Almost two thirds of the architects we surveyed for our trade fair guide »Messe heute – Messe morgen« (Trade fairs today, trade fairs tomorrow) find QR codes at the stand more useful than printed brochures and flyers. Piotr Misiewicz of de Winder Architekten describes what happens when such a code only leads to a general homepage:
»At a trade fair I take my time and look at everything closely, but online? If the website doesn’t give me what I need within a minute, I’m gone.«
Piotr Misiewicz, de Winder Architekten
That is how many respondents describe it. At the stand, they take their time, look closely and touch things. Whether a product makes it into a project, though, is decided later at the office, and there what counts is what is left of the day at the fair: a sample, a link that works, a promise that is kept.
There are still a few weeks to go until BAU 2027, the large construction trade fair held in Munich from 11 to 15 January. That is enough time to make sure that architects and specialist planners take something from your stand into their projects: an invitation that gives them a reason to come, building products they are allowed to pick up, and follow-up that delivers what was promised at the stand.
Your invitation needs a reason
You plan your participation in the fair well in advance. Many design practices, on the other hand, decide at fairly short notice whether to travel to Munich and who from the team will go. A good invitation helps with exactly this decision, as Christine Klug of assmann gruppe explains:
»Knowing what a manufacturer is planning at the fair and which target group it is addressing helps us as a team to plan our visit.«
Christine Klug, assmann gruppe
That means your invitation needs more than a hall and stand number. Say what there is to see at your stand and who the trip is worthwhile for: the design team, the people working on technical design, or the colleagues who look after evidence and sustainability. In our survey, more than half of respondents valued events, product demonstrations or CPD points (the continuing professional development points German architects have to collect). Fewer than seven per cent were interested in the trade fair team or previews of the stand. So the rendering of your stand mainly pleases you.
Timing matters too. Wiebke Ahues of LXSY Architektur would like a personal invitation four to six weeks before the fair, which for BAU 2027 means between the end of November and mid-December. Because Christmas and the turn of the year follow straight after, your invitation should go out before the holidays. In January, a short reminder of agreed appointments is then enough.
At the stand, what counts is what people can pick up
Lutz Hammer of RECKLI once said something every trade fair team should hear:
»I have never seen an architect voluntarily stand in front of a screen for 10 minutes to watch an image video.«
Lutz Hammer, RECKLI
Our survey shows clearly what architects want instead: more than nine in ten respondents rate hands-on experiences and product samples as important or very important. Samples therefore belong in your visitors’ hands, not in display cases. Anyone who compares surfaces, takes a component apart or tries out a connection for themselves is engaging with your building products without you having to explain much.
Building products that are hard to touch have a chance too. For manufacturers of adhesives, bitumen or aluminium, our guide suggests showing the product in its individual parts or offering the raw materials in small touch boxes.
Remember the QR code from the start: every sample needs a clearly legible name and a QR code that leads straight to the product.
Your team asks about the project first
Anke Stern of ankestern interior states her expectation of a stand team briefly:
»I am a professional visitor and I expect people to know their products.«
Anke Stern, ankestern interior
Expertise alone is not enough, though, if the conversation starts with »Can I help you?«. It is better to ask about the project the other person is working on and how much time they have brought. For a first conversation, five to ten minutes are often enough for the architects in our guide, and what you show should depend on the answer.
How the team stands at the stand gets noticed as well. Christine Klug finds it uncomfortable when there are more staff on a stand than customers, and small clusters of employees seem less inviting than individual colleagues who approach visitors openly. For OBO Bettermann, we supported the preparation for BAU 2025 with a five-hour remote training session for 14 people from the trade fair and sales teams. At RECKLI, the team reviews every day during the fair what went well and which questions came up most often.
What you promise arrives within the first week
Someone from an interior design practice wrote in our survey:
»The last few times, the follow-up after I handed over my business card came very late (>10 days). A quicker follow-up would be welcome.«
Survey participant, interior design
Ten days pass quickly after a fair, especially as you are usually in Munich longer than your visitors. Someone who visited you on Monday may already be back at their desk on Tuesday. So ask during the conversation by when someone needs documents or samples, and clarify before the fair who at the office will handle such requests immediately. Whatever you promised should arrive within the first week after the fair at the latest.
For all other contacts, what counts is the link to the conversation. Chris Middleton of Kinzo puts it like this:
»I personally ignore automated emails completely. Personalised follow-up, however, can be very useful.«
Chris Middleton, Kinzo
Around a quarter of respondents want no follow-up at all and prefer to get the information themselves, via QR codes or the website. For them, your website is the follow-up, which brings us back to the one minute from the start. We would still send a short, well-made email with real content. In our guide, we deliberately depart from many respondents on this point, because even small, unobtrusive touchpoints stay in people’s minds when a product decision comes up later. More than half would also like an invitation to further events, such as a lunch & learn at their office.
See you at BAU 2027
The whole hej.build team will be at BAU 2027 in January. If you would like to work on your invitation, stand team or follow-up beforehand, talk to us. Our trade fair guide »Messe heute – Messe morgen« describes in detail how architects experience trade fairs. For Messe München, we also developed the report »100 Messe-Tipps« (100 trade fair tips).
