supply and demand has never changed, but the way in which we work has. In 2002, we changed our name to VNU Exhibitions Europe.
‘Everything under one roof at the same time in Utrecht’ has expanded into a leading portfolio of more than 80 events. Both in the Netherlands and abroad, we develop and exploit large national trade shows and consumer exhibitions, but also regional events and exclusive invitation-only meetings for top managers.
The future
We are aiming for more future growth, both nationally and internationally. By launching our own new products, but also by means of acquisitions and partnerships. We are aiming to add (a quickly growing number of) online products to our entire portfolio, enabling visitors and participants to find and maintain contacts 365 days a year. We still have the same goal: we want to generate valuable sales opportunities for our customers.
The days when exhibitors would wait for a trade show to launch a new product, are behind us. Companies are choosing their own moments and channels. Effectivity, quantifiability and comfort are becoming more and more important. We have grown with the market and our innovative approach has landed us several national and international awards over the years. We are also the only party in the Benelux area that has its trade shows audited.
Inspiration
Nowadays, our visitors have enormous quantities of information at their disposal. And the number of communication channels is still increasing. We see it as our duty to streamline this information, and to offer insight into complex markets, inspiring visitors.
Ten years ago, we took the first important steps, which now put us at the forefront of the market. We have been recording the knowledge of our visitors in databases, registering and updating more than a million customer profiles every year. We also make use of technical possibilities to compare company, function and personal details. This enables us to match visitors to suppliers and products which answer their specific question or demand.
Matching market and customer
We aim to continuously expand and deepen the knowledge we have about the markets we serve. We know the markets of our customers, and can help them at any moment to meet new contacts or to strenghten existing business relations.
We as a company believe in the human standard. We invest in new technologies and databases, but realize that it is up to our people to translate this into real results for our customers. We value permanent education and personal development, resulting in enthusiastic and involved staff. Of course, this reflects onto our customers. We act as a bridge between the latest marketing insights, the newest (online) technologies and personal contact. That is why we keep investing in our people.
VNU Exhibitions Europe is a full subsidiary of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Jaarbeurs. In Shanghai, VNU Exhbitions Asia is one of the bigger trade show organizers.
History
Foundation
VNU Exhibitions Europe is a full subsidiary of the Jaarbeurs Groep. The direct reason to set up the Jaarbeurs was the First World War. Because of the war, international trade to and from the Netherlands had declined dramatically. Without import, goods had to be produced nationally, resulting in an increase in national trade. This also created a demand for a central location to meet business contacts.
On the initiative of the Vereeniging Nederlandsch Fabrikaat, the Maatschappij van Nijverheid and the Nederlandse Vereeniging voor Tentoonstellingsbelangen, the Vereeniging tot het houden van Jaarbeurzen in Nederland was founded in 1916. Utrecht was selected as a location for the annual trade shows, as it was centrally located and easily accessible.
The first Jaarbeurs
The first Jaarbeurs in Utrecht was held in 1917, in the former Fruit Hall and Corn Exchange on the Vredenburg, and on the Janskerkhof. 87,000 selected visitors, from both industry and retail, visited the two-week event, where 690 Dutch companies presented themselves. This first edition, which was heavily promoted and which offered cheap train deals, was a huge success.
The Interbellum
When the second trade show in the spring of 1918 turned out to be a resounding success again, with 1062 participants, the organization decided to create a permanent base in Utrecht. In 1921, a fall trade show was also organized. In the same year, the Fruit Hall was replaced by a dedicated trade show complex. In 1930, the Corn Exchange was also replaced by a new building, which had to be expanded twice.
The Second World War
In 1942, during the Second World War, the German occupiers banned any trade shows, and the buildings were confiscated. The first post-war trade show was organized in 1946, this time without grants and subsidies from the government or council. Because the number of participants continued to grow, the Jaarbeurs had to expand again. As there was no more room on the Vredenburg, the Jaarbeurs moved to its current location, on the Croeselaan.
Specialization
Before the Second World War, there were only two trade shows per year: one in the spring and one in the fall. The exhibitors’ demand for a more specific type of visitor led to the development of more specialized trade shows in the 50s, such as the Bouwbeurs, the Techni-Show and the Meubelbeurs.
Mega trade shows
In the 80s, these specialized trade shows developed into huge events, with the Meubelbeurs and Internationale Bouwbeurs as extremes, requiring temporary accommodation for tens of thousands of meters of stand space, because even the 100,000 m² Jaarbeurs complex was too small.
Rationalization
This changed in the 90s, also on indication of the Jaarbeurs itself, who prefered exhibitors to invest more in visitor marketing instead of a large stand or intricate stand construction. Participation was no longer seen as an unquantifiable marketing instrument, but as an activity aimed at achieving a good ROI. Concepts such as visitor density, length of stay and lead marketing became important.
VNU Exhibitions Europe
This change – from floor space to visitor marketing – also had its repercussions on the organization of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Jaarbeurs. In 2002, the company split up into a holding – Jaarbeurs Groep – with three subsidiary companies: Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Jaarbeurs Catering Services and Jaarbeurs Exhibitions & Media. This way, each company was better able to serve specific markets. The first subsidiary specialized in the accommodation of third-party activities, the second in providing catering services in the complex and beyond, and the third focused on organizing activities to bring people together to create profitable contacts.
Internet
The new millennium also saw the rise of the Internet. And just as other professional service providers, the Internet shook things up in the market and introduced new opportunities: Nowadays, e-mail marketing is an integral part of visitor canvassing, online trade shows create more transparency in a world of Big Data, bringing together supply and demand 365 days a year, and trade show websites actively match exhibitors and visitors.
Social media
If you have 1200 Facebook friends, it is important to know who your real friends are. The same is true in business: Meeting new contacts is so easy, that it is hard to determine how valuable these contacts are. That is why real life contacts remain important. The ‘Like’ can never replace a handshake, the LinkedIn account is never as good as personal contact, and a real smile will always beat a smiley.
This doesn’t mean we ignore social media, on the contrary. Our activities are strongly linked to social media, and we are always open to online dialogue. We see (online) trade shows as the ultimate social medium.
The future
We don’t know what the future will bring. What we do know, is that people will always be people. People who do business by meeting up with business contacts, people who love networking with likeminded others, and people who enjoy finding out new and valuable information. That is why we believe that our job will continue to be important in the future. A job we love doing.